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Desmond Howard Picks Hawaii as Superdog over Arizona

Former Heisman Trophy winner and Superbowl Most Valuable Player Desmond Howard picked Hawaii as his superdog at Arizona on Saturday.
ByAlan Rubenstein|
Lee Corso gives the thumbs up after picking Ohio State to win while, from left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Archie Griffin, and Kirk Herbstreit sit on the set of ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from the campus of Ohio State prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan State Spartans in Columbus on Nov. 21, 2015.
Lee Corso gives the thumbs up after picking Ohio State to win while, from left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Archie Griffin, and Kirk Herbstreit sit on the set of ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from the campus of Ohio State prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan State Spartans in Columbus on Nov. 21, 2015. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN College Gameday analyst Desmond Howard selected Hawaii as his superdog against Arizona on Saturday night. Arizona is over a two-touchdown favorite against Hawaii depending on the sportsbook. FanDuel lists Arizona as a 15.5 point favorite on Saturday night versus Hawaii.

ESPN lists Arizona as a 14.5 point favorite and Howard mentioned on Gameday that the Wildcats were favored by 16.5. Arizona was favored by as many as 17.5 points in the FanDuel Sportsbook earlier this week. Arizona had a power conference worst 2-10 record against the point spread in 2024.

Arizona beat New Mexico 61-39 as a 28-point favorite in the 2024 season opener in their last game against a Mountain West opponent. The only two games Arizona covered in 2024 were a 23-10 win as a 7.5-point underdog at Utah and a 27-3 victory as a 1.0-point favorite versus Houston.

Arizona has won five of its six games versus Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors won 45-38 in 2019 when the teams last played. Arizona was an 11.0-point favorite when they lost at Hawaii in 2019. Arizona has won three consecutive games straight up against Mountain West Opponents.

"I'm taking Arizona, they play Hawaii. I'm picking Hawaii to win the game. Arizona is favored by 16.5. They're 5-10 Arizona versus Mountain West teams and 0-2 versus Hawaii. (Howard likely meant versus the point spread.) "
Desmond Howard, ESPN Gameday

The last Arizona loss to a Mountain West opponent was a 38-14 defeat to San Diego State in the second game of the 2021 season. Hawaii is searching for its second consecutive win against a Power Conference opponent after winning their week zero season opener 23-20 versus Stanford.

Saturday is the second game Hawaii will play against an opponent while they are a member of the Big XII conference. Hawaii previously played Arizona State, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Houston and Utah before they joined the Big XII. Hawaii previously lost to a Big XII team 31-13 to Colorado in 2010.

Arizona is 16-8 all-time versus Mountain West opponents straight up and 8-3 at home. Arizona head coach Brent Brennan spent 13 years in the Mountain West as an assistant coach at San Jose State from 2005 through 2010 and as a head coach with the Spartans from 2017 through 2023.

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