Fresno State enters play with an overall record of 9-4 (7-1 in conference) and have the third best overall record in the Mountain West Conference. The Bulldogs are coming off 17-14 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game on Dec. 2. A week prior to that game, Fresno State defeated Boise State, 28-17.
On the other side, Houston finished its regular season with an overall record of 7-4 (5-3 in conference) and with the fourth best overall record among all the teams in the American Athletic Conference. In their last game, the Cougars defeated Navy, 24-14, on Nov. 24.
The Hawai’i Bowl, or simply the Hawaii Bowl, has been played annually since 2002 at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii.
The Hawaii bowl is not the first bowl game to be played in Hawaii, though. The Hawaii Bowl succeeds the Poi Bowl (1936-39), the Pineapple Bowl (1940-41, 1947-52), Aloha Bowl (1982-2000) and the Oahu Bowl (1998-2000), but is not is associated with these bowls.
The game commonly features a matchup between a team from the Conference USA and a team from the MWC. However, teams from other conferences, such as the Pac-12 and The American, are also considered if they are eligible. In addition, if Hawai’i football is eligible for the bowl game, they get an automatic bid to play in the game.
This year’s game features The American and the MWC, as Houston and Fresno State will play each other for the first time ever. Fresno State will be playing in the Hawaii Bowl for the third time, where it has gone 0-2, while Houston will be playing in the game for the second time, where it has gone 0-1.
In last year’s Hawai’i Bowl, Hawai’i defeated Middle Tennessee, 52-35, on Christmas Eve. Hawai’i quarterback Dru Brown and Middle Tennessee wide receiver Richie James took home the MVP Awards for the game.
Fresno State will be playing in its first bowl game since 2014, where they lost to Rice, 30-6, in the Hawaii Bowl. Houston played in a bowl game last season, but lost to San Diego State, 34-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Houston’s offense will have a tough test when they face off against Fresno State’s stout defense. Houston’s offense relies heavily on the quarterback D’Eriq King, who poses a threat with both his arms and his legs. Through the air this season, King threw for 991 yards with 6 touchdowns and only 1 interception while completing 69.8 percent of his passes. On the ground, King ran for 341 yards and 8 touchdowns on 63 carries.
Fresno State will look to its quarterback to have a big game as well. Marcus McMaryion completed 61.1 percent of his passes this season for 2,384 yards and 14 touchdowns against 4 interceptions. In addition, the Cougars will rely on their running game, as they had three running backs to rush for over 450 yards on the season — Jordan Mims (609), Josh Hokit (519) and Ronnie Rivers (473).