Vanderbilt vs. Hawaii Odds: Vanderbilt Given 91% Chance to Beat Hawaii in Week 0
Vanderbilt and Hawaii play a NCAAF Week 0 game on Saturday afternoon. Vanderbilt is given a 91% chance to beat Hawaii this weekend. Jason Radowitz provides the latest Vanderbilt vs. Hawaii odds.
Jason Radowitz - August 25, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT
5 minVanderbilt vs. Hawaii Odds: Vanderbilt Given 91% Chance to Beat Hawaii in Week 0
The Vanderbilt Commodores were just one win away from earning a bowl game last year. They're just 7-17 under Clark Lea, but there's been some serious improvement with this SEC team.
The Commodores defeated Florida, 31-24, and added a victory over Kentucky, 24-21. They're good enough to win games against the middle of the SEC. The offense was good, with Mike Wright at quarterback last year. But now he's at Mississippi State. This is AJ Swann's team.
He'll need a higher completion percentage if Vanderbilt wants to do damage this year. However, playing Hawaii first should give Swann confidence heading into the more challenging portion of the schedule.
While Vanderbilt continues to put its foot on the gas, Hawaii takes steps backward. The Rainbow Warriors went 3-10 under Timmy Chang in his first year as head coach. They finished just 2-6 in the Mountain West after so many players left the program before the season began.
Let's dive deeper into this matchup between Hawaii and Vanderbilt below.
Vanderbilt vs. Hawaii Date, Time, How To Watch
Date: Saturday, August 26
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN
How to watch: SECN
Vanderbilt vs. Hawaii Preview
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are known for throwing the football. They'll start Brayden Schager, who threw 13 touchdowns and ten interceptions last year. Schager will rack up the yards. He did that throughout the second half of last year. But he's got to be more accurate, especially against an SEC-caliber team like Vanderbilt.
Last year, with Schager at quarterback, Hawaii's offense was one of the least efficient teams in the nation in the air. They also couldn't move the ball on third down. They never had any players with big-play ability, except for Tylan Hines, who added seven yards per carry.
On the other hand, Vanderbilt still has Will Sheppard as wide receiver. He hauled in 60 passes for 776 yards and nine touchdowns. He'll return with last year's team's other three top receivers. Therefore, I'd expect some improvement in the passing game.
Last year's team had Mike Wright running the football as quarterback. Swann won't do that. But the Commodores added Ray Davis from Kentucky, who should be a quality No. 1 running back.
Meanwhile, the defense should only improve under Cleak Lea. It wasn't good last year. Vanderbilt is in a challenging conference in the SEC, but the defense only added 17 sacks on the season. Fourteen of them came in five games. In all of the other games, Vanderbilt had just three sacks.
But with transfers like Aeneas DiCosmo and Prince Kollie. The defensive line should bring more pressure than last year.
Vanderbilt vs. Hawaii Odds
The Vanderbilt Commodores are sitting at -17.5 for their home game against Hawaii. The expectations are growing for the Commodores, but Hawaii's expectations are still pretty low.
Vanderbilt believes it can make a bowl game. Meanwhile, Hawaii is likely still in a rebuilding phase.
That's why the Commodores are -1050 on the moneyline. They've got a 91% chance of winning this game outright.
Meanwhile, the total is at 56. I'd like to imagine that Vanderbilt's defense is better than last year's unit. I'm not too high on Hawaii's offense. It takes two to tango and hit the Over. Therefore, I'd roll with the Under in this game.
Team | Point Spread | ML Odds | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|
Hawaii | +17.5 | +675 | O 56 |
Vanderbilt | -17.5 | -1050 | U 56 |
College Football Odds
