2012 Hawaii Bowl: SMU puts up *POI*nts on Fresno State

13. Games won by Nevada the year after the Wolf Pack got smoked, 45-10, by June Jones and SMU in the 2009 Hawaii Bowl. This result was both devastating and unexpected for Fresno State, but bowl results have absolutely no correlation to next year’s win percentage. With a majority of its contributors returning the next season, Nevada went out and had its best season of all-time, going 13-1 and finishing 11th in the final polls. Fresno State returns a ton of interesting talent from a team that was good for, well, the first 12 games of the year. The Bulldogs should be fine next year. But Christmas Eve was all about SMU.

60. Difference in points between my prediction and reality. I mean, if you’re going to miss, you might as well miss. This was quite possibly the least accurate game preview I’ve ever written (it almost has to be -- it is difficult to miss by more than 60 points), but while Fresno State was the clearly superior team during the regular season, SMU did everything you need to do, almost to the letter, to go from semi-heavy underdog to blowout winners.

Coming into Monday night, most of us expected Fresno State’s offense to blow SMU’s defense off the field as the Mustangs were Aloha Stadium’s traditional pieces of floating paper garbage. That has not happened. At the break, it’s 22-0, SMU, with Fresno State’s only real scoring opportunity dying near the goal line as the first half clock ended.

Hunt’s the Estonian track athlete who took up football just three years ago after arriving at SMU and has developed a knack for blocking kicks, being way tall and frustrating quarterbacks. No kicks blocked yet tonight, but the night is young. Super young in Hawaii, via time zones.

The Hawaii Bowl, which first started in 2002, typically pits a team from the Western Athletic Conference against a team from either Conference USA or the Mountain West Conference. Although the Hawaii Bowl usually selects the University of Hawaii as one of its participants, Hawaii has not played in the bowl since 2010. The 2012 matchup has Fresno State from the Mountain West Conference against SMU from Conference USA.

Fresno State (9-3, 7-1) enters the matchup on a five-game win streak and with the 12th best scoring offense in the country, averaging more than 40 points per game. Junior quarterback Derek Carr leads the Bulldogs offense with 3,742 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Carr threw more than four touchdowns in a game on six occasions this year, most recently in a 452-yard, four touchdown performance against Air Force. Carr’s main target has been freshman wideout Davante Adams. Adams’ 89 receptions for 1,168 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, SMU vs. Fresno State, 8:00 p.m. EST, ESPN

The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl may seem like a mundane contest for many college football fans. But for fans of the NFL Draft, it features a few solid pro prospects.