| Game Name: | Hawaii Bowl |
| Subheader: | 17th Hawaii Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | SoFi |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Aloha Stadium |
| City: | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Visitor School: | University of Hawaii |
| Visitor Name Short: | Hawaii |
| Visitor Nickname: | Rainbow Warriors |
| Visitor Record: | 8–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor Coach: | Nick Rolovich |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | Louisiana Tech University |
| Home Name Short: | Louisiana Tech |
| Home Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Home Conference: | C-USA |
| Home Coach: | Skip Holtz |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 21 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Jaylon Ferguson (DE, Louisiana Tech) & Kendall Hune (DE, Hawaii)[1] |
| Odds: | Hawaii by 1[2] |
| Referee: | Greg Sujack (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 30,911 |
| Payout: | 1,000,000 [3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison and Allison Williams (ESPN) Kevin Winter and Brad Edwards (ESPN Radio) |
The 2018 Hawaii Bowl was a college football bowl game being played on December 22, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii.[4] It was the 17th edition of the Hawaii Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. This was the first time since 2007 that the bowl was not played on Christmas Eve.[5] Sponsored by the SoFi personal finance company, the game was officially called the SoFi Hawaii Bowl.[6]
The game was played between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West Conference and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Conference USA (C–USA). The teams had faced each other 10 times, with Hawaii holding an 8–2 lead in the series; both teams previously were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
This was Louisiana Tech's first trip to the Hawaii Bowl; it was Hawaii's eighth time in this bowl.
See main article: 2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team. Hawaii secured a spot in the bowl with a win on November 17 over the UNLV Rebels, ending a four-game losing streak and assuring the Rainbow Warriors of a bowl-eligible winning record, as they reached 7–5 with one game left to play.[7] Hawaii subsequently defeated the San Diego State Aztecs, ending the regular season with an 8–5 overall record, 5–3 in conference. The Rainbow Warriors' participation in the Hawaii Bowl was confirmed by bowl organizers on November 28.[8]
See main article: 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team. Louisiana Tech announced their acceptance of a Hawaii Bowl bid on November 28.[9] The Bulldogs compiled a 7–5 regular season record, 5–3 in conference.
| Statistics | HAW | LT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 23 | |
| Plays–yards | 66–226 | 70–453 | |
| Rushes–yards | 32–58 | 38–168 | |
| Passing yards | 168 | 285 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–34–3 | 19–31–1 | |
| Time of possession | 29:23 | 30:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Passing | 10/20, 85 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Fred Holly III | 9 car, 57 yds | |
| Receiving | Jason-Matthew Sharsh | 5 rec, 67 yds, 1 TD | |
| Louisiana Tech | Passing | 19/31, 285 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Jaqwis Dancy | 15 car, 57 yds | |
| Receiving | Teddy Veal | 8 rec, 107 yds |