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Colorado vs. Hawaii Free Week 1 Preview & Pick (Sept. 3)

The Colorado Buffaloes vs. Hawaii Warriors will both be trying to pick up a win in Week 1 on Saturday when they battle at Aloha Stadium. Odds have Warriors listed as 7-point favorites the game’s total is 57…

Bet On College Football – CU Buffaloes vs Hawaii Warriors Gambling Preview

It is a year of new beginnings for the Colorado Buffaloes.  New conference – PAC 12 – and a new coach in Jon Embree (a former Buffalo).  

Colorado Buffaloes vs Hawaii Warriors
Aloha Stadium – Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday September 3 – 10:15PM
Moneyline:  Hawaii -290, Colorado +230
Spread (ATS):  Hawaii -7
Over/Under: 57
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes

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Colorado

The question is whether there will be some new results as the Dan Hawkins era didn’t out the way people thought it would after he arrived from Boise State.  

This will be the first time in 5 seasons that the Buffs will not open the season against Colorado State which was usually a gimme win.

One thing that is not new around Boulder are the players.  The Buffaloes are returning 16 starters from last year’s club which beat Hawaii at home pretty handily 31-13.  On offense they will feature running back Rodney Stewart, who will take the mantle of best small back in the nation now that Jacquizz Rogers has taken his game to the NFL (he is only 5’6” – 175).  

He rushed for 1300+ yards last year and with 4 linemen returning this is where the Buffs will look to establish themselves on offense.

On defense there are plenty of returning players but all their impact players are gone.  The Buffs defense is missing their 2010 leaders in tackles, sacks and interceptions from a year ago which doesn’t bode well for a defense that was giving up 30ppg last season.

This team is not strong enough on this side of the ball to have a chance if they can’t make impact plays and they are especially weak against the pass, which you know you are going to see a steady dose of from Hawaii.

Hawaii

The Warriors has a pretty quiet 10-4 season last year.  The highlight of the season was beating Nevada, which earned them a three way tie for the WAC title with the Wolf Pack and Boise State.  That kind of record is going to be tough to repeat with an offense that was just decimated by graduation losses and a schedule that looks a little more challenging than 2010.  

This is their last year in the WAC which is too bad because this is the program I most associate with that conference.  Off to the MWC next season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

On offense only three starters return but thankfully one of them is quarterback Bryant Moniz, the latest in a long line of potent Hawaii signal callers.  Moniz threw for more than 5000 yards last season but is missing his top two receivers (3100+ yards and 29 TD catches combined).  

Based on their history I am confident they will plug some guys in at receiver effectively but what might be harder to replace is the running of Alex Green.  He gave them balance with 18 TDs on the ground and an amazing 8.2 yards per carry.  That’s Ki-Jana Carter territory.

Defensively the Warriors usually put forth good effort with modest results.  They return leading tackler Corey Paredes and have some bulk on the line but they struggle in pass coverage a weakness the Buffs might not be able to exploit.  Sometimes it seems like all the Warrriors want to do is give their offense a breather rather than stop people.  

The Warriors always have a travel advantage at home but I think this is even more so at the beginning of the season.

Trends:

Over is 7-1 in COL last 8 games on fieldturf.
Under is 9-3 in COL last 12 games in September.
COL are 8-20 ATS in their last 28 road games.
HAW are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games.
HAW are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
Under is 5-2-1 in HAW last 8 games on fieldturf.

ATS Pick: Hawaii -7
Over/Under Pick:  Over 57
Score Prediction:  Hawaii 34 – Colorado 24

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.