Christmas Steve: Two Nights That Will Shape the League

By Michael Blouse, The Stateline Gazette

The calendar says Christmas.The schedule says conference football.And for four teams spread across two nights and thousands of miles, the holidays offer no refuge—only clarity.

From Christmas Eve’s edge-of-your-seat duel between UTSA and UNLV to Christmas Day’s island test as Temple visits Hawaii, the league closes its holiday window with games that reveal exactly where teams stand—and where they don’t.

Christmas Eve: UTSA vs. UNLV — No Wrapping Paper Required

Christmas Eve usually belongs to tradition. Lights glow. Families gather. Time slows.

UTSA and UNLV won’t have that luxury.

They meet under the lights with something heavier than holiday sentiment hanging in the air: relevance. The West Division has driven the league’s narrative all season. UNLV wants back into that conversation. UTSA wants to prove it belongs there at all.

Oddsmakers reflect the tension. UTSA enters as a narrow 2.5-point favorite, with the total set at 61.5—numbers that suggest pace, points, and volatility. Still, Christmas Eve games have a habit of tightening when the moment arrives.

For UTSA, the formula is familiar. Control tempo. Avoid self-inflicted wounds. Lean on efficiency rather than spectacle. The Roadrunners rarely overwhelm opponents; they outlast them. Sustaining drives, staying balanced, and forcing UNLV to defend every blade of grass will be essential.

UNLV would prefer chaos.

The Rebels thrive in space and tempo, stretching the field horizontally and vertically, forcing defenses to make choices—and mistakes. If UNLV dictates pace early, this game can tilt quickly toward the high end of the total.

The night will hinge on a few defining contrasts:

• UNLV’s explosiveness vs. UTSA’s discipline

• UTSA’s drive sustainability vs. UNLV’s need for big plays

• Quarterback composure when the fourth quarter arrives and the holiday clock keeps ticking

  
  

Christmas Eve football strips away excuses. No energy shortcuts. No crowd-fueled momentum swings. Just execution, patience, and belief.

Prediction: UTSA 31, UNLV 27

Close. Uneasy. The kind of game decided in the final possessions—and one that sneaks just under the total. When the whistle blows, one team heads into Christmas morning satisfied. The other wakes up knowing a chance slipped away. On Christmas Eve, that feeling lingers.

Christmas Day: Temple at Hawaii — Football, Island Style

If Christmas Eve tightens, Christmas Day in Hawaii slows.

The sun drops. The trade winds cool. And improbably, insistently, football takes center stage while much of the mainland settles into leftovers and wrapping paper. Temple and Hawaii meet under the island lights in a game that feels equal parts reward and reckoning.

Oddsmakers see this one clearly. Hawaii enters as a 21.5-point favorite, with an over/under of 59.5—numbers that suggest separation and confidence. The Rainbow Warriors have carved out their place just below the West’s elite. Temple arrives still searching for traction.

“We know what the records say,” Temple head coach Grant Easterday said during the week. “But this isn’t about standings. It’s about playing a full, clean game against a team that punishes mistakes. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance.”

That last sentence matters. Hawaii has been ruthless when opponents slip.

Quarterback Micah Alejado has quietly stabilized the Rainbow Warriors’ offense with efficiency and composure. He may not overwhelm defenses, but he rarely gives them help.

Against a Temple defense that has struggled to get off the field, Alejado’s decision-making could determine whether this game stays competitive beyond halftime.

Hawaii head coach Steve Hultgren isn’t leaning into the holiday mood.

“Christmas or not, this is still conference football,” he said. “Temple’s better than their record. If we come out flat, they’ll make us pay.”

The supporting cast could open this game quickly. Landon Simms, the versatile back who stresses defenses both on the ground and through the air, remains a matchup problem Temple must solve early. If Simms finds space, Hawaii’s offense becomes harder to contain as the night wears on.

Temple’s path is narrow—but visible.

Tight end Peter Clarke will be central to the Owls’ plan, particularly on third down. Sustaining drives, shortening the game, and keeping Hawaii from stacking momentum in waves is the only way to keep this uncomfortable.

Defensively, Temple needs disruption. Not necessarily turnovers—though those would help—but pressure. Forcing Alejado off his first read. Contesting throws. Avoiding the busted coverages that turn manageable deficits into runaway scores.

“We’ve talked all week about discipline,” Easterday said. “Hawaii feeds off mistakes. If we’re sound, we can make this uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable may be the goal. But Hawaii doesn’t need pretty. It needs decisive.

Prediction: Hawaii 38, Temple 17

The Rainbow Warriors pull away late, covering the spread as Temple’s resistance fades in the fourth quarter. The total flirts with the number before settling just under.

Two Nights, One Message

Holiday football rarely delivers fireworks. More often, it delivers truth.

By the end of Christmas Eve, UTSA and UNLV will know exactly how thin the margin is at the top of the league. By the close of Christmas night in Hawaii, Temple and the Rainbow Warriors will understand whether belief—or separation—defines the weeks ahead.

One night brings tension.The next brings clarity.

And when the holidays end, the league will look a lot more honest than it did before them.