College Football Capsules: SMU, Jones return to paradise for Hawaii Bowl

HONOLULU — June Jones was just getting his start in coaching as an assistant with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers the last time SMU was in a bowl game.

Now he has the Mustangs ready for the Hawaii Bowl on Thursday against Nevada, their first bowl game in 25 years — in a stadium he knows well.

Jones has resuscitated an SMU program that had long been mired in futility after being hit with the NCAA’s death penalty. Around here, he’s known for turning around a once-dismal Hawaii program and guiding the Warriors to the Sugar Bowl before abruptly leaving for Dallas.

The Mustangs (7-5) finished 1-11 the past two seasons, including their first under Jones, but can wrap up the year with a win like they did in the 1984 Aloha Bowl.

"It’s just nice to finally put an end to the death-penalty talk," linebacker Chase Kennemer said. "It’s all you hear about. So it’s special to be on the team that finally put an end to that and I couldn’t think of a better destination than Hawaii to go to our first bowl game."

The program that produced Doak Walker, Don Meredith and Eric Dickerson was discovered in 1987 to have paid players, then lied about it in a cover-up that included a former Texas governor. Because the school already was on probation, the NCAA shut the football program down for the season and school officials chose to sit out another year before restarting in 1989.

They won two games that first season and have had nine seasons with zero, one or two wins.

Nevada (8-4), which finished second in the Western Athletic Conference to Boise State, is trying to break a drought of its own. The Wolf Pack are making their fifth straight bowl appearance, but have lost their last three.

"It’s cool to go to bowl games and it’s a great experience, but it’s time we win," Nevada lineman Alonzo Durham said. "We’re overdue."

Their last bowl victory, like SMU, came in Honolulu. A missed extra point lifted Nevada to a 49-48 overtime win over Central Florida in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl.

"I watched them hold up the trophy. I remember it like a still frame in my mind," said Durham, who was a redshirt freshman on that team. "Those guys were so excited. I just said, ‘I want to be a part of that. I want to know what that feels like."’

Thursday’s game could end up being a high-scoring affair with offenses that feature names suitable for an old John Wayne film — the pistol versus the run-and-shoot.

Nevada has the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack that averages 362.3 yards, and is the first team in NCAA history to have three 1,000-yard rushers. But the Wolf Pack will be without two of them in running backs Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott.

Taua, who led Nevada with 1,345 yards rushing, is academically ineligible. Lippincott, who ran for 1,034 yards, is sidelined with a toe injury. Nevada will also be without safety Duke Williams and linebacker Andre Davis for undisclosed violations of team rules.

Nevada coach Chris Ault announced Williams’ suspension and Davis’ dismissal on Wednesday.

"Like we told the kids, sometimes the flag is dropped and sometimes you have to pick it up and run with it. That’s what we expect them to do," Ault said.

He said the Wolf Pack will not change what they do or call more plays for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the team’s lone remaining 1,000-yard rusher. The backups will need to pick it up.

"Those guys got to stand up and play," Ault said. "Your chance has come. What a thrill. Playing before a national audience Christmas Eve, this is great for you guys and I think they’re excited. I don’t think they’re getting much sleep, but I think they’re excited."

Regardless of who is running, SMU will be challenged by misdirection, bootlegs and motion.

"They try to get your eyes wrong, so if one time, one guy goes to the wrong gap, they’re out the gate," Kennemer said.

SMU, meanwhile, features a heavy passing attack behind a young quarterback and sure-handed Emannuel Sanders, its career leader in receptions, touchdown catches and yards. The Mustangs also have Shawnbrey McNeal, the first running back under Jones to rush for 1,000 yards.

As former conference foes, Jones and Ault know each other well. Nevada may be the WAC representative, but this was Jones’ house and bowl game. He’s 15-1 at Aloha Stadium since 2006, and is 3-1 in Hawaii Bowls with three straight wins.

"I’m looking forward to being on the same sideline I used to be on and the same locker room, too," he said.

Jones actually set the Hawaii Bowl as a goal for his club since the first practice of the season. It was a promise he made to his friend Frank Gansz, who was the special teams coach until he died in April.

Local fans, bowl officials and ESPN didn’t get the Hawaii-SMU matchup they were hoping for, with the Warriors falling one win shy, but the Mustangs are relishing every moment.

"Come Thursday, when we come down there for the real thing, it’ll probably more emotional," Jones said.

-- Jaymes Song

Ohio coach Solich adjusts to mid-major bowl games

DETROIT — The Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl is a long way from the BCS national championship game.

Ohio coach Frank Solich isn’t letting that change the way he’s preparing his Bobcats for Saturday’s game against Marshall.

"The buildup is the same — we’re just in a strange city on Christmas Day instead of New Year’s Eve," he said. "That doesn’t change how much the kids enjoy the experience."

A decade ago, Solich was coaching in BCS games at Nebraska, including the 2001 title game against Miami. The Cornhuskers lost that game 37-14 to a Hurricanes team featuring Andre Johnson and Jeremy Shockey, and Solich was fired two seasons later.

After taking a year off, Solich started again at the opposite end of the spectrum. When he took over at Ohio, the team hadn’t played in the postseason since a loss to Richmond in the 1968 Tangerine Bowl, and no coach had left the school with a winning record in almost 30 years.

Solich’s first season ended with a 4-7 record but included a win over Pittsburgh in his home debut, and the Bobcats reached the Mid-American Conference championship game and the GMAC Bowl in 2006.

"This was a completely different situation that I had in Nebraska," Solich said. "There, I took over a program that was expected to contend for the national championship every season. At Ohio, we were trying to build a program that had no expectations and where we had to win back the fan base."

While Solich hasn’t led Ohio to a conference championship yet — they lost the MAC championship game in 2006 and fell 20-10 to Central Michigan this season — he knows he’s making progress.

"I think things are going well," he said. "Hopefully, we’ll have better success at Ford Field this time after losing the two championship games here."

Solich puts much of Ohio’s improvement down to a more physical style — something he thinks has come from picking the right players, not from coaching.

"You build physical teams by recruiting them," he said. "That’s not something you can develop at this level. You can teach technique to help them use their physical nature, but it’s mainly an instinct that you either have or you don’t."

Still, Solich’s success at Nebraska has helped him get players that would have never considered Ohio in the past.

"For me, it was an easy decision to go to Ohio, because I knew I’d be getting coached by one of the best coaches in the country," said star wide receiver Taylor Price. "This was a coach that has been in big games with big-time programs and big-time players."

Solich’s past and his current resume make him an obvious choice to be the next coach to leave the MAC for bigger things. Brian Kelly has gone from Central Michigan to Cincinnati to Notre Dame, Butch Jones has followed Kelly from CMU to Cincinnati, while Turner Gill went from Buffalo to Kansas.

Solich, though, is happy to stay in Athens for the next few years.

"We’re not done building this program," said Solich, who is under contract through 2013. "We’ve made steps in the right direction, but we need to get to this level on a consistent basis."

-- The Associated Press

UNLV’s new coach says he wants to build enthusiasm

LAS VEGAS — Incoming UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said he’s excited about generating enthusiasm for football and building a winning program. The former Montana coach said he doesn’t know how long it will take.

"It’s going to take some work and we’re going to get at it ... immediately," Hauck said Wednesday as he was formally introduced by the university.

UNLV president Neal Smatresk said the Rebels aren’t too far away from contending in the Mountain West Conference.

"Let’s hope two years from now we all look like geniuses," he said.

Smatresk said UNLV faces tough conference foes in TCU, Utah and BYU, but he thinks the Rebels can reach the top third of the league.

The Board of Regents was set to approve Hauck’s contract in an afternoon meeting, less than one week after he coached the Grizzlies in the Football Championship Subdivision title game.

The three-year deal will pay Hauck $350,000 annually, with some pay deferred and incentives for winning, bowl games and helping student-athletes graduate, Smatresk said.

Hauck, 45, said enthusiasm for his team will come if it’s worth watching. He hopes to have a high-powered offense like the unit he coached in Montana, which averaged 35.8 points and 427.4 yards per game last season, mostly in the air.

"I’m a firm believer that you need to run the ball to win but you need to be able to throw it to put a few people in the seats," he said.

UNLV has not had a winning season since 2000, and went 5-7 in 2009 while losing by 20 points or more five times.

Hauck said in an interview that he has not had a chance to fully evaluate his team, but was excited to meet about 20 of his players on Wednesday.

He said one goal will be to win a Mountain West Conference championship.

"It will be a challenge here to get it done," he said.

Smatresk said he thinks Hauck exudes an enthusiasm for football that will make players want to "run through walls" for him.

Hauck was 80-17 in seven seasons with the Grizzles. He led Montana to three FCS national title games, including last week’s 23-21 loss to Villanova.

-- Oscar Garcia

Buckeyes’ Small, Rose suspended for Rose Bowl

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three more Ohio State players will miss the Rose Bowl.

On his weekly radio show Tuesday, coach Jim Tressel confirmed that the team’s top kick returner, Ray Small, and backup defensive lineman Rob Rose would not be making the trip with the Buckeyes to play Oregon. Tressel said both were suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

The two seniors were also classmates at Cleveland’s Glenville High School.

Freshman wide receiver Duron Carter, the son of former Ohio State and NFL great Cris Carter, was declared ineligible last week shortly after semester grades were released. Ohio State would not say why Carter was unavailable to play.

Tressel also said that walk-on running back Bo Delande would not make the trip, also for an unspecified team rules violation.

The team is scheduled to arrive in California on Dec. 25.

Small is the fastest player on the Buckeyes roster, a deep threat as a receiver who averaged 27 yards on kickoff returns and 8.3 yards on punt returns. Small, third on the team with 15 receptions for 175 yards, has frequently been in Tressel’s doghouse through his four years in the program.

Despite disciplinary problems in the past, Small was voted the offensive team captain for the game at Michigan on Nov. 21.

Rose was in the rotation on the defensive line and has two sacks this season. A highly touted recruit from the same high school that sent Ted Ginn Jr. and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith to Ohio State, Rose never lived up to his billing. He averaged about a tackle a game the past two seasons.

DeLande played in just one game, carrying three times for 5 yards.

--The Associated Press

Fiesta Bowl investigator finds no misconduct

PHOENIX — Fiesta Bowl officials say an inquiry they commissioned found "no credible evidence" that the bowl’s management engaged in illegal or unethical conduct.

Bowl officials asked former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods to investigate allegations that bowl employees received bonuses for making campaign contributions to specific political candidates — a violation of federal and state laws. The Arizona Republic first raised the allegations.

Fiesta Bowl Chairman Alan Young said in an e-mail that Woods was retained to perform an independent review.

Lane added that Woods is recommending the Fiesta Bowl clarify its policies and procedures to avoid future allegations of impropriety.

-- The Associated Press 

Texas reigns as most valuable college

The Texas Longhorns are the most valuable team in college sports.

Forbes magazine says Texas has a team value of $119 million, easily topping Notre Dame, last year’s leader, by $11 million.

The magazine based its rankings on "dividend money," or what’s left for academics (including football scholarships) and non-revenue sports after the cost of running the football program. Bowl game revenue also is factored in.

According to Forbes, Texas had a $59 million profit. Notre Dame’s team value was $108 million, with a $38 million profit.

Rounding out the first 10 in Forbes’ Top 20 list are Penn State, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma.

Michigan had the biggest drop from last year to No. 11 from No. 4. Nebraska made the biggest improvement to No. 4 from No. 18.

--The Associated Press