There are far worse places to spend the holidays than the islands of Hawaii, which is where the San Jose State Spartans and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will meet in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday. It's a matchup of two 7-5 teams looking to end their seasons on a high note.
As you might expect from two schools located on opposite coasts, this will mark the first meeting between the programs. However, bowl games are nothing new for either team. San Jose State will be playing in a bowl for the second consecutive season and for the third time in the last four. It will be the Spartans first appearance in the Hawaii Bowl.
As for Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers joined the FBS for the 2017 season but have quickly adapted. The Hawaii Bowl will be the program's fourth-straight postseason appearance but first west of the Mississippi River.
How to watch Hawaii Bowl live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 23 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex -- Honolulu, Hawaii
TV: ESPN | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo's Pro, Elite and Premier plans.
Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State: Need to know
San Jose State finished the season strong: San Jose State started the season 1-5, but the record was misleading. The losses came to USC, Oregon State, Toledo, Air Force and Boise State. USC and Oregon State are Pac-12 teams, Toledo reached the MAC Championship Game, Boise won the Mountain West and Air Force was one of the best teams in the country to start the season. The back half of the schedule was much kinder, and as a result the Spartans come into the Hawaii Bowl winners of six straight. That streak includes a 37-31 win over the UNLV team that played for a Mountain West title.
Coastal Carolina will not have QB Grayson McCall: It will be something of a skeleton crew for Coastal Carolina as Tim Beck's Chanticleers have a lot of players in the transfer portal. McCall is the one with the most name recognition. McCall has been the face of the program the last few years, but he transferred to NC State following the end of the regular season.
This is the first time since 2018 the Hawaii Bowl won't be played on Christmas Eve: This game has become something of a holiday tradition, but sadly this will be the third time in four years the game will not be played on Christmas Eve. The game wasn't played in either 2020 (COVID-19) or 2021 (canceled when Hawaii backed out). This year, it won't be on for any reason other than the calendar. With Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday, the NFL will take over instead.
Hawaii Bowl prediction, picks
Odds via SportsLine consensus
San Jose State opened as a touchdown favorite but the line moved to double digits when it was discovered how many players the Chanticleers would be missing. While I suspect San Jose State is the side you want to be on, it's not easy to trust anybody as a double-digit favorite in a bowl game without high stakes. I prefer to go after the total here. It's hard to see Coastal scoring a lot of points no matter the outcome, so the under seems like the best play. Pick: Under 54
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