Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (1-4) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (2-3)
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors start their Mountain West Conference campaign with a tough road trip to Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, in Week 6 of the 2022 college football season. They’ll try to stop a two-game slide against the Aztecs, who are 0-1 in the conference play following a heavy loss at Boise State in Week 5.
Last year, San Diego State outlasted Hawaii 17-10 as a 7-point road fave. The Aztecs are listed as huge 21.5-point home favorites this time around, and the totals sit at 48.0 points.
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors enjoyed a bye in Week 5, trying to forget a 45-26 defeat at New Mexico State from Week 4. Playing as 4.5-point road underdogs, the Warriors allowed a thumping 357 rushing yards to the Aggies, who scored 35 first-half points. Dedrick Parson led the way for Hawaii with 16 carries for 69 yards and a couple of touchdowns, while Brayden Schager completed just 22 of his 39 passing attempts for 261 yards and a TD.
Schager has thrown for 659 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions so far this season, while Joey Yellen has recorded 324 yards and a couple of picks in four appearances in 2022. Interestingly, Timmy Chang spent five years playing under center at Hawaii. From 2000 to 2004, he registered 17,072 yards to become the NCAA Division I FBS passing leader.
“They’re a really good defense. That’s what we’ve seen on film, a lot of different choices up front,” Schager said on San Diego State. “They do a lot of good things on the back end. They’re known for having great defenses from all the way back. It’s a good challenge for us. We have to execute our offense, is the main thing.”
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— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) September 25, 2022
The Rainbow Warriors lost their top wideout Zion Bowens due to an injury in a 63-10 week zero loss to Vanderbilt. Jonah Panoke, who’s posted 15 catches for 172 yards this season, has joined Bowens on the shelf, so the Warriors’ receiving corps looks thin.
Hawaii is scoring 17.4 points per game (121st in the nation) on 313.2 total yards (tied-114th). The Warriors have been a disaster on the defensive side of things, too, yielding 45.4 points (130th) on 480.6 total yards per contest (126th).