College football Week 1 betting guide: Improved Hawaii adjusts odds

Hawaii struggled in its first season under coach Timmy Chang, and oddsmakers remained wary of the Rainbow Warriors entering last week’s opener.

But it didn’t take long for them to adjust.

Coming off its 35-28 loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday, Hawaii is a 3-point underdog at the South Point sportsbook when it hosts Stanford on Friday night.

The game opened Stanford -10 at South Point. Sportsbook director Chris Andrews said he took the game off the board during the Hawaii-Vanderbilt game Saturday night then reopened it afterward at Stanford -4.

“Hawaii looked a lot better than people figured they would,” Andrews said. “Even opening at minus-4, they took the four. And they’re taking the 3½. From (a) one-week performance.”

Hawaii is 7-0 against the spread in its past seven games as a home underdog against Pac-12 opponents.

The Rainbow Warriors were 3-10 in Chang’s debut but appeared to improve as the schedule went along, capped by a 31-25 victory over UNLV in the penultimate game of the season. Quarterback Brayden Schager returned after he started the final nine games as a sophomore and threw for 2,348 yards with 13 touchdowns.

Against Vanderbilt, Hawaii held a 391-297 advantage in total yards and had the ball with 2:14 remaining and a chance to tie the game before the Commodores sealed the victory with an interception. The Rainbow Warriors allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and gave up short fields on two other Vanderbilt scoring drives to fall behind 35-14 before rallying in the fourth quarter.

Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito reported a similar line movement for Friday’s game, with Stanford favored by three points on Thursday after the game opened Stanford -10½.

Hawkeyes search for offense

Iowa has been a popular under play for bettors, going 10-4 since late 2021. The Hawkeyes surpassed 30 points in one of their 13 games last season and averaged a paltry 17.7 points per game.

As a result, embattled offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz agreed to a reworked contract that requires the Hawkeyes to average 25 points this season. Fans and media have mockingly referred to the contract clause as the “Drive for 325,” which is how many total points Iowa needs to score over a 13-game season to average 25 points.

But there are also clear implications here for bettors, starting with Saturday’s game against visiting Utah State. What happens if the Hawkeyes have a chance to add to their score late? Will they run it up to help their scoring average? And how might oddsmakers build this knowledge into the spread or total?

Iowa added quarterback Cade McNamara and tight Erick All from Michigan along with wide receivers Kaleb Brown (Ohio State) and Seth Anderson (Charleston Southern) in an effort to boost its offense.

The No. 25-ranked Hawkeyes are 23½-point favorites at the Westgate SuperBook over Utah State, and the total is 43.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.