Bowl season is upon us and the Mountain West is off to an electrifying start. Nevada and Tulane faced off in the Potato Bowl, while Hawaii faced Houston in the New Mexico Bowl. Let’s see how these teams fared in their respective bowl games.
The Good:
Nevada
The Wolf Pack were clearly the more prepared team. They had a dominant first half, taking a 26-7 lead into the locker room. The blustery conditions may have been a little overwhelming for Tulane in the early going, but their offense settled down in the second half. It was too little, too late for the Green Wave. Nevada pulled off the 38-27 victory. Lee and Taua both had over 100 yards rushing and Carson Strong added 271 yards through the air. Nevada could be a favorite in the Mountain West next season.
Hawaii
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a pretty convincing win. The Rainbow Warriors traveled all the way to Texas and completely shut down a Houston squad that has a capable offense. I was very skeptical of the Todd Graham hire (I actually hated it), but the Rainbow Warriors did not regress like I expected. Hawaii left Texas with a 28-14 victory and did it while only managing 267 yards of total offense. The big question will be can Hawaii overcome their stadium situation and draw enough recruits in to keep the momentum going?
The Bad:
Tulane
The Green Wave learned what it was like to play a bowl game in Boise, Idaho in December. While the weather wasn’t awful, it was a cold and blustery day. It was an ugly first half for Tulane, but to their credit, they made some adjustments. Tt was an entertaining second half, but it was too little, too late. The Mountain West really needed this win.
The Ugly:
Houston
I was shocked when the Cougars landed Dana Holgorsen. I thought it was a great hire, but his tenure has been a massive disappointment to this point. Houston could not generate any offense against a Hawaii defense that has allowed everyone to run against them. It was another great win for the Mountain West who went 2-0 against the AAC.
That’s it for this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” What were some moments from the first week of the bowl season that stuck out to you?