Hawaii Bowl
NEVADA (8-4) vs SMU (7-5)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24
8:00 PM EST -- ESPN TELEVISION
AOPR AVS FDS RUSH PASS TRN EDGE TO:
Nevada ....... 40.5 .. 41-27 .. 24-20 .. 362-115 .. 159-284 .. - 2 . Nevada
SMU ............ 37.2 .. 28-29 .. 19-20 .. 113-169 .. 267-235 .. + 1 . by 25.7 Pts
ANALYSIS
June Jones returns to Hawaii. That, of course, is the obvious lead story in this
game. As former head coach of the Hawaii Rainbows, he wrote a chapter that
may never be matched, & that includes the greatest turnaround in NCAA Div1A
history, when the 'Bows followed their 0-12 '98 mark, with a spectacular 9-4
log in '99, which included a 23-17 win over OregonSt in the Oahu Bowl, as 8½
pt dogs. That, by the way, was his initial season at Hawaii's helm. Simply
unbelievable! Well, he has nearly succeeded in duplicating that feat with the
'Stangs (altho it has taken him 2 years), as LY's 1-11 mark has morphed into
TY's 7-5 record, once more, the biggest turnaround in the nation this season,
with the result an SMU bowl spot for the first time since 1984. As can be seen
above, & much like his Hawaii era, the Ponies do it mainly overhead, behind
the duo of Mitchell & Padron. But, whereas in '08, when they ranked dead last
in the nation, overland (41 ypg), they've raised that mark by 72 ypg, with 1,125
RYs from McNeal. They're also 25 notches ahead of LY's 118th standing in
total "D". But that unit had better be at its absolute best, if it is to contain the
nation's most feared overland game. For the Wolf Pack of Nevada, this marks
their 5th straight bowl season, with just a single win (49-48) to show for their
efforts, including an embarrassing 114 RYs in a 42-35 loss to Maryland in LY's
Humanitarian. But TY, they are nearly unstoppable, behind the first-ever triad
of 1,000-yd rushers: Tuau, Kaepernick, & Lippincott. Try 7.8, 7.8, & 7.7 ypr for
that trio. Try 559, 454, 517, 461, & 574 RYs in an 8-game run, in which they
averaged 51.6 ppg. Jones, as a 2-TD dog is tempting, but not vs this machine.
PROPHECY: NEVADA 48 - Smu 24
RATING: 1