Hawaii Bowl Preview: Bryant Moniz Looks To Lead Warriors Past Tulsa

The Hawaii Bowl will be played between the Hawaii Warriors and Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 8:00 pm tonight, on Christmas Eve.

Bryant Moniz and the Warriors are the favorites playing at home, but G.J. Kinne and Tulsa can't be overlooked.

It's one of the first games of college football bowl season and should be an absolute shootout.

So tune in tonight to the Hawaii Bowl and get ready to see a whole lot of points.

Here's a quick preview of tonight's game, giving you everything you need to know about each team.

This is a huge mismatch.

Hawaii is the nation's ninth-best scoring offense (39.9 points per game), mostly due to its trademark passing game.

The Warriors throw for 387.8 yards per game, good for first in the country.

Tulsa is 119th (of 120) in passing yards allowed per game, at 305.7.

So if you didn't pick up on that, this is the country's top passing offense against its second-worst pass defense.

There could be records set here.

Moniz is the guy that makes this Hawaii passing offense work, putting up Colt Brennan-esque stats under center.

He's thrown for an NCAA-leading 4,629 yards with 36 TD and 11 INT.

The Warriors star has only failed to reach 300 yards passing three times and has topped 500 yards twice.

Tulsa is in trouble.

This isn't as bad of a mismatch, but it still is one.

Tulsa has the nation's 10th-highest scoring offense at 39.7 points per game (just 0.2 less than Hawaii), but it boasts a much more balanced attack than the Warriors.

The Golden Hurricane have the country's 16th-ranked passing offense, as well as its 15th-ranked rushing offense.

So while Tulsa's offense might be more diversified than Hawaii's, the difference comes on defense.

Tulsa gives up 29.9 points per game (84th nationally), but Hawaii gives up just 22.7 (43rd).

The main difference?

Hawaii gives up 344.2 yards per game as opposed to Tulsa's 442.6.

This game will come down to the quarterbacks.

Kinne doesn't have Moniz's numbers, but no one does.

He's thrown for 3,307 yards with 28 TD and 10 INT and has only been held under 200 yards passing once.

So while he's a little behind Moniz statistically, don't underestimate Kinne.

No one on either of these teams is leaving early, so I'll only consider the top seniors on each team.

Greg Salas is the Warriors' top receiver, and don't be surprised when the 6'2, 210-lb. receiver makes a name for himself in the NFL.

He has an astounding 106 receptions for 1,675 yards and 12 TD, and even in Hawaii's high-flying offense, that's pretty impressive.

Teams might stray away from him thinking that he's a "system" player, but they should know better after seeing former Hawaii star Davone Bess become a solid NFL receiver.

Salas will probably be selected somewhere in the middle rounds.

Tulsa doesn't have much in the way of draft prospects either, but it does have Scouts Inc.'s third-ranked senior fullback in Charles Clay.

He has good upside as an athlete, but at 232 lbs., he'll need to bulk up if he wants to become an NFL fullback.

If he can put on some pounds, he should earn a sixth or seventh-round pick or at the very least a post-draft signing.

The Warriors are the only team to beat Nevada this season.

If it weren't for Hawaii's 27-21 win, Nevada could be No. 3 or 4 in the BCS right now.

Tulsa comes into tonight's game on a six-game winning streak.

One of those wins came against Brian Kelly and Notre Dame.

Tulsa brings the more balanced attack, but I just don't see how the country's second-worst pass defense can stop its best passing offense.

Both schools will put up a lot of points, and this game should be exciting.

But I just can't see Tulsa winning.

Hawaii 56, Tulsa 31

Check out a video of Hawaii's explosive offense and see what you're in for tonight.

Check out Tulsa's struggles in a 65-28 early-season loss to Oklahoma State, like Hawaii a team with a prolific, pass-heavy offense.

Matt Rudnitsky is a student at the University of Michigan and a Featured Columnist/writing intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Mattrud