The Hawaii Bowl ( the current version… which has no connection to other Bowls played on the Islands, such as the Poi Bowl 1936-1939, the Pineapple Bowl 1940-41 & 1947-1952, the Aloha Bowl 1982-2000, & Oahu Bowl 1998-2000) was first played in 2002 and has continued through the present day. It has had two sponsors, ConAgra Foods (2002) and the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003 to present). The game is played in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium (Capacity: 50,000) with a payout of $750,000.00 per team.
The inaugural game in 2002 was won by Tulane, 36-28, over Hawaii and in last year’s contest, Tulsa outscored Hawaii, 62-35. The conference tie-ins have involved WAC, C-USA, MWC & the PAC-12 (PAC 12 now.. then PAC 10) from the 2002 through present year.
Southern Miss comes into this game with a little bit of an attitude. They, as noted, are 11-2 and did beat an undefeated Houston, 49-28, who (Houston) was headed for a BCS Bowl until suffering that loss. So the Golden Eagles are acting and talking about “we should be in a better bowl” (BCS Bowl was / has been mentioned) and of course, the subliminal implication, “we deserve a stronger opponent” … (I’m sure Nevada has inferred that perspective) The Golden Eagles are sounding a lot like TCU before their rumble with La Tech, a game that TCU was heavily favored in and yet… because of their attitude…barely survived! The difference is/was that TCU had this Bowl slight done to them, while Southern Miss did it to themselves. A loss to Marshall, 26-20, on September 10th and then another loss to UAB, 34-31, on November 17th sealed their bowl fate. Only the Big East Champion would be capable of losing to Marshall and UAB and still be awarded a BCS Game… but that is another issue…an AQ (automatic qualifier) enigma. So the Eagles need to stop screeching from the nest, get airborne, and begin the hunt!
The Wolf Pack (two words… Wolf Pack… not like North Carolina State, who spell it as one… Wolfpack) from Nevada have a different perspective about this year’s Hawaii Bowl. They see this game as an opportunity to make a statement nationally about their program in the post Colin Kaepernick Era. CK was Nevada’s all everything QB (Career: 10,000 passing yards & 4000 rushing yards… the only player in NCAA history with those numbers) and although Kaepernick graduated last year, his legacy continues to overshadow the program. Nevada’s offensive innovation, the Pistol (the QB in the gun with a running back 3 to 4 yards directly behind the QB) is being used across the country by numerous FBS teams. As a result, there is a growing suspicion that Coach Ault’s system and other player(s) contributions may have been overlooked because of Kaepernick’s accomplishments. Now is their chance to remove all doubt!
So one team seems to be feeling the game as a slight, while the other squad sees it as an opportunity. No question, I like opportunity over slight… however… let’s take a look at the statistics (please note: all this information and more is on the site for you to view and make your own deductions) and see what they tell us.
Southern Mississippi is ranked 13th in the nation in Total Offense at 471 YPG (Yards Per Game) while the Wolf Pack are tearing it up on offense, 522 YPG, and rate as the nation’s 5th best offense. On Defense, the Eagles give up 345 YPG (ranked @ 31) while Nevada surrenders 372 YPG (ranked 52 of 120).
Offensive Scoring finds Southern Miss putting up 38 points per game (PPG) 14th best in the land, while Nevada rings it up to the tune of 33 PPG (31st best in the nation). In the NCAA’s Defensive Scoring Category, Southern Miss allows 21 PPG (29th best) vs Nevada’s giving up 25 PPG (58/120).
One last consideration here is both teams ability (or lack their of) to take away or give away the ball. Southern Miss has turned the ball over 28 times this year for an average of 2.15 TPG (Turnovers Per Game); while Nevada has lost “the rock” on 23 occasions for an average 1.92 TPG. On Defense, Nevada has generated 23 take aways for an exact push… 23 take aways and 23 give aways. While the Golden Eagles have snatched the ball from their opponents 26 times for an average of 2.0 TPG. This leaves Southern Miss with a negative Turnover Margin of -.15 … while Nevada is a flat line… zero… in Turnover Margin.
This year Nevada has taken on Oregon (lost 69-20) and Texas Tech (Lost 35-34) from AQ Conferences, and, of course, conference foes Boise State (lost 30-10) and Louisiana Tech (lost 24-20) … Tech just lost a close game to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl (31-24). So Nevada would have played teams that have as much or more talent than Southern Miss, however they did not win any of those games.
They do have a common opponent in Louisiana Tech, a 19 to 17 victory for Southern Miss and as mentioned, a Nevada loss, 24-20.
The Eagles played only one team from a BCS conference, the ACC’s Virginia, which resulted in a 30-24 win. Southern Mississippi’s only eye catching victory is their hammering of Houston (49-28) in the C-USA championship Game.
Based on the C-USA Championship victory and the myriad of statistical data presented here… Southern Miss 38 Nevada 28
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