ESPN College Football

SMU coach June Jones acknowledged that he was surprised when running back Shawnbrey McNeal opted to forgo his senior season for the NFL draft.

McNeal had played just one season with the Mustangs -- his best collegiate season -- after transferring from Miami to be closer to his family. McNeal provided SMU a quality running attack it hadn't had in quite some time and rushed for 1,188 yards and 12 touchdowns. He became the first 1,000-yard rusher that Jones has ever coached.

“He and I had talked about it before the bowl game and he had a lot of family issues so we kind of weighed all the pluses and the negatives for him,” Jones said.

McNeal initially moved home to the Dallas area to be with his mother who suffers from diabetes. His family needed financial help, so he saw the NFL as a way to get that help and SMU a catapult to that dream.

McNeal’s efforts during the 2009 season earned him a spot in the NFL Combine in late February, one of the few junior to earn that honor.

But Jones thinks McNeal probably would have been drafted in the same position and gotten his degree if he had stayed in school.

“I was disappointed that he didn’t just stay for himself because he may get drafted late, but I was trying to express to him the importance of having an SMU and still getting drafted late next year,” Jones said. “But he had some other issues, outside forces, that he just didn’t think he could stay. So, we wish him well and hopefully he’ll make it.”

Jones said McNeal leaving did not alter his recruiting strategy. The Mustangs already had received commitments from Madill, Okla., running back Darryl Fields, who rushed for 1,495 yards and 25 touchdowns on just 145 carries last season and Mt. Enterprise (Texas) running back Kevin Pope, who rushed for 1,401 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight games before tearing his ACL.

Jones said had McNeal stayed, one of the two recruits would have redshirted. But with McNeal gone, both are expected to contribute in 2010.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Nevada coach Chris Ault’s job could be in jeopardy if he doesn’t show some improvement this year.

A great breakdown of San Jose State’s piece of the BCS bowl money and how much Boise State and TCU made the Spartans year.

Former SMU running back Shawnbrey McNeal received an invite to the NFL Combine.

Eastern Washington is taking a page out of Boise State’s book at putting in a red field this offseason.

Former Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount tries to move past the Boise State punch.

Former Auburn commit Reggie Hunt is heading to Southern Miss instead.

UTEP’s 2012 game in Austin will net the Miners $1 million.

BYU commit defensive end Kona Schwenke could be changing his pledge to Notre Dame.

Nevada (8-4)

1. Take pressure off Kap: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the remaining 1,000-yard rusher in the Wolf Pack backfield, which means a lot of the pressure of the offense will fall on his shoulders. That’s not good. Players such as receiver Brandon Wimberly, and running backs Lampford Mark and Mike Ball need to pick up the offensive slack and give Kaepernick some help.

2. Buckle down in the secondary: Nevada ranks 119th in the country in passing defense with 284.25 yards per game and that will play right into the hands of SMU’s offense, which ranks 28th in the country in passing. Quarterback Kyle Padron, who took over the starting role in late October, completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,462 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions this year.

3. Get pressure up front: Nevada boasts the best defender in the Western Athletic Conference in lineman Dontay Moch. He led the conference with 19.5 tackles for loss, which should come in handy against a young quarterback and running back. Look for Moch to come after Padron and contain running back Shawnbrey McNeal.

SMU (7-5)

1. Stay diverse: One of the aspects that has made SMU so successful this season is the ability to keep defenses guessing. The Mustangs have a strong passing game, but they also excel on the ground behind running back Shawnbrey McNeal. He’s rushed for 1,125 yards and nine touchdowns and should be key in giving SMU a chance in the game.

2. Forget Taua and Lippincott: It would be easy to discount the Nevada rushing attack with leading rushers Vail Taua and Luke Lippincott out with academic issues and injury respectively, but the Wolf Pack still have capable threats in quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Lampford Mark and Mike Ball. Both Mark and Ball, who have seen limited time this season, have 100-yard games this year.

3. Rely on special teams: Defensive end Margus Hunt has seven blocked kicks this season and needs just one more to tie an NCAA record. He’s really swayed momentum several of the Mustangs games this year and could alter the kicking of Ricky Drake, who has been inconsistent at times this season.