Middle Tennessee State, which features one of the top passing offenses in the nation, emerged Friday as a front-runner to play the University of Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.
The pairing for the Dec. 24 game at Aloha Stadium could be announced as soon as Saturday night.
In the meantime, officials in the bowl industry cautioned, the matchup is subject to change. “There are still a lot of moving pieces to this year’s bowl picture,” said a participant in Friday’s Football Bowl Association conference call.
Hawaii Bowl executive director Daryl Garvin declined comment except to say that a Conference USA opponent was likely. ESPN Events vice president Pete Derzis confirmed MTSU “is under consideration.”
The Blue Raiders, who won six of their first eight games before quarterback Brent Stockstill suffered a broken collarbone, finished the regular season with an 8-4 record (5-3 Conference USA).
Stockstill, who ranks seventh in the nation in passing yardage per game (311.2 yards) despite missing parts of four games, is expected to be back for the bowl game.
He has completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,801 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also rushed for 232 yards on 42 carries.
The head coach is his father, Rick, a former Florida State (1979-’81) quarterback.
Receiver Richie James is third in the FBS in receiving yards at 1,463 and 15th in receiving touchdowns with 11.
While the Blue Raiders are 12th in the nation in passing (317 yards per game) and 16th in scoring offense (40.1 points per game), they rank 101st among 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in scoring defense at 34.4 points per game. MTSU’s marquee win was 51-45 over Missouri.
UH and MTSU have met once, a 35-14 Hawaii victory in 1993.
UH will receive a bowl bid with a 6-7 record because there are not enough eligible teams to fill the 80 openings for 40 bowls. Eligible teams will fill 74 or 75 slots, depending whether Louisiana Lafayette (5-6) wins Saturday. If South Alabama (5-6) wins it will take the next slot, followed by UH.
Then, under NCAA protocol, teams with 5-7 records and ranked by Academic Progress Rating, will fill out the lineup.
In a further twist, UH might not have been available to the Hawaii Bowl because the Mountain West Conference already has six bowl-eligible teams to fill its six contracted bowls. But the MWC has a backup agreement with the Phoenix-based Cactus Bowl in the event that either the Pac-12 or Big 12 are unable to supply a team and the Pac-12 will come up short.
As for the Hawaii Bowl, Garvin said, “They play really good offensive football in C-USA that’s always exciting. That’s what I’m rooting for.”
