What: 17th SoFi Hawai'i Bowl
Who: Hawai'i (8-5, 5-3 MW) vs. Louisiana Tech (7-5, 5-3 C-USA)
When: Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018
Time: 5:30 p.m. HT
Where: Honolulu, O'ahu
Stadium: Aloha Stadium (50,000)
Television: ESPN. Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Allison Williams (sidelines).
National Radio: ESPN Radio. Kevin Winter (play-by-play).
Local Radio: ESPN 1420 AM. Bobby Curran (play-by-play), John Veneri (analyst), Mark Veneri (sideline). Chris Hart and Gary Dickman hosts the "Countdown To Kickoff" at 3:30 p.m. HT. KNUI (Maui), KPUA (Hawai'i Island), and KTOH (Kaua'i).
Video Streaming: ESPN.com/watch
Audio Streaming: ESPN1420am.com/Sideline Hawaii app
Live Stats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Series Information: UH leads 8-2
 
Game Storylines

• UH is making its eighth SoFi Hawai'i Bowl appearance and second in the last three years. This is UH's 12th overall bowl. Hawai'i is 4-3 in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl and 6-5 overall in bowl games.
• Hawai'i has faced Conference USA teams five times in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl with a 3-2 record in those games with wins over Houston (2003), UAB (2004), and Middle Tennessee (2016) and losses to Tulane (2002) and Tulsa (2010).
• UH has scored 50 points or more in three of its four SoFi Hawai'i Bowl victories, scoring an average of 51.5 points in those games.
• UH and LA Tech were once members of the Western Athletic Conference where they met every year from 2003-11. Hawai'i leads the all-time series 8-2 including a 44-26 victory in the teams' last meeting in Ruston, La., in 2011.
• UH is 5-0 vs. LA Tech in games played in Honolulu. Although UH is listed as the visiting team for the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl, it is still considered a home game for NCAA statistical purposes.
• Both current head coaches - UH's Nick Rolovich and Tech's Skip Holtz - are 1-0 in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl. Rolovich led his Warriors to a 52-35 victory over Middle Tennessee in 2016 while Holtz guided East Carolina to a 41-38 win over Boise State in 2007.
• C-USA teams are 7-3 in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl while Mountain West teams are 3-3. MW teams have won the last three SoFi Hawai'i Bowls (San Diego State in 2015, UH in 2016, Fresno State in 2017). 

 
UH Season Highlights

• UH is assured of a winning record for the first time since 2010. UH also has its most wins (8) since 2010.
• UH is among the nation's leaders for biggest turnaround with five more wins than last season. Only Georgia Southern (+7), Cincinnati (+6), and Syracuse and Baylor (+5) have bigger turnaround seasons.
• UH posted its first winning record in Mountain West games (5-3) and its second-place finish in the West Division is tied for the team's highest-ever MW finish (2016).
• UH's wins over UNLV and Wyoming gave them possession of the Island Showdown and Paniolo trophies. UH currently possesses all three of its rivalry trophies along with the Kuter Trophy (vs. Air Force).
• UH ranks ninth nationally in passing offense (321.2 ypg), its highest average since 2010, which is also the last time they finished with a winning record.
• UH won six of its first seven games for its best start since 2007, posting a 6-1 record or better for only the fourth time since becoming Division I (1981, '92, and 2007). UH started 3-0 for the first time since 2007.
• During the season, UH received votes in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches poll for the first time since the 2011 season.
• UH snapped long losing streaks to Colorado State (7 games) and San Diego State (6 games), both of which marked the Warriors' first Mountain West victory in the series.

 
LA Tech Season Highlights

• Louisiana Tech finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and 5-3 mark in Conference-USA, tying for runner-up in the West Division.
• LA Tech is appearing in its fifth straight bowl game, a first in program history, and 11th all-time bowl.
• Tech is the only team in Conference USA to win at least seven games in each of the last five seasons and only team in Conference USA to appear in five straight bowl games.
• Tech is one of only four teams in the nation to win four straight bowl games (along with Georgia, Utah and Wisconsin).
• Head coach Skip Holtz is in his sixth season with the Bulldogs — the longest head coaching tenure of his career — and boast a 45-33 record at LA Tech. His career record is 133-104, which includes a five-year stint at East Carolina, where he led the 2007 squad to a Hawai'i Bowl victory over Boise State.
• Four of the team's seven wins this year came on the road. LA Tech is one of only nine teams in the nation to play seven road games and just five at home. 
• Four of Tech's seven wins came in one-possession games. The Bulldogs are 4-1 on the season in games decided by 8 points or less.
• Senior DE Jaylon Ferguson leads the nation in sacks (15.0) and is second in tackles-for-loss (23.5). He is 1.5 sacks away from tying the all-time NCAA career record (44) held by Terrell Suggs and is the nation's active career leader in career sacks (42.5).