ESPN

DALLAS -- SMU athletic director Steve Orsini put out a plea for Pony backers to support the football program as it heads into a fourth season under coach June Jones and seeks a third consecutive bowl game.

Orsini said Pony fever hasn't exactly caught fire. He described ticket sales for the 2011 season as "flat."

"It's time to rally the community," Orsini said. "The SMU community, the student body and the Dallas community because it is, we're there, we're knocking on the door, something they've wanted for 25 years, since the Death Penalty, so it's time we all rally."

SMU ranked 30th in the NCAA last season in largest average attendance increase, jumping from an average home attendance of 21,348 in 2009 to 23,515 in 2010. By comparison, TCU, which finished last season ranked No. 2 in the nation, was 16th in largest attendance increase, from 38,187 to 42,466. And, SMU was behind seven other Texas schools in the category.

The Mustangs open the season at No. 9 Texas A&M on Sept. 4 and play at No. 15 TCU on Oct. 1, so there a chances for SMU to drum up excitement outside of the more ho-hum Conference USA schedule. SMU opens the home schedule on Sept. 10 against UTEP. The rest of the home slate includes: Northwestern State, Central Florida, Tulane, Navy and Rice.

Orsini knows -- just as has been the case to the west at TCU -- continued success on the field -- translating to national rankings and higher profile bowl games -- is the best way to drive ticket sales.

"It's very important for our community, and all the things that are happening in college athletics today, the timing is just right," Orsini said, referencing renewed speculation of major conference realignment. "It's time for SMU to get back into the national landscape, to be relevant again. I believe we're accomplishing that and yet we still have a long way to go.

Duncanville's Nick Russell, who spent two seasons as a shooting guard at Kansas State, is transferring to SMU.

"We are thrilled to add Nick to our program," SMU coach Matt Doherty said. "He is a big guard that we pursued when he was coming out of high school. His skill and athleticism will fit in very well with our system. Nick is a great addition to an already terrific recruiting class."

Russell averaged 4.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.2 minutes at Kansas State last season. He played in 46 games over two seasons, starting 14 of them. The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament in each of Russell's two seasons and reached the Elite Eight in 2010.

But the 6-4 guard saw his playing time diminish as a sophomore, going from a starter to a seldom-used backup.

"I feel like it's a better fit for me to go somewhere else so I can try to continue to grow as a basketball player," Russell told The Kansas City Star in May.

Russell was rated as high as the No. 4 prospect in Texas when he finished his career at Arlington's Grace Prep Academy in 2009. He led Grace Prep to three straight TAPPS 5A-4A state title games. As a senior, his team went 31-5 while he averaged 17.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

School: Southern Methodist
Location: Dallas, Texas
Enrollment: 11,000
Bowl appearances: 11
NFL first-round picks: 4
Losing seasons: 43
10-win seasons: 4


Source: ESPN Stats & Info (Note: Numbers date back to 1936, the first year of the AP poll. NFL numbers date back to 1970.)

The good: SMU is a small school, but located in the heart of the city of Dallas, the home of numerous Fortune 500 companies. For a program more apt to send players into the business world than the NFL, that can be a real selling point. Coaches can sell small-town kids on big-city life more than almost any school, and certainly more than any school that plays FBS football in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The Ponies are on the rise of late, too, after a dark period before June Jones arrived from Hawaii and put the Mustangs into two consecutive bowls.

The bad: Those dark ages came at the worst time possible, too. Chronicled by the ESPN 30 for 30 film, "Pony Excess," recruiting violations resulted in the death penalty when the SMU program was at its height. Shortly after, the Southwest Conference split, and instead of finding a soft landing in the Big 12, the Mustangs are now relegated to the Conference USA, blocking them from getting access to the Cotton Bowl, where it's played four times. The school has plenty of money and a nice, albeit small, stadium. Its size keeps it from really grabbing a stronghold in the Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M-dominated Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Also not helping matters: Only 21 percent of students are minorities.

Bruce Feldman takes to his mailbag to answer questions on this year's non-BCS sleeper team -- the SMU Mustangs.

His take:

I'll throw out an even bigger dark horse to watch in 2011: the SMU Mustangs. This is a team that is going to be really interesting to keep an eye on.

June Jones, who went 1-11 in his first season there, then 8-5 two seasons ago and 7-7 in 2010, has a talented, maturing bunch coming back, with 18 starters returning. The entire offensive line returns, as does the defensive line. Better still, Jones' triggerman, Kyle Padron, the latest Southlake Carroll High School quarterback product, is back for his third season in Jones' quarterback-friendly system. The 6-foot-4 junior completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,828 yards in 2010, boasting an impressive 31-14 TD-INT ratio.

If I'm going to be realistic, this is probably more like a 10-2 caliber team that falls a bit short of a BCS bowl berth. However, the Mustangs definitely have a shot at being this year's BCS-buster.

For more (it's Insider content), click here.

The Mustangs released the football schedule for 2011 and it includes nonconference games at Texas A&M and TCU. Here's the complete schedule:

There is no denying coach June Jones has already done wonders at SMU. In three short seasons, he has turned around a program left for dead, taking it to two straight bowl appearances and a first-ever Conference USA championship game appearance.

But Jones, known as a master rebuilder, realizes there is plenty of room left to grow. This comment from national signing day really stuck out:

With adding these kids, and when we add another class next year, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t make a run like we did in Hawaii or like TCU has done. We’ve built a really good foundation, and we’re in pretty good shape to do some neat things.

The big question is whether SMU can become the next TCU. If so, then how long could that take?

Jones has the experience of leading a BCS program. In his first season at Hawaii in 1999, he took a winless team to a 9-4 record and a bowl appearance. In the five years before his arrival, Hawaii combined for 12 wins, no players drafted and no bowl game appearances. That 1999 season started an upward trend that culminated with an appearance in the Sugar Bowl in 2007, his final season with the Warriors before leaving for SMU.

It took nine seasons for Hawaii to get to a BCS game. I am betting Jones has a much shorter time frame with the Mustangs. For starters, he is in one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the nation. It is much easier to recruit to Dallas than to Honolulu. Indeed, he has pulled in back-to-back recruiting class with talent in spades, featuring players from Texas, California and Louisiana.

Both featured 11 three-star recruits as rated by ESPN. This class has been touted as his best yet, because Jones was able to get some players away from automatic qualifying conference schools. Defensive end Davon Moreland chose SMU over what seems to be the entire Pac-12: USC, Oregon, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington and Texas.

This class only helps add depth, something Jones has been eager to build and the one area he consistently has said is still missing from making this team a BCS contender. It was heavy on the offensive and defensive lines, at skill positions and in the defensive backfield, all areas of need. The skill players and defensive backs have the best chances at playing early, but there already is a solid group returning.

Conference USA has never had a team make a BCS game. If any school has the potential to become that BCS buster, it is SMU, especially since Boise State will be the only year-in, year-out non-AQ contender left standing following 2011. Jones can coach. He can recruit. Conference USA is winnable. The nonconference schedule should do enough to get SMU notice, with games in the future against AQ teams TCU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor.

With the expectations Jones has laid out, it is clear anything less than a BCS appearance would be a disappointment. Going 7-6 last season may have felt like a letdown, but remember Jones is very early in the rebuilding process. Making it to the C-USA title game was definite progress.

Jones has his timetable. Now we have to wait and see if he gets to where he wants to go.

SMU coach June Jones said Wednesday that the focus of his staff this recruiting period was defense. Jones is known for his innovative offense, but he knows it takes a deep defense to win the tight games late.

"For me, I always feel we have a chance to be pretty productive on offense with the scheme that we do and it attracts certain types of players," Jones said. "I feel like wide receivers and running backs will show up and be productive in what we do. To be a championship team and make a BCS run, you have to be able to win the game on defense. We keep adding talent and depth on the defensive side and I think that’s kind of what we wanted to do."

Of SMU's 28 recruits, 15 of them played defense in high school. Jones recruited speed and versatility. The headliner of that group is probably California linebacker Davon Moreland, a three-star according to ESPN.com.

"It’s the best recruiting class by far that I’ve had in my return to college football," Jones said. "I think the quality of the athletes [is the best we've had]. We beat a lot of big schools on kids that we identified early they stuck with us the whole way.

"Next year will be the first time we’ve had depth on defense and I feel real good about that," Jones said. "The way everyone plays no huddle, you’ve got to have depth to compete and I think we do. Offensively, we added the receivers we need and offensive lineman we needed to give us some big play people."

SMU coach June Jones said Wednesday that he landed the best class he's had since he returned to college football after coaching in the pros (a class of 28 athletes with an emphasis on defense). It was a combination of hard work by his coaching staff, two consecutive bowl appearances and selling the idea that these recruits can be part of the group that lofts SMU to even greater heights.

But Jones also credits ESPN's 30 on 30 flim 'Pony Excess' for bringing more awareness about the SMU football program.

"It solidified that SMU was the best at one time and we’re on our way back to that," Jones said. "A lot of the kids weren’t even born then and didn’t know SMU had that history. I heard it from pretty much from all the recruits and when we were on the road with high school coaches we heard it. When we go travel places, our kids walk through airports and it’s not uncommon for someone to look at our logos and wonder what SMU is. Now there's no question about that."

It’s recruiting time among the non-AQ teams. Here’s a look at the position needs for SMU and TCU for the 2011 signing class. I essentially looked at rosters and depth charts to see where teams were losing experienced players and where they could use some help.

SMU

Defensive backs: Sterling Moore is gone, and though he missed several games because of injury, when he was on the field he was one of the team’s best players. Chris Banjo is going to be a senior and so are Richard Crawford and Justin Sorrell. The Mustangs definitely need depth here.

Offensive line: The projected starting lineup for 2011 will consist entirely of seniors, including first-team Conference USA lineman Kelvin Beachum. SMU needs improvement in this unit, too. The Mustangs gave up 34 sacks last season, No. 86 in the country.

TCU

Secondary: The Horned Frogs take a huge hit in their defensive backfield going into 2011, losing six players on their two-deep, including starters Colin Jones, Tejay Johnson and Alex Ibiloye. Projected starters for 2011 Greg McCoy and Tekerrien Cuba will be seniors.

Defensive line: TCU also loses two senior starters, including Wayne Daniels. It’s three starters if you count Kelly Griffin, who got hurt during the season and was replaced in the lineup.

Offensive line: Four senior starters depart, including center Jake Kirkpatrick and left tackle Marcus Cannon. Plus two projected starters for 2011 will be seniors as well.

On a day when the Cowboys hired Jason Garrett and Rangers fans were still analyzing the acquisition of Adrian Beltre, SMU extended the contract of athletic director Steve Orsini through May 2015.

Orsini arrived on the Hilltop in 2006 and less than two years later knew he needed to make a football coaching change. The AD has to oversee all sports, but the success of the football program has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the program.

Orsini reached out to famous alums that felt almost forgotten by the school. That started with Eric Dickerson, who told Orsini it was time to hire a football coach with skins on the wall. To do that, Orsini helped generate the funds needed to lure June Jones from Hawaii by creating the Circle of Champions, a group of boosters willing to write checks to help the program.

Orsini's overall legacy may depend on how the rest of the programs pan out -- he hired Matt Doherty as coach of the men's basketball team, and he's still looking for his first winning season in his fifth one at SMU. But hiring Jones was critical to turning things around on the football field. In 2009, SMU went to its first bowl since the Death Penalty and won its division of C-USA in 2010 before losing to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. The Mustangs finished 2010 at 7-7, but they return nearly the entire team.

So good for SMU. Orsini has things on the right path. Now he'll have an opportunity to continue that into the future.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- SMU coach June Jones was quick to praise his defense on Thursday. It was a unit that gave up a touchdown to Army early in the game and then adjusted to hold the Black Knights scoreless in the second half.

In fact, Army got 10 points off SMU turnovers. They only had one scoring drive on the defense and that was in the first half. Once SMU got a look at the triple option, they made some adjustments and gave the offense a chance to make a comeback.

"The defense was good enough to win not only this game but 11 or 12 of our games this year," Jones said. "Other than not taking the ball away, our defense played good enough at UCF and this one to win the game. I'm proud of them. They're playing hard. The one touchdown they gave up, it's always tough when early you never get used to the game speed of it. Once they settled in, they played pretty good football. If we hadn't turned the ball over, hadn't given them the seven points, it would have been obviously a lot happier locker room right now."

Army had 199 yards rushing and 229 yards of total offense. That's a pretty good showing by the SMU defense against a team that racks up yardage on the ground. Army had 122 of those rushing yards in the first half, so it shows how well the Mustangs did in adjusting to things.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- Give Army head coach Rich Ellerson and his staff some credit for showing plenty of guts on third down late in the fourth quarter of a 16-14 score in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Army was trying to run out the clock and prevent SMU from getting another opportunity to try to drive down and kick a last-second field goal to win. On third-and-4, with 1:18 left, SMU was expecting a run from the triple option team that had attempted just six passes (and completed one) before that play. Instead, Army calls a rollout play and completes a pass for 22 yards and a first down that ends the game.

Army had called timeout before the play to discuss things.

"We're saying, 'OK, we converted the first third down with bootleg, so keep the ball in the quarterback's hands, stay in bounds and if we could get the first down, great,'" Ellerson said.

At least that's what Ellerson thought. He then went down to talk to the defense in case a first down wasn't made and was surprised to see his quarterback, Trent Steelman, throw the ball.

"Sure enough, we come out and he throws it," Ellerson said. "My first thought was, 'oh.' So there was another discussion that took place after I switched over to the defensive side of the headset, apparently, or you never know. Again, we always tell those guys, 'If somebody is standing wide open, throw it to 'em.' We've been known to miss wide-open guys before. We always take a deep breath in that situation. That play, we've been working on that for two years. We've been developing that kind of confidence, that kind of precision, that kind of poise. That's how things like that happen."

It was a run first option, then he had a fullback he could have thrown the ball to and then the receiver that he ended up hitting for the completion. It was only the second pass completed for Army on the day. But it was a big one.

"A lot of wishbone teams wouldn't have the courage to throw that play at the end," Jones said. "Rich has always been that way. Even at Cal Poly, they would throw the ball when other wishbone teams don't do it. He has a unique style of play. He's mastered it very well. They're like us. As they get their players in place, they're going to have a good football team for years to come."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- SMU coach June Jones faced a decision on fourth-and-6 from the Army 30-yard line with 4:10 left in Thursday's Armed Forces Bowl.

SMU was down 16-14 with, at that point, two timeouts. A strong wind was blowing against field goal kicker Matt Szymanski, who missed a 35-yard field goal kicking in that same direction in the first quarter. Jones sent out the field goal unit to attempt a 47-yarder and then took a timeout.

He said he didn't really think about going for it during the timeout and instead talked to Szymanski. Jones said Szymanski felt his range was 65 yards with the wind and 50 against it.

"In my eyes, we were only going to get one chance," Jones said. "If we didn't complete the ball for six yards than the game is over. I have a lot of confidence in Matt. I wanted him to make it and that would have been something that was unreal after a frustrating year. He had enough leg, he just didn't hit it very good. He didn't hit it good and it still had enough leg. If he had hit it good, it would have gone into the net."

Jones said he told Szymanski to relax and not rush the kick.

"It looked like he rushed it," Jones said. "That's easy to do when you're a young kid."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- SMU fell behind 16-0 and scored twice in the second half to make it 16-14, but couldn't quite come all the way back.

A few random thoughts from today's Armed Forces Bowl:

* SMU's Kyle Padron looked like a different quarterback in the second half. He struggled in the first half with two interceptions and a lost fumble. He seemed a bit out of sync and had some overthrows and tried to throw the ball into some tight spots. That wasn't the case in the second half. He was much more comfortable and led the Mustangs on a 92-yard drive in the third quarter and a 74-yard drive in the fourth quarter to alter the momentum. He made some smart decisions and helped lead his team back into the game.

* SMU started the game with a huge play as Padron threw deep to Aldrick Robinson for 45 yards to put SMU at the Army 35-yard line. Padron threw the ball against the wind and it was underthrown, but Robinson made a nice play on the ball to snatch it.

* Army's Josh McNary made a nice play on that first drive, sacking Padron and forcing a fumble. Chad Littlejohn picked it up and showed good speed, scampering 55 yards to the end zone to give Army the 7-0 lead. Padron got turned around and didn't secure the ball well enough.

* Wind didn't make things easy on kickers, either. Matt Szymanski missed a 35-yard field goal into the wind in the first quarter as he moved to his right. He missed a 47-yarder with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter (against the wind again) that would have given SMU the lead.

* SMU sophomore defensive end Margus Hunt blocked a PAT on Army's second score. It was Hunt's third blocked kick in 2010 and the 10th of his career. He had seven blocked kicks in 2009 as a freshman, a SMU record and tied for second-most in a season in NCAA history.

* Army's triple option gave the SMU defense fits in its first two drives, but the Mustangs adjusted. It was SMU's defensive unit that kept the Mustangs in the game despite the offensive struggles. Give defensive coordinator Tom Mason some credit for finding a way to slow down Army enough to keep the Mustangs around.

* Army quarterback Trent Steelman, a sophomore, ran the triple option well and made smart decisions. The Black Knights weren't afraid to roll him out on run-pass options and he was able to make some key plays. When Army needed a first down late in the fourth quarter after SMU used its final timeout, Steelman rolled out and ran for six yards to get the first down by a yard.

* SMU attempted its second fake punt of the season as Szymanski took the snap and didn't have anyone coming across the line to his left, so he tucked and ran for 18 yards to convert a first down. SMU ended up missing the field goal on that drive in the first quarter.

* SMU attempted to get its inside running game going with Zach Line, who had more success doing that in the second half. He also did a nice job of picking up blocks on Army blitzes. Line is a very good inside runner and he showed that best with an 8-yard carry when he shed a tackler at the line of scrimmage and kept churning his legs despite three tacklers on him to get a first down in the fourth quarter. Line found a lot more room in the late stages of the game as Army's defense got tired.

* Line had more than 100 yards rushing for the seventh game this season.

* SMU sophomore WR Darius Johnson made a great catch in the corner of the end zone, concentrating to make the play despite good coverage. The TD made it a 16-14 game and got the crowd fully into the game.

* Army linebacker Stephen Anderson had a memorable game. The senior had an interception and made some great tackles, including one on Zach Line inside the 10-yard line in the third quarter (SMU did score on the drive).

* Army fullback Jared Hassin was a load to bring down for SMU. He had plenty of carries and got some tough yards as the Black Knights ran out the clock.

* Great call by the Army offensive coaches on 3rd-and-5 with just over a minute left. Needing a first down to seal the game, Army called a rollout pass and completed it to win the game.

* SMU receiver Keenan Holman, a freshman, made a nice catch across the middle on third down to move the chains on a SMU drive early in the fourth quarter. He did it again on a third-and-5 in the fourth quarter. Holman had a solid game that should give him some confidence.

* Both schools sold out their allotment of tickets to the game and a nice walkup crowd made for a nearly completely full stadium. A Ford Stadium record of 36,000-plus attended the game.

* I liked the SMU touch of wearing black jerseys in honor of the Black Knights. The Mustangs still had their traditional home pants with the stripes and the white SMU helmet with the red Mustang. But, as it should, the whole bowl had a military feel to it.

It's time again to make some college football predictions for our local teams. Please share your picks in the comment section.

SMU vs. Marshall (2 p.m., Saturday): The Mustangs (5-5) need a win to become bowl eligible and still control their own destiny in Conference USA's West Division. If SMU can win its last two games, they'll play for the C-USA title. It's a "white out" at SMU. The Mustangs are at home and ready. They'll take care of business. Prediction: SMU 28, Marshall 17

Weber State at Texas Tech (2 p.m., Saturday): If there was ever a time for the Red Raiders to get a Big 12 breather, it's this week. Texas Tech was crushed by Oklahoma, 45-7, last week and is 3-5 in conference. Weber State shouldn't provide much of a problem. Houston comes to town next week. Prediction: Texas Tech 45, Weber State 10

Florida Atlantic at Texas (2:30 p.m., Saturday): The Longhorns offense continues to sputter, but the Longhorns should have some chances to score against Florida Atlantic. Texas needs a win Saturday and a victory over Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night just to finish .500. Prediction: Texas 31, Florida Atlantic 13

North Texas at Louisiana-Monroe (2:30 p.m., Saturday): This should be a good game between two pretty even teams. It's on the road, which might normally suggest some struggles for UNT. But I'm going with the Mean Green in a close one. Prediction: North Texas 31, Louisiana-Monroe 28

Nebraska at Texas A&M (7 p.m., Saturday, ABC): The Aggies are sure excited about this one. As of today, 29,520 students have put in for tickets and the university is arranging to have chairs on the track to get everyone in the stadium they possibly can. And why not? Texas A&M has won four straight and is No. 19 in the country. Nebraska better be ready. The Cornhuskers want to clinch the Big 12 North and continue their march toward a BCS bowl. I think the Aggies come to play at home on Saturday. Prediction: Texas A&M 24, Nebraska 21

Oklahoma at Baylor (7 p.m., ESPN2): The Bears had things going after a win over Texas put them at 7-2 and tied for the top spot in the Big 12 South. But losses to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M mean Saturday's game isn't to keep the Bears near the top of the division anymore. They are bowl eligible and hoping for a chance to beat Texas and Oklahoma in the same season. But I don't see that happening Saturday. Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Baylor 21

Oklahoma State at Kansas (11 a.m., Saturday): I can't see the Cowboys having trouble here, even on the road. They want to be sure they keep that Bedlam clash one that would decide the Big 12 South. Prediction: Oklahoma State 38, Kansas 17