2019 Hawaii Bowl

2019 SoFi Hawaii Bowl
18th Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors BYU Cougars (9–5) (7–5) Mountain West Independent 38 34 Head coach:  Nick Rolovich Head coach:  Kalani Sitake
1 2 3 4 Total Hawaii 14 17 0 7 38 BYU 7 17 7 3 34
Date	December 24, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	Aloha Stadium
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii
MVP	Cole McDonald (QB, Hawaii) & Zach Wilson (QB, BYU)[1]
Favorite	BYU by 2.5[2]
Referee	Tim O'Dey (MAC)[3]
Attendance	21,582[a]
Payout	US$1,200,000[6]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Announcers	ESPN: Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) ESPN Radio: Kevin Winter (play-by-play), Brad Edwards & Trevor Matich (analysts)

The 2019 Hawaii Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 24, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. local HST) on ESPN.^[7] It was the 18th edition of the Hawaii Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by the SoFi personal finance company, the game was officially known as the SoFi Hawaii Bowl. This was also the final college football game at Aloha Stadium, as the stadium was closed to public events due to potential issues with the stadium, and the game was moved to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex starting in 2022 after the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.

Teams

The game was played between Hawaii of the Mountain West Conference, and BYU, an FBS independent. This was the 32nd meeting in this rivalry that dates back to 1930, and first in the postseason.^[8] Both teams were previously members of the Western Athletic Conference; BYU from 1962 to 1998, and Hawaii from 1979 to 2011. BYU led the rivalry series, 23–8.^[9]

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Main article: 2019 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

Hawaii entered the bowl with a 9–5 record (5–3 in conference). The Rainbow Warriors finished atop the West Division of the Mountain West Conference, with the same conference win–loss record as San Diego State, whom they defeated during the regular season. Hawaii accepted their bowl invitation following their loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. This was their third Hawaii Bowl appearance under head coach Nick Rolovich, having won in 2016 and lost in 2018. Overall, this was the 13th bowl game for Hawaii (ninth Hawaii Bowl), with a prior record of 6–6 (4–4 in prior Hawaii Bowls).

BYU Cougars

Main article: 2019 BYU Cougars football team

BYU entered the bowl with a 7–5 record, having started the season 2–4, then winning five consecutive games, and losing to San Diego State in their regular season finale. Led by head coach Kalani Sitake, the Cougars accepted an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl on November 16.^[10] This was BYU's first Hawaii Bowl appearance, and their second postseason game in Honolulu; they played in the 1992 Aloha Bowl, where they fell to Kansas by three points.^[11]

Game summary

2019 SoFi Hawaii Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawaii	14	17	0	7	38
BYU	7	17	7	3	34

at Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii

• Date: Tuesday, December 24, 2019
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. HST)
• Game weather: Partly cloudy • Temperature: 83 °F (28 °C) • Wind: S 11 mph
• Game attendance: 21,582
• Referee: Tim O'Dey
• TV announcers (ESPN): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Game information

First Quarter (7:32) HAW – Cole McDonald 7 yard pass to Jared Smart, Ryan Meskell kick (Drive: 10 plays, 82 yards, 5:09; Hawaii 7–0) (4:55) HAW – Cole McDonald 40 yard pass to Jared Smart, Ryan Meskell kick (Drive: 2 plays, 40 yards, 0:51; Hawaii 14–0) (0:54) BYU – Lopini Katoa 1 yard rush, Jake Oldroyd kick (Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 3:57; Hawaii 14–7) Second Quarter (13:33) HAW – Cole McDonald 1 yard rush, Ryan Meskell kick (Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 2:17; Hawaii 21–7) (9:42) BYU – Zach Wilson 1 yard rush, Jake Oldroyd kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:51; Hawaii 21–14) (5:50) HAW – Ryan Meskell 46 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards, 3:46; Hawaii 24–14) (3:14) BYU – Micah Simon 11 yard rush, Jake Oldroyd kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:34; Hawaii 24–21) (1:16) HAW – Cole McDonald 18 yard pass to Jason-Matthew Sharsh, Ryan Meskell kick (Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 1:55; Hawaii 31–21) (0:18) BYU – Jake Oldroyd 37 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 0:58; Hawaii 31–24) Third Quarter (11:58) BYU – Zach Wilson 2 yard rush, Jake Oldroyd kick (Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:39; Tied 31–31) Fourth Quarter (14:37) BYU – Jake Oldroyd 20 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 54 yards, 3:09; BYU 34–31) (1:17) HAW – Cole McDonald 24 yard pass to Nick Mardner, Ryan Meskell kick (Drive: 4 plays, 71 yards, 0:44; Hawaii 38–34)

Statistics

Statistics	HAW	BYU
First downs	19	29
Plays–yards	74–495	81–505
Rushes–yards	27–2	40–231
Passing yards	493	274
Passing: comp–att–int	28–47–0	24–41–1
Time of possession	29:29	30:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Hawaii	Passing	Cole McDonald	28/47, 493 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Miles Reed	10 carries, 17 yards
	Receiving	JoJo Ward	7 receptions, 159 yards
BYU	Passing	Zach Wilson	24/40, 274 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Tyler Allgeier	8 carries, 77 yards
	Receiving	Matt Bushman	6 receptions, 91 yards

Notes

1. Official attendance: 21,582;^[4] turnstile attendance: 19,539^[5]

References

1. @hawaiiwworld (December 25, 2019). "Cole McDonald raises the MVP paddle for #HawaiiFB and Nick Rolovich presents his players with the @HawaiiBowl trophy" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
2. "Hawai'i vs. BYU - Game Summary - December 24, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
3. "2019-20 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
4. "Hawai'i vs. BYU - Game Summary". ESPN. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
5. "BYU 34, UH 38 - FINAL". statbroadcast.com. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019. Notes page
6. "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
7. "2019-20 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, times, TV channels". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
8. "Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. BYU Cougars football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
9. "Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. BYU Cougars football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
10. Hansen, Jeff. "Aloha! BYU Officially Accepts SoFi Hawaii Bowl Bid". CougarSportsInsider.com. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
11. Robinson, Jon (December 4, 2000). "1992 Aloha Bowl: Kansas 23, BYU 20". Deseret News. Retrieved November 18, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Game program via issuu.com
• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com