2012 Hawaii Bowl

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2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
1234 Total
Fresno State 0073 10
SMU 022714 43
Date
Network
ESPN
AnnouncersCarter Blackburn (play-by-play)
Kelly Stouffer (analyst)
Kaylee Hartung (sideline)
Hawaii Bowl
 < 2011 2013

The 2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was a postseason American

HST and aired on ESPN. It featured the SMU Mustangs from Conference USA against the Mountain West Conference co-champion Fresno State Bulldogs, and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season
for both teams. The Mustangs accepted their invitation after compiling a 6–6 record in the regular season, while the Bulldogs accepted their invitation with a 9–3 regular season record.

The pre-game buildup focused primarily on the strong rushing attacks of both teams as well as the overall sound offense of Fresno State. Most analysts predicted a resounding victory by Fresno State. Fresno State was a 12-point

Teams

Hawaii Warriors moved to said conference (previously, Hawaii, and said tie-in, belonged to the Western Athletic Conference).[4] In fact, Hawaii has an automatic bid to the bowl game should it be eligible; however, because of its 3–9 record in 2012, it was not bowl-eligible, leaving the spot to the fifth bowl-eligible Mountain West team.[5] The 2012 Hawaii Bowl was the seventh meeting between Fresno State and SMU, the last one coming in 2004.[6]

This was the Mustangs' second Hawaii Bowl, following the

Pregame buildup

One of the keys to the game, according to ESPN.com blogger Matt Fortuna, was to stop the run. Both teams had 1,000+ yard rushers (Zach Line for SMU, Robbie Rouse for Fresno State), but SMU's rush defense (24th in FBS) was better than Fresno State's (73rd in FBS).[9] Many analysts predicted that Fresno State would emerge victorious, some going as far as to predict a blowout, but said that for SMU to emerge victorious, they would have to win the field position battle as well as create turnovers.[10][11]

Fresno State

In their first season in the Mountain West, the Bulldogs became co-champions with a 7–1 conference record.

Derek Carr's older brother David was the Bulldogs' quarterback.[12]

Offense

Fresno State was led offensively by their quarterback, junior Derek Carr, who finished 14th in the country in

left tackle Austin Wentworth, who achieved first-team all-conference honors.[21]

Defense

Described as "well-rounded and explosive" by

nose tackle Andy Jennings, who achieved 5.5 of them.[28] The Bulldogs' linebackers were led by senior Travis Brown. Brown totaled 68 tackles and was a first team all-conference selection.[21][31]

SMU

Coming into the 2012 season, SMU was widely expected to finish third in the Conference USA West Division.[32][33] They exceeded that expectation by finishing second in the C-USA West and earning a bid to the Hawaii Bowl.[34] A year after his season ended due to a foot injury, running back Zach Line was poised to have a breakout year and was expected to win the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year award.[32][33]

Offense

At quarterback, University of Texas transfer[35] Garrett Gilbert started for the Mustangs and struggled;[36][37] he totaled a 53% completion percentage, 15 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions,[38] the latter of which was tied for ninth-most in the NCAA.[39] The Mustangs' offensive leader was three-time All-Conference USA player and 2012 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year running back Zach Line, who had totaled 4,185 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns in his career coming into the game.[40] Line was also the Mustangs' fourth-leading receiver (in terms of receptions), totaling 33 for 229 yards.[41] SMU's wide receiving corps featured a trio of standouts: senior Darius Johnson, junior Jeremy Johnson, and sophomore Der'rikk Thompson.[41] The former Johnson, who is one of just two SMU players ever to record three 60-catch seasons,[42] led the Mustangs with 787 receiving yards from 64 receptions which included 5 touchdowns.[41][43] The latter Johnson totaled 67 receptions, which led the team,[41] for 679 yards and 3 touchdowns.[44] Thompson, who led the trio by averaging 13.0 yards per reception,[41] caught the ball 41 times for 535 yards and 4 touchdowns during the regular season.[45] Coach June Jones' spread offense did not employ a tight end,[46][47] and none were on the roster for the Mustangs.[48] The Mustangs' offensive line was led by senior Bryan Collins, who achieved 2nd team all-conference honors.[49]

Defense

The Mustangs were defensively anchored by senior

Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in interceptions returned for touchdowns (8),[52] tied for fourth in interceptions (21),[52] and finished third in total takeaways (37).[53] Despite their success with turnovers, the Mustangs were far more mediocre in scoring defense, in which they allowed 25.7 points per game (tied for 54th nationally),[54] and total defense, in which they gave up 396.1 yards per game (62nd nationally).[55]

Game summary

Game notes

First quarter

SMU received the ball to start the game and marched down the field on an 8-play, 52-yard drive highlighted by a 37-yard run by quarterback Garrett Gilbert to set up a 41-yard field goal attempt by Chase Hover which he missed. Fresno State's subsequent drive lasted only two series and ended in a punt. The remainder of the first quarter's drives ended in punts. There were a total of three drives that went

three-and-out in the quarter, two by SMU and one by Fresno State.[56]

Second quarter

SMU struck first in the second quarter via a 17-yard rush from Gilbert, their quarterback, to put the Bulldogs up 7–0. Fresno State's ensuing drive started with a first down, but ended when quarterback Derek Carr was sacked by SMU defender Margus Hunt; Hunt forced a fumble that was recovered by the Mustangs at the Fresno State 16-yard line. SMU gained only three yards on their drive, but due to their excellent field position, kicker Chase Hover was able to convert a 30-yard field goal making it 10–0.

Fresno State's offensive woes continued on their next drive. On second down, Carr was sacked for a loss of 18 yards to the 6-yard line. On third down, Hunt recorded another sack which resulted in a safety to make the score 12–0 SMU. Zach Line rushed for an 8-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 67-yard drive after the safety. This made the score 19–0.

Hunt continued his fantastic first-half performance on Fresno State's next drive, forcing running back Robbie Rouse to fumble. It was recovered by safety Taylor Reed. Hover kicked a 48-yard field goal to make the score 22–0. Fresno State finally started to put together a solid drive at the end of the half including three consecutive first-down passes from Carr to Isaiah Burse for 16 yards, Greg Watson for 12 yards, and Davante Adams for 33 yards respectively that set up first and goal at the three-yard line with 0:39 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs failed to execute, however, and ended the half without scoring at all. The final play of the half was a pass to tight end Marcel Jensen in the end zone, but he dropped the ball, thus ending the scoring threat.[56][57][58]

Third quarter

Since SMU had received the ball to start the game, Fresno State got possession to start the second half. The first play from scrimmage of the half was a 38-yard pass from Carr to Burse which got the Bulldogs up to the Mustangs' 41-yard line. The drive stalled from there, however, after a six-yard loss on a pass play, a false start penalty, a pass completed for no gain, and an incomplete pass. After a 42-yard punt that was returned for 4 yards, SMU was set up at their 14-yard line. The ensuing drive for SMU showed promise after they got into Bulldog territory, but an interception by Sean Alston returned for 50 yards to the SMU 15 ended any chance of scoring for the Mustangs. Fresno State finally put points on the board after setting up in the red zone; Carr threw a 6-yard pass to Adams making the score 22–7 after Quentin Breshears tacked on the point after. On the ensuing drive, SMU ran 7 plays for 75 yards in 3:20 in a drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert to Darius Johnson; the drive included a 27-yard rush by Zach Line as well as a 19-yard pass from Gilbert to Der'rikk Thompson. After the TD, the score was 29–7 SMU. The teams then exchanged punts for the remainder of the quarter.[56][58]

Fourth quarter

Fresno State was able to run a 7-play, 72-yard drive to begin the fourth quarter that culminated with a 32-yard field goal by Breshears making the score 29–10. Any chance of a Bulldog comeback was quashed after Carr threw two interceptions returned for touchdowns to Reed and Hayden Greenbauer, the latter of which came with just 1:14 to play. The final score was 43–10, the Mustangs victorious.[56][58]

Post-game

SMU's resounding victory was considered an upset, and during the game, the Mustangs set a single-season record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown (8), surpassing the

Most Valuable Player because of his two-forced fumble, three-sack (including one safety) performance. In total, the Mustangs achieved seven sacks, the most Fresno State had surrendered in a single game all year.[57] Davante Adams' third-quarter touchdown reception lengthened his streak to eight consecutive games with a touchdown reception, tying a Fresno State record that was set by Henry Ellard in 1982.[60]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards
TOP
Fresno State SMU
2 14:07 5 93 2:26 SMU Garrett Gilbert 17-yard touchdown run, Chase Hover kick good 0 7
2 12:16 4 3 0:56 SMU 30-yard field goal by Chase Hover 0 10
2 10:50 - - - SMU Derek Carr tackled in end zone for a safety by Margus Hunt 0 12
2 5:24 11 67 5:26 SMU Zach Line 8-yard touchdown run, Chase Hover kick good 0 19
2 1:37 4 -14 2:11 SMU 48-yard field goal by Chase Hover 0 22
3 10:21 3 15 1:05 Fresno St. Davante Adams 6-yard touchdown reception from Derek Carr, Quentin Breshears kick good 7 22
3 7:01 7 75 3:20 SMU
Darius Johnson
21-yard touchdown reception from Garrett Gilbert, Chase Hover kick good
7 29
4 13:21 7 72 1:30 Fresno St. 32-yard field goal by Quentin Breshears 10 29
4 9:05 - - - SMU Interception returned 69 yards for touchdown by Taylor Reed, Chase Hover kick good 10 36
4 1:14 - - - SMU Interception returned 83 yards for touchdown by Hayden Greenbauer, Chase Hover kick good 10 43
"TOP" =
Glossary of American football
.
Fresno State SMU

Statistics

Team statistics

Statistics FRES SMU
First Downs 21 15
Total offense, plays - yards 77-346 65-381
Rushes-yards (net) 22–16 37-169
Passing yards (net) 362 212
Passes, Comp-Att-Int 33-55-2 14-28-2
Time of Possession 26:41 33:19

Individual statistics

Passing
Team Name Comp./Att. Yards Touchdowns Interceptions
Fresno St. Derek Carr 33/54 362 1 2
SMU Garrett Gilbert 14/28 212 1 2
Rushing
Team Name Rushes Yards Touchdowns
Fresno St. Robbie Rouse 13 22 0
Fresno St. Isaiah Burse 1 3 0
SMU Garrett Gilbert 18 98 1
SMU Zach Line 19 71 1
Receiving
Team Name Receptions Yards Touchdowns
Fresno St. Davante Adams 13 144 1
Fresno St. Isaiah Burse 4 89 0
Fresno St. Greg Watson 5 48 0
Fresno St. Robbie Rouse 5 29 0
Fresno St. Marcel Jensen 1 29 0
SMU Austin Fuller 4 84 0
SMU Der'rikk Thompson 5 82 0
SMU Darius Johnson 3 40 1
SMU Darius Joseph 1 8 0
SMU Zach Line 1 -2 0

Source:[61]

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