SMU Looking To Build On Their Exciting Season

By brandon Houser | Sep 18, 2015

Despite the 1-1 record, the SMU Mustangs have been extremely competitive in both games this season.

In their first game, SMU was blown out 56-21 by the top ranked Baylor Bears. But what the final score doesn’t indicate, is that the first half of that game was actually pretty competitive. Week two turned out even better when new head coach, Chad Morris, led his Mustangs team to a 31-13 win over North Texas to avenge last season’s embarrassing blowout by the hands of the Mean Green.

Now with a solid win behind them, SMU will be heading to Fort Worth to face another foe from the D/FW area, when they meet highly-ranked TCU on Saturday.

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Most will agree, it will take a miracle for the Mustangs to pull off an upset over TCU this weekend. But as long as the Ponies put up a fight and keep the game competitive, it can be seen as another moral victory for their program, similar to the loss to the Bears. And let’s be honest, this game is not automatically going to be an easy one for TCU either, considering how banged up that Horned Frogs defense is.

The SMU offense can be just as explosive as the TCU offense can be. As long as SMU can exploit the holes that have been left on the TCU defense, they should be able to keep the game somewhat close.

The Mustangs’ most dangerous weapons on offense this season have been quarterback Matt Davis and wide receiver Courtland Sutton.

Davis has been on fire, completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 337 yards, four touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He has also been the top rushing threat for SMU, with 41 carries for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

Even though Davis clearly likes creating plays on the run, he doesn’t mind targeting his top receiving threat, Courtland Sutton, either.

Sutton has been on the receiving end of eight Davis passes this season. Those eight receptions have been turned into a team-leading 147 yards and three touchdowns. If Davis can find a way to extend the field with Sutton, these two could be one of the top quarterback/receiver duos in college football.

The biggest problem SMU faces this week, is going to be stopping the Frogs with this inconsistent defense.

This is the same a defense that allowed 56 points to the Baylor offense, then turned around and held North Texas to 13 points the following week. Who really knows which SMU defense will show up this week? The best thing for the defense, is to stay calm and not let the magnitude of the game get into their heads.

With the way the TCU offense scores points, all the SMU defense can do is try to contain quarterback Trevone Boykin and limit the Horned Frogs receivers on their deep routes. If they can’t do that, this one could get ugly fast.

The SMU defense’s questionable play, pressures the offense to match TCU in scores every possession. One stalled drive is all it will take for TCU to find their edge. SMU must do whatever it takes to stay in the game.

A loss will not be a huge deal for SMU. This was a team that was picked to win only a couple of games this season. If SMU can keep this game competitive, they may be in store for an eight or nine win season.

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