Last Updated on December 15, 2009 6:32 pm by drew
Hawaii Bowl
Honolulu,
The Mustangs accomplished that feat with the biggest turnaround in the Football Bowl Subdivision and earned their first postseason berth since an NCAA-mandated death penalty nearly a quarter century ago.
SMU will try to cap that breakthrough campaign with a victory over Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made
In 1984, the Mustangs finished 10-2, won a share of the Southwest Conference and beat Notre Dame 27-20 in their previous bowl game ? also in
Ensuing investigations uncovered more violations ? namely the continued payment of players ? and the NCAA shut down the program in 1987. With few players left on campus, SMU canceled the next season as well.
Before hiring Jones, the Mustangs had gone 58-153-3 under four coaches and posted one winning record, 6-5 in 1997.
Jones, who led
Heading into this season, Jones told his team he wanted to reach the Hawaii Bowl as a tribute to friend and special teams coach Frank Gansz, who died April 27. During the season, Jones reminded them at least "every three or four weeks" of that goal.
The Mustangs got off to a good start with consecutive wins but then lost four of five. They recovered to win four of their final five for a 7-5 finish and accepted a bid to
"I am so happy that our players will be able to have this experience," said Jones, who recently signed a contract extension through 2014. "Reaching our first bowl game in 25 years is special ? not only for our current student-athletes, but also for the guys who came before them."
Jones brought his pass-heavy, run-and-shoot offense over from
McNeal, who spent his first two seasons at
Freshman Kyle Padron stepped in to throw for 1,462 yards and eight touchdowns in six games. Emmanuel Sanders, the school’s career receiving leader, also set Mustangs’ single-season marks with 91 catches and 1,215 yards.
However, it’s the Mustangs’ defense that could prove more important against
Not surprisingly, the Wolf Pack boast the country’s top rushing offense at 362.3 yards per game. They were also second with 521.6 total yards a contest and fifth in averaging 40.6 points.
Vai Taua had a team-best 1,345 yards in the pistol formation offense, but junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick was undoubtedly the leading playmaker.
"What we’ve done on offense this year, it is special," coach Chris Ault said. "It all starts with the guys up front. And the biggest part of it is (Kaepernick), he is the trigger man on the whole deal."
Kaepernick ran for a career-high 1,160 yards and 16 TDs, one shy of matching last season’s total. He also passed for 1,875 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Luke Lippincott has contributed 1,034 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, while Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year Brandon Wimberly had a team-leading 653 receiving yards.
After three consecutive losses to open this season, the Wolf Pack rebounded to challenge
The main weakness for
The Wolf Pack, however, will face a Mustangs team that gave up 27.9 points and 404.0 yards per game.
He’ll try to help
SMU is making its 11th postseason appearance, going 4-5-1.
When these schools were members of the WAC, SMU and
2009
Teams: SMU vs.
Kickoff: Dec. 24, 2009, 8PM ET
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium
TV: ESPN
Odds:
SMU +14 Over 73 (+550)
Posted: 12/15/09 6:32PM ET