Hawaii vs. Arizona Prediction, Odds & Expert Picks: College Football Week 1 Best Bets

Today, we’re here to tackle our Hawaii vs. Arizona prediction for college football's Week 1 as we identify the top college football picks for your betting card. Hawaii already has a game under its belt with a home win over Stanford last week, but this game should be tougher.

Arizona is a 17.5-point betting favorite over Hawaii. It’s the Wildcats’ opener at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., and you can tune into the action at 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT/HBO Max). Make sure to check out the rest of our college football predictions for Week 1.

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🏈 Hawaii vs. Arizona expert picks & predictions

College football expert picks made 30; odds subject to change.

• Moneyline pick: Arizona to win (-800 via Caesars) ⭐
• Against the spread pick: Arizona -17.5 (-110 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐
• Over/Under pick: Under 53 (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

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📝 Hawaii vs. Arizona preview & best bet

Track the latest college football scores for line movement and matchup info.

⬇️ Under 53 -110 ⭐⭐⭐

Hawaii’s base nickel defense helped it beat Stanford last week, but it also gave up 177 rushing yards on 43 attempts. That led to Stanford possessing the football for a whopping 36 minutes of action. Since Hawaii will now face an Arizona squad with a far more imposing offensive line, I suspect a similar outcome is in store for us on Saturday.

While the Wildcats should be able to find paydirt a few times on Saturday, it will likely come after long, methodical drives that chew away the clock, which is exactly what you want when targeting an Under. The team’s new offensive coordinator, Seth Doege, served in the same capacity at Marshall last year and opted to run 59.7% of the time, 16th-most in the nation.

I have serious questions about Arizona’s defense, but Hawaii isn’t an imposing opponent. The Rainbow Warriors averaged just 4.5 yards per play versus a bad Stanford defense last week. I do not expect much scoring from them here, leaving a likely slow-paced Arizona offense to push us over. Back the Under 53.5 for -115 (53.5% implied win probability) at DraftKings for an $8.70 profit.

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💰 Best Hawaii vs. Arizona player prop bet

Our college football player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.

⬆️ Ismail Mahdi Over 59.5 rushing yards (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If the Wildcats get things going on the ground against Hawaii’s defense, it’ll likely be running back Ismail Mahdi who does the bulk of the work. Mahdi ran for an impressive 156 yards in last year’s home opener for Texas State en route to an average of 82.6 rushing yards per game. 

Mahdi now joins an offense led by coordinator Seth Doege, who loves to run the ball. Last year, Doege’s starting running back, A.J. Turner, averaged 78.5 rushing yards per contest. I suspect he is licking his chops for this matchup against Hawaii’s base nickel unit.

Not every sportsbook is taking action on the player props for Saturday’s Hawaii vs. Arizona game, but you can find Mahdi at -115 (53.5%) to go over 59.5 rushing yards at ESPN BET. That would yield a tidy $8.70 profit on a simple $10 bet.

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📊 Hawaii vs. Arizona odds: Week 1

College football odds update live in real time.

📈 Hawaii vs. Arizona betting odds analysis

The market has shown increased confidence in Arizona. The spread for this one opened at Arizona -13.5, but it has since been bet up to Arizona -17.5 – or Arizona -18.5, depending upon where you look. The Wildcats’ moneyline odds have also improved from -550 to -800. I don’t expect much buyback on Hawaii, so don’t be surprised if the needle continues to edge up now that we’re over the key number of 17.

The total has moved far less than the spread. It opened at 53.5, but it has since dropped to 52.5 at most of our best sports betting sites. You can still find an outlier 53.5 here and there, which is what I recommend wagering on if you can. Don’t be surprised if this one closes close to the key number of 51.

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🚑 Hawaii vs. Arizona injuries

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📺 Hawaii vs. Arizona game info

• When: Saturday, Aug. 30
• Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET 
• Where: Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Ariz.)
• How to watch: TNT/HBO Max

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❓ Hawaii vs. Arizona FAQs

Who is favored to win Hawaii vs. Arizona?

Arizona is favored to beat Hawaii in Saturday’s Hawaii vs. Arizona matchup as the line continues to move in the Wildcats’ favor.

What is the spread for Hawaii vs. Arizona?

The spread for Hawaii vs. Arizona is Arizona -17.5, up from the opening number of Arizona -13.5.

What is the Over/Under for Hawaii vs. Arizona?

The Over/Under for Hawaii vs. Arizona comes in at 52.5 after opening at 53.5.

What are the best bets for Hawaii vs. Arizona?

My best bets for Hawaii vs. Arizona are the Under 53 for -110 (52.4%) at DraftKings and running back Ismail Mahdi to go Over 59.5 rushing yards.

When is the Hawaii vs. Arizona game?

Hawaii vs. Arizona gets underway on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 10:30 p.m. (TNT/HBO Max).

How do college football odds work?

When betting on college football, the point spread shows how many points the favorite needs to win by in order to cash the bet. For example, a favorite of -3 must win by more than 3 points to cover the spread, while an underdog at +3 must win outright or lose by fewer than 3 points to cover the spread.

Moneyline odds represent the payout for picking the outright winner (+200 means a $100 bet wins $200, while -200 means a $200 bet wins $100). Over/Unders let you wager on whether the combined total will be higher or lower than the set number.

You can determine the payouts and implied probabilities for any wager - or convert odds to different formats - with our odds converter.

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