2009 Hawaii Bowl
June Jones returns to the sidelines in Hawaii, this time as head coach of SMU when the Mustangs face the Nevada Wolf Pack in the Hawaii Bowl. Nevada opened as 15-point favorites, but the line has dropped to 12.5 The total on the game is 72.5.It's been 25 years since SMU appeared in a bowl game and you can be sure the Mustangs are happy to be here. Bringing Jones back to his old stomping grounds was a good move by the bowl organizers, as Jones' presence will bring a few more fans to the game.
SMU was 7-5 during the regular season and played in a number of close games, as only three of their 12 games were decided by more than eight points. While Jones was known for his passing teams at Hawaii, this year's SMU team was pretty well balanced.
Nevada, meanwhile, can throw the ball a bit, but had the nation's most potent rushing attack, as three Wolf Pack players rushed for over 1,000 yards. The trio of Colin Kaepernick, Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott combined for 35 touchdowns and an amazing 7.8 yards per carry. Lippincott and Taua will miss the game, but the back-up tandem of Mrk Lampford and Mike Ball rushed for a combined 487 yards and eight touchdowns with a lofty 7.8 yards per carry.
Nevada dropped its first three games of the season before winning its next eight, only to fall to Boise State in its finale.
Those who read the site regularly know that double-digit underdogs have been good bets in bowl games over the years, and we've already won with Wyoming, who upset Fresno State outright, andd would put us on SMU. I did like the Mustangs when they were getting 15 points a lot more than with them getting 12.5, however.
Although both teams can put points on the scoreboard, I'm going to go with the under in this spot. It's seldom that you see a total this high, especially with neither team being a true passing team.
We'll go ahead and take the under and hope for some defensive stops, field goal attempts and penalties.
