Larry Ness
REASON FOR PICK: My December Bowl Game of the Month is on Nevada at 8:00 ET. Often, at least in these "early bowls," the team that wants to be there more is the team that covers the spread. Just look at Wyoming over Fresno State. That said, "wanting to be there more" can only take a team so far and it's not enough to overcome a significant difference in talent level. In this case, one could make the case that SMU is the team that wants to be here more. After all, it's the Mustangs first bowl appearance in a quarter of a century. Additionally, there's the "June Jones factor." As you're aware, Jones, now the head guy at SMU, used to coach here at Hawaii. However, I'm of the thinking that Nevada will be the team that comes in with something to prove and that the Wolfpack's superior edge in talent will be what eventually leads to a win and cover. Obviously, both teams "want to win." The Mustangs have already achieved their goal - which was just to make it to a bowl game. Even if they lose here, its still been a great year. That's not enough for the Wolfpack though. Sure, they would have loved to beat Boise and win the WAC Title. The season can still be considered a success with a big win here though. If they lose though, it will most definitely be considered a failure. Extra motivation will come from the fact that the Wolfpack have lost three straight bowl games. They're determined to right the ship here. Lets take a look at the numbers. SMU has played tough in almost all its games against mediocre opposition and we can give the Mustangs credit for beating East Carolina, early in the year. The Pirates only average 27.8 points per game though. When matched up against more powerful offenses the Mustangs, who had the misfortune of facing two of the top five offenses in football, weren't able to keep up. They played Houston (#2 in nation with 43.9 ppg) and lost by 23 points. They also played TCU (#4 with 40.7 ppg) and lost by 25. Now, they'll face a Nevada team that also ranked in the top 5 in the country for points scored - the Wolfpack averaged 40.6 ppg. Once again, I feel they'll have trouble keeping up. The Wolfpack lost their reg. season finale and scored 'only' 33 points. That was at Boise though, among the toughest venues in the country. Prior to that, the Wolfpack had won eight straight games and they'd scored 50+ points in three straight and four of five. In fact, they topped 60 in three of those games, scoring 70 against Idaho. June Jones may be familiar with playing at Hawaii but his team is not. The last time that the Mustangs were here was in 2002 - they lost by 32. Already "happy to be here," it will be easy to get caught up in the festive island atmoshpere. The Wolfpack play here every other year though, so the trip isn't quite so special. They should be more focused on the task at hand. They'll put up a pile of points and the Mustangs, who average only 27.9 (24.8 on the road) points, won't be able to keep up. The Wolfpack are 11-3 ATS the last 14 times they were favored in the 10.5 to 21 range and with the line falling from its opener, we're getting excellent value. *10 Nevada