| Year: | 2018 |
| Team: | Hawaii Rainbow Warriors |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Mountain West Conference |
| Division: | West Division |
| Short Conf: | MW |
| Record: | 8–6 |
| Conf Record: | 5–3 |
| Hc Year: | 3rd |
| Off Coach: | Brian Smith |
| Oc Year: | 3rd |
| Off Scheme: | Run and shoot |
| Def Coach: | Corey Batoon |
| Dc Year: | 1st |
| Def Scheme: | 4–2–5 |
| Stadium: | Aloha Stadium |
| Bowl: | Hawaii Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | L 14–31 vs. Louisiana Tech |
The 2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rainbow Warriors played their home games at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. They competed in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference and were led by third-year head coach Nick Rolovich. They finished the season 8–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech. The Rainbow Warriors clinched their first winning season since 2010 with a 31-30 overtime win at San Diego State, while also clinching a winning conference record in the process.
Listed in the order that they were released
| Fred Biletnikoff Award[1] | John Ursua | WR | JR | |
| Butkus Award[2] | Jahlani Tavai | LB | SR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy[3] | Jahlani Tavai | LB | SR | |
| Wuerffel Trophy[4] | Noah Borden | LS | SR |
During the Mountain West media days held July 24–25 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip, the Rainbow Warriors were predicted to finish in fifth place in the West Division.[5]
| West Division | |||
| 1 | Fresno State | 126 (16) | |
| 2 | San Diego State | 116 (6) | |
| 3 | UNLV | 78 | |
| 4 | Nevada | 72 | |
| 5 | Hawaii | 45 | |
| 6 | San Jose State | 25 | |
The Rainbow Warriors had one player selected to the preseason all-Mountain West team.[6]
Defense
Jahlani Tavai – LB
| Nick Rolovich[8] | Head Coach | Hawaii (2004) | 2016 | |
| Brian Smith[9] | Associate head coach / offensive coordinator / running backs | Hawaii (2005) | 2016 | |
| Mark Banker[10] | Assistant Head Coach / Inside Linebackers | Springfield (MA) (1978) | 2018 | |
| Corey Batoon[11] | Defensive coordinator / Safeties | Long Beach State (1991) | 2018 | |
| Michael Ghobrial | Special Teams Coordinator | UCLA (2011) | 2018 | |
| Craig Stutzmann | Passing Game Coordinator / quarterbacks | Hawaii (2002) | 2016 | |
| Mark Weber | Offensive Line | Cal Lutheran (1980) | 2018 | |
| Andre Allen | Wide Receivers | Ashford (2014) | 2018 | |
| Ricky Logo | Defensive Line | North Carolina State (1992) | 2018 | |
| Abe Elimimian[12] | Cornerbacks | Hawaii (2004) | 2015 | |
| Jacob Yoro[13] | Outside Linebackers / Nickelbacks | Hawaii (2008) | 2017 |
See also: 2018 Colorado State Rams football team.
See also: 2018 Navy Midshipmen football team.
Sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald was named Mountain West Offensive player of the week.[14] He finished 30–41 for 428 yards and six touchdowns.
See also: 2018 Rice Owls football team.
See also: 2018 Army Black Knights football team.
See also: 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team.
See also: 2018 San Jose State Spartans football team.
See also: 2018 Wyoming Cowboys football team and Hawaii–Wyoming football rivalry.
See also: 2018 BYU Cougars football team.
See also: 2018 Nevada Wolf Pack football team.
See also: 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team and Fresno State–Hawaii football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Utah State Aggies football team.
See also: 2018 UNLV Rebels football team.
See also: 2018 San Diego State Aztecs football team.
See also: 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team and 2018 Hawaii Bowl.
See also: 2019 NFL draft.
| 2 | 43 | LB | Detroit Lions | ||
| 7 | 236 | WR | Seattle Seahawks |