Sheraton Hawaii

Fresno State RB Robbie Rouse

Hey there guys,

I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season and a Merry Christmas (eve). 

Due to some family issues I took a small break. I'm back today to preview the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl featuring Fresno State and SMU.

 I am 6-0 so far in my bowl picks - one game ahead of Phil Steele - and ranked 41 out of 1,482 participants. It's still very early into the bowl season so I'm positive that will have changed by January 8th. Hopefully for the better, but I'm still rusty at this.

Click the jump for an abbreviated preview

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Fresno State (9-3) vs. SMU (6-6)

7 p.m. CST on ESPN

Fresno State QB Derek Carr

Preview: Fresno State is going to bring one of the nation's best aerial attacks in the country to this game. Junior all-conference QB Derek Carr (311.8 yds/gm 68.1% 36td 5int) has had an incredible season throwing to all-conference wide receivers freshman Davante Adams (89rec 1168yds 13td) and Isaiah Burse (53rec 762yds 6td) and all-conference TE Marcel Jenson (19rec 310yds 4td). Senior all-conference RB Robbie Rouse (1875yds total offense 15td total). The offensive line is solid as well, allowing less than two sacks per game. This offense throws the ball a lot, more than 50 percent of the their plays are passes, and with this many play-makers it is going to be hard for any defense to slow them down.



I can trick you into thinking that SMU's defense is good by describing them as the fourth best total defense in the C-USA, which is the truth. However, they allow over 400 yards per game. If they're going to slow down the Bulldogs passing attack then senior all-conference DE Margus Hunt (28tkl 6sk) is going to have to get after Carr. All-conference safety senior Kenneth Acker (45tkl 12pbu 3int) is good at playing center field. He will be put to the test with the Bulldogs bringing so many weapons to the table. 

SMU RB Zach Line

Keeping on topic with the Mustangs - switching to the offense - college football fans will recognize the name Garrett Gilbert, who took over for Colt McCoy in the 2010 BCS National Championship game after the latter was knocked out of the game. Gilbert lost his Longhorn starting job because of accuracy problems and those have plagued him in his first season as a starter for the Mustangs as well, completing just 53 percent of his passes and throwing 13 interceptions (227.7 yds/gm 14td; rushing 248 yds 7td). However, over the last five games Gilbert has not thrown any interceptions (3td) and completed 58 percent of his passes. He has all-conference WR Darius Johnson (61rec 747yds 4td) to help him figure the Bulldog defense out. The key to the offense, however, is all-conference RB Zach Line (1207yds 12td). The offense has been inconsistent at times this season, but Line has been what makes it work.



All-conference DT's Andy Jennings (42tkl 4.5tbl 4.5sk) and Tyeler Davison (41tkl 6tfl) will make things interesting on Line and the Mustangs offensive line. The Bulldogs boast an extremely talented secondary with several all-conference players including senior safety Phillip Thomas (82tkl 12tfl 8int 4pbu), sophomore Derron Smith (72tkl 6int) and junior L.J. Jones (38tkl 13pbu) headlining the group.

Watchability Grade: This game features a hot Fresno State Bulldogs team which is semi-recognizable because of their willingness to play any and everyone. SMU had a 30-for-30 documentary on them. While Fresno State might catch the football junkie's eye, the 6-6 Mustangs will turn most people away. I expect close to 60 total points in this game, however most of them will come from Fresno State. If you have something better to do, by all means do it. I grade this one a D.

Projections: Fresno State 36, SMU 22
Pass Yards: Fresno State 317 yards (7.3 yds/att), SMU 193 yards (5.6 yds/att)
Rush Yards: Fresno State 167 yards (4.3 yds/att), SMU 124 yards (4.3 yds/att)

My Pick: Fresno State has an advantage across the board here. Offense, defense, special teams, etc. June Jones is a good coach with plenty of experience and success, but you can't ignore the job that Tim Deruyter has done in his first season in the Fresno Valley. Gilbert has played well down the stretch but I think the Bulldogs secondary is going to force him into a mistake prone game. I expect the Bulldogs to win 35-10.