South Florida vs San Jose State Predictions | Hawaii Bowl Betting Preview For 12/24/24

South Florida vs San Jose State Betting Preview

Both South Florida and San Jose State went 2-2 to close out the college football regular season as these two head to Honolulu to clash in the Hawaii Bowl. Who will come out on top in the islands this season?

GoldSheet – The country’s longest-running sports betting newsletter – shares its thoughts on the matchup between the Bulls and Spartans.

Hawaii Bowl Details: South Florida vs San Jose State

Date:	December 24, 2024
Time:	8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT
Location:	Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu, HI
TV:	ESPN
Spread & Total:	San Jose State -3 | O/U 63.5

Hawaii Bowl odds above courtesy of DraftKings as of 10:00am ET on Monday, December 23

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Hawaii Bowl Betting Trends

Both teams went 6-6 against the spread this season. Five of South Florida’s last six games went over the total. The Bulls earned a 45-0 win over Syracuse in last year’s Boca Raton Bowl.

That was South Florida’s first bowl appearance since the 2018 season. San Jose State has lost its last three bowl games, but this will be the Spartans’ first under head coach Ken Niumatalolo.

San Jose State lost 24-14 to Coastal Carolina in the Hawaii Bowl last season. Niumatalolo went 6-5 in bowl games at Navy, but it’s been five years since he qualified for one with the Midshipmen.

Hawaii Bowl Analysis

This Christmas Eve showdown lost a little bit of luster when it was announced that San Jose State’s star receiver Nick Nash would not play.

Nash, a former quarterback turned receiver, led the nation in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this season.

Needless to say, he’s a big part of the Spartans’ offense. South Florida has been a bit of an enigma this season, because the Bulls have looked like a different team without starting QB Byrum Brown.

Reserve QB Bryce Archie has shown flashes over the second half of the season, but he has nine interceptions in the seven games that he has started.

Brown has seemingly been preparing to return from his leg injury for a while, but has not been cleared to return.

As of Sunday (12/22), USF head coach Alex Golesh said the job is Brown’s whenever he is ready to return but Golesh did not name a starter for Tuesday’s contest. 

Hawaii Bowl Prediction

The Bulls have done this song-and-dance over the last month of the regular season. Low confidence, but we’re not interested in laying three points with the Spartans in this matchup without Nash.

He was such an integral part of San Jose State’s offense, and his absence is likely to be felt. Wind is also likely going to be a factor in Honolulu.

We’ll take the team that prefers to operate on the ground (South Florida) over the team that likes to move the ball through the air (San Jose State).

Hawaii Bowl Prediction: South Florida +3

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