SMU's splash on the national scene began four years ago when blue-chip quarterback Preston Stone chose the Mustangs over Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and a slew of others. Stone led the AAC in passing efficiency last season, but a broken leg ended his campaign in late-November. Stone will have plenty of familiar faces to work with this season as the Mustangs return 76-percent of their production from last season, ranking top-20 in the country in returning production on both offense and defense.

In Reno, former Texas defensive coordinator Jeff Choate gets his first shot at leading an FBS program. Known as a defensive mind, summer camp reports suggest that the Wolf Pack offense is a little farther along than Choate’s defense. Nevada returns 64-percent of its offensive production from last year (top-60 in the country). It's certainly fair to question, "How many players do you really want to return from a 2-10 football team?" but nonetheless, they have a baseline to work with. Quarterback Brendon Lewis will get the nod after starting ten games last season. Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick has provided inspiration to the team as he continues to coach while currently battling leukemia. Lubick has been a part of some great programs in recent years, and has helped lead Kansas’ offensive resurgence over the last couple seasons.

With a healthy Stone at quarterback last season, SMU scored 55 points on its own four times in 12 games. Any help that Nevada can give us on the scoreboard is a welcomed bonus because the Mustangs can probably flirt with this total on their own. A first-year coach in his first game usually means that the team will give him a good effort for 60 minutes. Expect the Wolf Pack to make a small contribution to the final tally. SMU has also announced that highly-touted backup QB Kevin Jennings is going to play meaningful minutes in this game. That likely means that SMU is going to keep the playbook open a little longer than normal as the Mustangs' coaching staff works to keep Jennings prepared in case he's thrust into action like last year.