Ex-Hawaii coach Jones leads SMU to bowl
December 23, 2009
HONOLULU (AP)—June Jones was just getting his start in coaching as anassistant 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 againstNevada, 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 futilityafter being hit with the NCAA’s death penalty. Around here, he’s known forturning around a once-dismal Hawaii program and guiding the Warriors to theSugar Bowl before abruptly leaving for Dallas.
The Mustangs (7-5) finished 1-11 the past two seasons, including their firstunder Jones, but can wrap up the year with a win like they did in the 1984 AlohaBowl.
“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 beon the team that finally put an end to that and I couldn’t think of a betterdestination than Hawaii to go to our first bowl game.”
The program that produced Doak Walker, Don Meredith and Eric Dickerson wasdiscovered in 1987 to have paid players, then lied about it in a cover-up thatincluded a former Texas governor. Because the school already was on probation,the NCAA shut the football program down for the season and school officialschose 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 toBoise State, is trying to break a drought of its own. The Wolf Pack are makingtheir 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 timewe win,” Nevada lineman Alonzo Durham said. “We’re overdue.”
Their last bowl victory, like SMU, came in Honolulu. A missed extra pointlifted Nevada to a 49-48 overtime win over Central Florida in the 2005 HawaiiBowl.
“I watched them hold up the trophy. I remember it like a still frame in mymind,” said Durham, who was a redshirt freshman on that team. “Those guys wereso excited. I just said, ‘I want to be a part of that. I want to know what thatfeels like.”’
Thursday’s game could end up being a high-scoring affair with offenses thatfeature names suitable for an old John Wayne film—the pistol versus therun-and-shoot.
Nevada has the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack that averages 362.3 yards, andis the first team in NCAA history to have three 1,000-yard rushers. But the WolfPack 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 willalso be without safety Duke Williams and linebacker Andre Davis for undisclosedviolations of team rules.
Nevada coach Chris Ault announced Williams’ suspension and Davis’ dismissalon Wednesday.
“Like we told the kids, sometimes the flag is dropped and sometimes youhave to pick it up and run with it. That’s what we expect them to do,” Aultsaid.
He said the Wolf Pack will not change what they do or call more plays forquarterback Colin Kaepernick, the team’s lone remaining 1,000-yard rusher. Thebackups 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 greatfor you guys and I think they’re excited. I don’t think they’re getting muchsleep, 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 wronggap, they’re out the gate,” Kennemer said.
SMU, meanwhile, features a heavy passing attack behind a young quarterbackand sure-handed Emannuel Sanders, its career leader in receptions, touchdowncatches and yards. The Mustangs also have Shawnbrey McNeal, the first runningback under Jones to rush for 1,000 yards.
As former conference foes, Jones and Ault know each other well. Nevada maybe the WAC representative, but this was Jones’ house and bowl game. He’s 15-1 atAloha 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 thesame locker room, too,” he said.
Jones actually set the Hawaii Bowl as a goal for his club since the firstpractice of the season. It was a promise he made to his friend Frank Gansz, whowas the special teams coach until he died in April.
Local fans, bowl officials and ESPN didn’t get the Hawaii-SMU matchup theywere hoping for, with the Warriors falling one win shy, but the Mustangs arerelishing every moment.
“Come Thursday, when we come down there for the real thing, it’ll probablymore emotional,” Jones said.
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