2012 Hawaii Bowl picks are going to be entertaining to make this year, as we have two teams that are going to be going at it against each other in what could be an unpredictable game in the SMU Mustangs and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Join us for our Hawaii Bowl keys to the game and our Fresno State vs. SMU predictions.

2012 Hawaii Bowl: SMU Mustangs vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
2012 Hawaii Bowl Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
2012 Hawaii Bowl Date/Time: Monday, December 24th, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
2012 Hawaii Bowl On TV: ESPN, Watch ESPN

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Key #1: The Mustangs have to not get trampled defensively
All too often in these bowl games, one of the two teams (and it isn’t always the inferior team) just gets trampled defensively. Teams come out of the blocks with guns blazing, and in the blink of an eye, 21 points hit the scoreboard, making it virtually impossible to get back in the game. SMU’s offense isn’t good enough in all likelihood against a stout defense to come back from down three scores to win, so the unit really has to make sure that it doesn’t just get run all over right out of the blocks. The Mustangs will especially have some problems if they end up letting QB Derek Carr throw the ball all over the place, as this team ranks just 107th in the country, allowing 271.2 yards per game. Five teams were able to put at least 36 up against the Mustangs this year, but that just can’t happen if they are going to figure out how to stay in this game. Fresno State will get its points, but the hope is to keep it so gobs of points don’t get on the scoreboard.

Hawaii Bowl Odds at BetGuardian Sportsbook
SMU Mustangs +11.5
Fresno State Bulldogs -11.5
Over/Under 59.5
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Key #2: SMU has to figure out how to not lose the turnover battle
The reason that the Mustangs won six games this year is because their defense, though sometimes shoddy, did manage to force 33 turnovers in just 12 games. It was crucial for sure to keep this team in the fold, knowing that the offense only turned the ball over a total of 21 times, giving the Mustangs a +1.0 turnover per game advantage. The Bulldogs though, ranked tied for fifth in America in turnover margin at +17 for the year. Turnovers are the great equalizers in these bowl games for sure, and it is going to be tough for either of these teams to win this game from behind in that category. QB Derek Carr isn’t likely to make mistakes, knowing that he only threw six INTs all year long. QB Garrett Gilbert though, is a much different story. He had 13 picks, and he barely completed half of his passes in some of his games. If the Mustangs win this game, we would bet that they are at least +2 in the turnover category as a result.

Key #3: Fresno State has to stay balanced and keep the ball in Robbie Rouse’s hands
Fresno State has always had a great tradition of solid running backs, and RB Robbie Rouse is the next in that line. He rushed for 1,468 yards and had 406 more as a receiver, totaling 14 TDs as well. This is a back that is truly a horse, as Rouse now has 598 carries over the course of the last two seasons alone. When the ball is in his hands, good things tend to happen. Rouse got over 100 rushing yards in nine of his 12 games this year, and the one game that wasn’t covered or won, the 20-10 loss on the Smurf Turf at the Boise State Broncos, he had just 77 rushing yards. Carr will do the job that he needs to do, but the team can’t get pass happy. To cover a number like this one, it is going to take a nicely poised game with a lot of touches from Rouse to get the job done. Don’t be shocked if Rouse has another humongous game like he did against the Nevada Wolf Pack, as he rushed for 261 yards on 36 carries in that 52-36 victory. If he does, the Mustangs are in a heck of a lot of trouble.

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The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is a Christmas Eve classic every single year, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are set for our Hawaii Bowl keys to the game, which will help you with all of your Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles predictions and picks!

Hawaii Bowl: Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Hawaii Bowl Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
Hawaii Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, December 24th, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Hawaii Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: The Wolf Pack must find running room with the Pistol
The days of QB Colin Kaepernick, RB Vai Taua, and RB Luke Lippincott are long since over with for the Wolf Pack, and now, they have to take a team that really is completely new offensively into the Hawaii Bowl against a team that ranks No. 20 in the land against the rush. Though QB Cody Fajardo has played well under center since he has come in place of QB Tyler Lantrip, he is still just a freshman and badly needs to be kept out of as much danger as possible. That leaves RB Lampford Mark to get the job done on the ground, and though he is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, he doesn’t have the same type of explosiveness that backs before him at Nevada have had. If the ground game is stuffed, there is no hope for the Wolf Pack to pull off this upset.

Hawaii Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Nevada Wolf Pack +7
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles -7
Over/Under 62
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Key #2: Southern Miss has to respond well to Fedora’s last game
Often times, teams that are about to lose their head coach go through some severe reactions. In this case, Fedora is going to be on the sidelines before he heads off to Chapel Hill to take the job with the North Carolina Tar Heels, and you can bet that the Eagles are going to want to send him out as a winner. The fact that he was able to take this program to arguably a bad loss against UAB away from being in the BCS is remarkable, as Conference USA teams don’t historically challenge for BCS bowl bids, and emotions have to be kept in check.

Key #3: Chris Ault needs to change things up just a bit
Bowl history for the Wolf Pack hasn’t been all that special. Since 2005, the team has played in a bowl game every year, including twice here in the 50th state. That being said, in spite of the fact that Nevada almost always has an offense that ranks in the Top 25 in America, the results aren’t always great. It barely walked away with a victory over a very suspect Boston College club in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl last year, and that was the fourth time in the last five bowl games in which this team has failed to exceed 20 points in its bowl game. Ault has been fantastic for years and years in Reno, but the truth of the matter is that teams that have a hard time trying to figure out how Pistol attack with just a week of preparation in the regular season have historically figured it all out by the time the team’s bowl game has come around. Fedora is a smart cookie defensively, and if he was really able to figure out how to frustrate the passing attack of QB Kevin Kolb and the Houston Cougars, we’re afraid that without some new wrinkles for this game, the Pistol doesn’t stand a chance.

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The Hawaii Bowl is the early Christmas gift for NCAA football betting fans each and every season, and this year is no exception. For those on the Big Island, the chance to see the home team play at Aloha Stadium is the perfect present. The Hawaii Warriors will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Ready to make your college football picks in this one? Be sure to take a look at the three big time keys to this game that will help determine the winner.

Key #1: Tulsa’s pass defense absolutely has to find some sort of help
This was the Achilles heel for the Golden Hurricane all season long, and this is absolutely the worst possible matchup for them to take on in this bowl season. They were one of the few teams in the land that allowed at least 300 yards per game to opposing aerial assaults, and there were several games this year in which teams dropped at least 400 yards on them. To make matters worse for Tulsa, Hawaii has a passing game that has averaged over 380 yards per game this year, and QB Bryant Moniz is the only man in the country that has the ability to throw for 5,000 yards. WR Greg Salas has 1,675 yards and 12 scores this year, but there is no doubt that WR Kealoha Pilares is the best No. 2 receiver in the land, WR Royce Pollard is the best No. 3 receiver in the land, and WR Rodney Bradley is the best No. 4 receiver in the land. Pilares had 15 TDs this year, one of the highest marks in major college football, while Pollard and Bradley combined for 1,283 yards on 104 receptions with seven TDs, numbers which most teams would be thrilled to have out of their first and second receivers. If there’s no stopping Moniz, there’s no stopping Hawaii, particularly at home where the team really shined.

Key #2: Hawaii needs to keep its offense well rounded
The Warriors aren’t just a one dimensional team. They did rank No. 1 in the country in the passing game, but they weren’t without their abilities to run the football either. RB Alex Green had the highest yards per carry average against qualified running backs at 8.8 yards per rush. He had just 133 attempts this year, but he made the most of them, rumbling for 1,168 yards and 17 TDs. The beauty for Green was that he really blew up at the end of the season, accounting for 453 yards and four TDs over the course of the last two games of the season. Only the best well rounded teams have really torched this Tulsa defense, though everyone had its licks. This is going to be the man that really has to be stopped for the Golden Hurricane to at least have a half of a chance to beat the Hawaii Bowl lines.

Key #3: GJ Kinne has to be virtually perfect
It’s really easy to say that a quarterback playing a perfect game is going to be the key to victory, but for Tulsa, this isn’t an exaggeration whatsoever. He really might have to play a perfect game to cover up the inevitable blunders of his defense. We know that the Warriors are going to score. The question is whether or not the Golden Hurricane can keep up or not. The ball was in Kinne’s hands 574 times this season, one of the highest totals in the land. He was the team’s top passer with 3,307 yards and 28 TDs against ten picks, and he was also the leading rusher with 557 yards and seven scores. However, perhaps even more importantly, Kinne has to make the decision about who he wants to get the ball in the hands of. There wasn’t a legitimate running back on this team that had even 400 yards on the ground, and the top rusher aside from him was WR Damaris Johnson, who had 462 yards on 50 carries, mostly on sweeps from the outside. Mistakes just cannot be made from the point that the snap is taken to the point that the ball leaves his hands, as every decision is crucial. This was a Hawaii defense that was great at forcing turnovers this year. DB Mana Silva had eight picks this year and led a ‘D’ that allowed just 341.8 yards and 22.7 points per game. Though these numbers only ranked No. 40 and No. 42 respectively in the country, they were more than good enough to beat up opponents thanks to an offense that has the ability to be picture perfect.