The second Saturday of bowl season wraps up late with the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl bringing together the 7-5 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers of the Sun Belt and the 7-5 San Jose State Spartans of the Mountain West.
It’s the first-ever clash of the two Group of Five standouts, so who comes out on top? Ahead of the game, we’ve got the latest college football betting odds, DFS picks, and a Hawaii Bowl prediction.
Hawaii Bowl Betting and DFS Preview
All odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and correct as of Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Want to take advantage of the Hawaii Bowl odds? Visit the College Football Network live college football odds page to place bets in your state.
- Spread
San Jose State -10.5 - Moneyline
San Jose State -410, Coastal Carolina +320 - Over/Under
52 points - Game time
10:30 p.m. ET - Location
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, HI - Predicted Weather at Kick
69 degrees, 16 mph winds, breezy and pleasant - How to Watch
ESPN, FuboTV
Looking to cash in on Coastal Carolina? Willing to splash some silver on the Spartans? If you take advantage of the Hawaii Bowl odds, consider the following factors before you part with your hard-earned cash.
San Jose State enters the Hawaii Bowl on a run of six consecutive wins, and with Coastal Carolina seeing many transfer portal departures ahead of the game, the Spartans are an understandably substantial favorite. Brent Brennan’s team hasn’t lost when coming into a game favored this season, and that shouldn’t change against the Chants.
This is the second time this season that San Jose State has been a 10.5-point favorite against the spread. They wiped the floor with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in that game, in this stadium, and while there shouldn’t be a shutout on Saturday night, another big win on the big island is most certainly on the cards.
With a much-improved defense compared to last season and offensive injury issues, Coastal has hit the over just four times this season. However, San Jose State redresses the balance having covered the points line on eight occasions this year, and with some key defensive pieces missing for the Chanticleers, this could sail past the 52-point line — mainly due to the Spartans.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
Coastal Carolina Depth Chart | San Jose State Depth Chart
- QB Jarrett Guest, Coastal Carolina
- QB Ethan Vasko, Coastal Carolina
- QB Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State
- RB Reese White, Coastal Carolina
- RB Braydon Bennett, Coastal Carolina
- RB Max Balthazar, Coastal Carolina
- RB Ja’Vin Simpkins, Coastal Carolina
- RB Kairee Robinson, San Jose State
- RB Jabari Bates, San Jose State
- RB Quali Conley, San Jose State
- WR Sam Pinckney, Coastal Carolina
- WR Kyle Duplessis, Coastal Carolina
- WR Jameson Tucker, Coastal Carolina
- WR Nick Nash, San Jose State
- WR Malikhi Miller, San Jose State
- WR Charles Ross, San Jose State
- TE Kyle Duplessis, Coastal Carolina
- TE Sam Olson, San Jose State
There are seven college football games on Saturday to compile your DFS team from. If you’re new to DFS, Fanduel Superflex contests require you to select a quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, and a “Superflex” that can be any of the above or a tight end.
Untangling the Coastal Carolina quarterback situation is key to your Hawaii Bowl picks, with Jarrett Guest in the transfer portal but still listed atop the depth chart for the Chants. Guest last played in the Army defeat, while Ethan Vasko took the reins against James Madison. Vasko offers more upside as a dual threat, but it’s a situation worth steering clear of.
MORE: College Football Bowl Opt-Out Tracker
Amongst a raft of transfer portal entries and presumed opt-outs, Coastal Carolina will have their top-scoring fantasy asset available this Saturday. It doesn’t matter who is under center for the Chants, Sam Pinckney is as reliable as they come at wide receiver. He leads the team with seven touchdowns and has more receiving yards and fantasy points than any other Chant.
San Jose State boasts two legitimate fantasy options in Kairee Robinson and Chevan Cordeiro. There are few more productive running backs on the show this Saturday, with Robinson tallying 252.1 fantasy points this year. He could put up big yardage against the 99th-ranked Coastal run defense.
Prediction for the Hawaii Bowl
Okay, we’ve furnished you with the Hawaii Bowl odds and some DFS picks. Now, it’s time to close this thing out with our prediction.
Can Coastal Carolina close out the season of the Tim Beck era with an eighth win of the year? Or will San Jose State simply prove too strong as they chase a first bowl win since 2015, which would give head coach Brennan his best record?
Overlooked as former head coach Jamey Chadwell led an undefeated Liberty team this season is the job that Tim Beck has done in his first year with Coastal Carolina.
Alongside changing schemes, staff, and some significant playing personnel losses from the 2022 campaign, he took the Chants to a winning conference record while significantly upgrading the defense.
That unit ranks 53 spots higher than it did a year ago after allowing 7.1 points fewer per game. Furthermore, their passing defense ranks in the top 50 nationally for yards allowed per game. However, it will face a stiff test against San Jose State, and it does so without one of the stars of the front seven linebacker JT Killen.
Additionally, they’ve allowed 4.63 yards per, which plays into San Jose State’s ability to run the ball down their opponent’s throat with Robinson and Quali Conley. Both backs have averaged more than six yards per carry this year, and the Spartans average 2.5 rushing scores per game.
San Jose State should have enough on defense to hold a Coastal offense with plenty of question marks coming into the game with the loss of versatile offensive weapon Jared Brown to the transfer portal. Head coach Brennan gets his first-ever bowl win at the third attempt.
Prediction: Coastal Carolina 21, San Jose State 37
Miss any action from the top college QB Rankings during the 2023 football season? Want to track all the movement with the college football’s transfer portal? College Football Network has you covered with that and more!