Honolulu - Freshman Kyle Padron threw for a Southern Methodist-record 460 yards, leading the Mustangs to a 45-10 victory over Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl on Thursday night -- SMU's first postseason appearance in 25 years.
It was a triumphant return to the postseason and paradise for the Mustangs and second-year Coach June Jones, who left Hawaii after nine seasons and has revived a dreadful SMU program hit hard by the NCAA death penalty.
SMU fans chanted, "Thank you, June!" in the fourth quarter, but it was his young quarterback who starred and earned the MVP award.
The 18-year-old Padron, who completed 32 of 41 passes, including two touchdown passes, was confident and composed on the biggest stage of his young career.
He earned the starting job after Bo Levi Mitchell was injured in the seventh game of the season and was largely unknown coming out of Southlake Carroll in Texas, which produced quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Greg McElroy.
Despite the tiny crowd attending the game, people seem to be paying attention to Padron -- and SMU.
The Mustangs (8-5), who were 12-point underdogs, dominated from the opening bell, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and building a 38-0 advantage by the third.
Padron had 303 yards passing in the first half alone, breaking SMU's bowl record of 281 yards by Chuck Hixson in the 1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.
Padron's 17- and two-yard touchdown passes in the second quarter gave SMU a 31-0 lead at the half and had the Wolf Pack searching for answers. The 17-yarder was to Emmanuel Sanders, who had seven catches for 124 yards.
Sanders finished his career as SMU's career leader in receptions, touchdown catches and yards.
Shawnbrey McNeal added 63 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including two in the first quarter. He also had seven catches for 53 yards.
The loss was the fourth straight in the postseason for the Wolf Pack (8-5), whose No. 1 rushing offense in the nation was grounded. But it was the Nevada defense that looked as if it were left behind feeding Wheel-of-Fortune machines in Reno.
While SMU racked up 534 yards of offense, Nevada was held to just 314, including 137 yards rushing. The Wolf Pack averaged 362.3 yards rushing during the regular season and is the first team in NCAA history to have three 1,000-yard rushers. But Nevada was without two of them in running backs Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott.
Taua was ruled academically ineligible to play and Lippincott was sidelined because of a toe injury.
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who rushed for 1,160 yards in the regular season, had only 23 yards rushing in 13 carries in the game.
Kaepernick was 15 of 29 for 177 yards. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass with a minute left in the game.
