The SMU Mustangs are set to kick off the 2024 college football season in style as they face the Nevada Wolf Pack this Saturday at Mackay Stadium. This game is more than just a season opener, it’s a historic moment as the Mustangs take the field for the first time as members of the ACC.

The Mustangs are coming off an impressive 11-3 season, capped by an AAC Championship, though their Fenway Bowl appearance ended in a loss to Boston College. All eyes will be on Preston Stone, who returns under center after a strong season where he threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Stone is back from a season-ending ankle injury, and he’s ready to lead SMU’s high-octane offense once again.

WATCH: Click here to Stream SMU vs. Nevada Live

The Wolf Pack will have new leadership in coach Jeff Choate, who comes from FCS powerhouse Montana State. Running backs Sean Dollars and Boston College transfer Pat Garwo add some punch to the offense. However, Nevada’s defense, which struggled mightily in 2023, will need to step up big-time against SMU’s explosive attack.

Will SMU start their ACC era with a bang, or can Nevada pull off an early-season upset? Tune in on Saturday to find out!

WATCH: Click here to Stream SMU vs. Nevada Live

SMU Mustangs (-27.5) vs. Nevada Wolf Pack

O/U: 55.5

The Little League World Series in again wrapping up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where another Nevada team was able to qualify. That makes three in the state’s history.

Here is a closer look at how each fared when competing in the event:

Mountain Ridge (2014)

The first team in Nevada history to qualify for the Series certainly made the most of its trip. Led by star players like Austin Kryszczuk, who would go onto play collegiately at UNLV, the team moved through the bracket with wins against South Dakota, Chicago and Pennsylvania.

Mountain Ridge fell to Chicago 7-5 in the United States final, but later was crowned U.S champion when it was learned Chicago used ineligible players.

After a journey that began with thousands of All-Star teams across the country earlier in the summer, things ended for Mountain Ridge on the final day of the Little League season when it lost to Japan 5-0 in a consolation game.

“I want the team to be remembered for the motto on the back of the shirts we wore — ‘Always Earned, Never Given,’” said Ashton Cave, the Mountain Ridge manager speaking five years following the tournament. “I hope they learned there is so much more to life than baseball. Work hard. Make a difference in the lives of those you come in contact with. Be mentors to young kids who, to this day, still look up to you. Be good, quality people. Be good fathers and husbands.

“Don’t be remembered for just a moment in time, but for the young men you have become in society because of that time.”

Henderson (2023)

The second team from Nevada to make the World Series lost just twice by a total of three runs. In each defeat, Henderson ran into some of the best pitching the tournament offered.

It first encountered Connor Curtis and his 15 strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to Rhode Island. Then, in an elimination game, Henderson was held to just two hits by Tennessee pitcher Lucas McCauley in a 2-1 defeat.

“At some point, everything must come to an end, right?” said an emotional Ryan Gifford, the Henderson manager. “I couldn’t be prouder of these boys. Great kids, great families, great baseball. When we started this thing back in May, we knew we were pretty good. To be one of the final six teams in the (United States) still playing — we definitely exceeded our expectations. It was an amazing run. We’ll take this with us forever.

“My message to the kids was to keep their heads up, keep working, keep battling, keep getting better every day. I love these kids, and I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to have done this with them. I’m very proud how they represented the state of Nevada.”

Paseo Verde (2024)

Adam Johnson took time away from his job as assistant equipment manager for the Raiders to manage Paseo Verde. Needless to say, the NFL team was fine with his absence given the reason.

Paseo Verde finished the World Series with a 2-2 record, eliminated by Lake Mary, Florida, 6-3 one win away from the U.S. championship game.

“It hurts right now,” Johnson said. “But these boys showed up as a team, and they’re leaving as a team. They definitely need to have their heads up. They played well, and they represented our area well.”

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.

Can the major industries of gaming and cannabis ever co-exist in Nevada? Policy experts, industry insiders and local leaders are discussing the possibilities within state law, all to give tourists and locals more consumer options.

UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and the UNLV International Gaming Institute recently held a panel on federal regulations, state and local laws, and interest from industry leaders in gaming and cannabis.

Chair Tick Segerblom weighed in on the panel, and tells FOX5, some resort owners are looking ahead.

“They can see the synergy, especially with food and entertainment,” Segerblom said.

“You’ll start to see more and more conversations about ways these two industries could merge,” said Riana Durrett of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute, launched in 2023, helping government and medicine navigate the legal new frontier of cannabis regulations.

It would take major federal changes until Nevada could see a distant scenario: a cannabis dispensary or a lounge in a casino. Cannabis is still currently a Schedule I substance, with federal leaders moving towards a Schedule III classification. Federal banking laws also prohibit cannabis sales and transactions, which pose barriers for federally-regulated casinos.

“Attitudes have wildly changed in the last 10 years,” said Durrett. Since Nevada legalized recreational marijuana in 2017, numerous states have followed.

“We’re pretty far off from that point where we will see a consumption lounge or dispensary in a casino, but that is why I think it’s an interesting conversation. There are more opportunities out there that don’t involve going straight for a consumption lounge in a casino,” Durett said, noting options for changes in state and local laws that could amount to smaller steps to provide consumers more access.

One of the easier changes? Laws or regulations on cannabis deliveries.

“I think the ones that are the most subject to further discussion are ones like the prohibition on legal delivery to the strip corridor. There could be legal delivery to-non gaming establishments on the Strip corridor, and that wouldn’t put the gaming establishments in violation of federal law,” Durett said.

State regulations also prohibit cannabis delivery beyond private residences. “I do think that’s going to be looked at, this legislative session,” Durett said, and tells FOX5, a state lawmaker is looking into policy changes.

Any changes would start to chip at a decade of state and local restrictions.

In 2014, the Gaming Control Board warned licensees against participation in the cannabis industry. In 2017 and 2018, gaming regulators confirmed and expanded prohibitions, Durett said.

In 2017, Clark county prohibited legal delivery to the Strip.

In 2019, the Legislature imposed a 1,500 foot separation between gaming and cannabis establishments.

2024 ushered in a new era: legal cannabis lounges.

Durett tells FOX5 that policymakers could explore lessening regulations there, such as whether gaming could be in a consumption lounge off the Strip.

The next step: surveying casino leaders to see their interest in cannabis, if federal restrictions were lifted.

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