The Mustangs have been here before, but only once.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding the team that has the possibility to reach the magical six-win plateau, technical bowl eligibility. For the second time since receiving the death penalty, SMU could reach bowl eligibility in hopes of securing their first bowl bid since 1984.

The Mustangs, in their second year under head coach June Jones, are showing that they might be able to achieve Jones’ preseason prediction of reaching a bowl game within two years sooner rather than later.

The Mustangs had a chance to end the bowl drought in 2006 when in the final game of the season a 6-5 Mustang squad took on a 6-5 Rice team in Houston. After four Rice goal-line stands on their own one with under one minute left, SMU was left the odd man out at 6-6 when it came to bowl selections, making 2006 the only season since the death penalty in 1987 that SMU has technically been bowl eligible.

But that could change this season. To accomplish this feat, the Mustangs (4-4, 3-1) will need to get at least two more wins; three to be safe to lock in a postseason appearance.

With four games left to play, and three at home starting this week against winless Rice, the Mustangs appear to be on track to secure what has eluded them for 25 years.

It is very possible that a 6-6 record this season would be enough to garner a bowl appearance because Conference USA could offer up to six bowl appearances with a possible seventh. When SMU was snubbed in 2006, only five slots were available to C-USA teams.

The pecking order for bowl selection begins with the teams posting winning records, but with C-USA unlikely to produce six teams with a record better than 6-6 with four games remaining, two wins could get the Mustangs in.

In C-USA, the winner receives an automatic bid to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. After that, bowls extend their own invitations.

One possible outcome would be for Jones to return to Hawaii, where he was very successful prior to coming to SMU. Should the Mustangs reach the seven-win mark, it is possible that the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl would give the Mustangs a bid and bring Jones back to the islands.

“There’s no question SMU and June Jones would be very high up on our list,” David A.K. Matlin, executive director of the Hawaii Bowl told The Dallas Morning News.

The final stretch of the season could be considered a reprieve from the tough month of October the Mustangs faced, surviving with a 2-2 record. With four games remaining, the Mustangs face Rice and Tulane, with a combined record of 2-14.

UTEP comes to Ford Stadium next week, and the Miners, though solid at home beating both Tulsa and ranked Houston, have been a question mark on the road.