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The Hawaii Bowl is the early Christmas gift for NCAA football betting fans each and every season, and this year is no exception. For those on the Big Island, the chance to see the home team play at Aloha Stadium is the perfect present. The Hawaii Warriors will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Ready to make your college football picks in this one? Be sure to take a look at the three big time keys to this game that will help determine the winner.

Key #1: Tulsa’s pass defense absolutely has to find some sort of help
This was the Achilles heel for the Golden Hurricane all season long, and this is absolutely the worst possible matchup for them to take on in this bowl season. They were one of the few teams in the land that allowed at least 300 yards per game to opposing aerial assaults, and there were several games this year in which teams dropped at least 400 yards on them. To make matters worse for Tulsa, Hawaii has a passing game that has averaged over 380 yards per game this year, and QB Bryant Moniz is the only man in the country that has the ability to throw for 5,000 yards. WR Greg Salas has 1,675 yards and 12 scores this year, but there is no doubt that WR Kealoha Pilares is the best No. 2 receiver in the land, WR Royce Pollard is the best No. 3 receiver in the land, and WR Rodney Bradley is the best No. 4 receiver in the land. Pilares had 15 TDs this year, one of the highest marks in major college football, while Pollard and Bradley combined for 1,283 yards on 104 receptions with seven TDs, numbers which most teams would be thrilled to have out of their first and second receivers. If there’s no stopping Moniz, there’s no stopping Hawaii, particularly at home where the team really shined.

Key #2: Hawaii needs to keep its offense well rounded
The Warriors aren’t just a one dimensional team. They did rank No. 1 in the country in the passing game, but they weren’t without their abilities to run the football either. RB Alex Green had the highest yards per carry average against qualified running backs at 8.8 yards per rush. He had just 133 attempts this year, but he made the most of them, rumbling for 1,168 yards and 17 TDs. The beauty for Green was that he really blew up at the end of the season, accounting for 453 yards and four TDs over the course of the last two games of the season. Only the best well rounded teams have really torched this Tulsa defense, though everyone had its licks. This is going to be the man that really has to be stopped for the Golden Hurricane to at least have a half of a chance to beat the Hawaii Bowl lines.

Key #3: GJ Kinne has to be virtually perfect
It’s really easy to say that a quarterback playing a perfect game is going to be the key to victory, but for Tulsa, this isn’t an exaggeration whatsoever. He really might have to play a perfect game to cover up the inevitable blunders of his defense. We know that the Warriors are going to score. The question is whether or not the Golden Hurricane can keep up or not. The ball was in Kinne’s hands 574 times this season, one of the highest totals in the land. He was the team’s top passer with 3,307 yards and 28 TDs against ten picks, and he was also the leading rusher with 557 yards and seven scores. However, perhaps even more importantly, Kinne has to make the decision about who he wants to get the ball in the hands of. There wasn’t a legitimate running back on this team that had even 400 yards on the ground, and the top rusher aside from him was WR Damaris Johnson, who had 462 yards on 50 carries, mostly on sweeps from the outside. Mistakes just cannot be made from the point that the snap is taken to the point that the ball leaves his hands, as every decision is crucial. This was a Hawaii defense that was great at forcing turnovers this year. DB Mana Silva had eight picks this year and led a ‘D’ that allowed just 341.8 yards and 22.7 points per game. Though these numbers only ranked No. 40 and No. 42 respectively in the country, they were more than good enough to beat up opponents thanks to an offense that has the ability to be picture perfect.

It’s the morning of the first kickoff of the year in the college football betting world, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are zooming in on the props on the card on Thursday that are worth backing. Be sure to sign up for an account at Hollywood Sportsbook for the best NCAA props on the internet!

Dion Lewis (Pittsburgh Panthers) Over/Under 132.5 Rushing Yards
Lewis is arguably the top running back in the nation this season, especially if Alabama’s Mark Ingram is really hurt for any period of time. The Panthers are taking on a relatively stout front seven for the Utes, even though former DE Koa Misi has since graduated and is playing with the Miami Dolphins. The simple fact of the matter is that HC Dave Wannstedt had a heck of a lot more confidence in his former QB Bill Stull than he will in his current one, QB Tino Sunseri. Until that trust is formed, we expect a man that he does trust, Lewis, to get a ton of carries. That being said, he’s probably going to end up Over 132.5 Rushing Yards -115 at Hollywood Sportsbook.

Jereme Brooks (Utah Utes) Over/Under 5 Receptions
Brooks posted four games of at least five catches in his last five games of the season last year, but that doesn’t mean that we like his chances in this one. With Lewis carrying the ball so frequently for the Panthers, the Utes aren’t going to have as much time with the pigskin as they are used to. The last time they played a team with this type of makeup, the TCU Horned Frogs held Brooks to just one reception. That clearly won’t cut it today. Brooks might be the top receiver on this team, but with the ferocious pass rush coming to get QB Jordan Wynn, we aren’t so sure that he is going to have enough time to get rid of the football, particularly up the field. Go with Brooks Under 5 Receptions -125 at Hollywood Sportsbook.

South Carolina Gamecocks Over/Under 30.5 Points
The Gamecocks have already lost TE Weslye Saunders for this game, and there could be more problems on the horizon for them as well before kickoff due to some suspensions. Regardless of whether there are anymore SC players that end up sitting this one out or not, we have to listen to a fantastic head coach in Larry Fedora when he says that this is one of the best front sevens that he has ever coached at Southern Mississippi. That’s saying something considering the fact that the Golden Eagles allowed 392.5 yards per game last season. However, keeping South Carolina Under 30.5 Points -115 at Hollywood Sportsbook shouldn’t be that difficult considering the fact that this is an offense that hasn’t been all that explosive over the course of time with QB Stephen Garcia under center.

Will Either Teams Score in the First 6 Minutes? (USC/Hawaii)
Of course they will. The Trojans are set to come out for blood in this game, and we can’t imagine that it is going to take more than six minutes for QB Matt Barkley to find the scoreboard in the first game of his sophomore season. This is a prop that should probably either be lined at -250 or so, or should be knocked down to about 4:00 or 4:30 or so. Hawaii’s only method of moving the football is through the air, which should result in a lot of clock stoppages as well. It’s an added bonus that the Warriors could score in the first six minutes, but we have no doubt that USC will. One team will score in the first six minutes (-140 at Hollywood Sportsbook) of this game!