SMU Mustangs Football

After soaring to an 11-3 record and an Alamo Bowl victory behind Robert Griffin III last season, Baylor kicks off the 2012-2013 campaign with a lot of different faces and some hungry players looking to step up.

SMU posted an 8-5 record last season behind starting running back Zach Line and receiver Darius Johnson, who is currently battling a soar wrist.

This could end up being a high scoring game in the end. Here's a look at each team's season opener on Sunday.

Where: Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, TX

When: Sunday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Watch: FSN

Listen: 1310 AM/104.1 FM (Dallas-Ft. Worth), Baylor IMG Sports Network

Live Stream: Mustangs All Access, Baylor All Access

Betting Line: Baylor -9, Over/Under 58, via Bovada

What's At Stake?

Baylor is coming off an impressive 11-3 campaign that saw the program capture the Alamo Bowl in a 67-56 thriller against Washington.

On the other hand, star quarterback Robert Griffin III and star receiver Kendall Wright are in the NFL now. Griffin was a one-man wrecking crew last season en route to the Heisman Trophy. Wright racked up 108 receptions for 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

That's not even mentioning Baylor's leading rusher last season, Terrance Ganaway, who racked up over 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground.

It's no wonder why the Bears aren't ranked headed into their season opener. It should be an uphill battle this season.

SMU is coming off an 8-5 season, but has five new starters on the offensive line and a new quarterback in former Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who is coming off shoulder surgery in September.

On the other hand, the Mustangs still have senior running back Zach Line, who rushed for 1,224 yards and 17 touchdowns last season on 5.9 yards per carry. He will be crucial for their offense to get off the ground.

There's also the fact that SMU has the second-most returning starters on defense in Conference USA. The growth of the defense will be key for the Mustangs to notch another solid season. 

SMU will be looking to capture its third division championship in four seasons.

Injury Report (via USA Today)

SMU

WR Darius Johnson—Wrist—Probable

RB Zach Line—Foot—Probable

DB James Richardson—Knee—OUT for season

Baylor

DT Kaeron Johnson—Back—OUT for season

SMU Player to Watch: Zach Line, RB

Before posting huge numbers last season, Zach Line collected 1,494 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry, as well as adding 163 receiving yards.

Line is certainly no fluke.

Line is going to need some help from his new offensive line, but he has the game-changing ability to make some spectacular plays, regardless of the circumstances.

Baylor allowed 5.2 yards per carry last season, the third-worst mark in the Big 12.

Baylor Player to Watch: Terrance Williams, WR

With Wright gone, senior Terrance Williams is going to have to step up even more for the Bears.

Williams may have been overshadowed by Wright and Griffin last season, but he quietly had an impressive season, racking up 957 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on just 59 catches (16.2 yards per catch).

Williams has the skill set to be a No. 1 receiver for Baylor with senior quarterback Nick Florence tossing him the pigskin.

Key Matchup: Baylor Passing Attack vs. SMU Defense

Baylor may have lost some key starters, but they still have Terrance Williams and junior Tevin Reese, who posted 877 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 51 catches last season (17.2 yards per reception). Some people believe Reese is going to break out this season.

Big things are also expected of Nick Florence under center this season for the Bears. The coaching staff has been adamant that the drop-off won't be too significant.

The linebacking corps will be key for SMU to slow Baylor down. It's arguably the best unit on the team, led by seniors Taylor Reed (101 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks last season) and Ja'Gared Davis (83 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks).

SMU could also use some more plays in the secondary, notching just six picks all of last season (fewest in Conference USA).

Prediction: Baylor 27, SMU 21

I know Baylor doesn't have Griffin, Wright or Ganaway anymore, but I think Nick Florence will surprise and they have a running back in Lache Seastrunk who could do some damage this season.

I do think SMU will hold its own, behind Line and June Jones' masterful aerial attack, but I just think Baylor will score a bit more. This should be a good game and some are even calling for an upset.

Tweet, Tweet.

Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com likens the defensive end to a 'PlayStation football creation'.

This is because he has a 6'8", 280 lbs frame mixed with the athleticism of a much smaller man.

Hunt is from Estonia and moved to the U.S in 2007 in order to train with SMU track and field coach Dave Wollman.

2007 was the first time Hunt had ever played the sport and he showed up well in tryouts.

Hunt was a talented track star: He won both European and World Junior championships for both the shot put and discus.

Now focusing solely on football, Wollman  predicts that Hunt will be able to run a 4.6 40-yard dash and rep 225 lbs 45 times at next year's NFL combine.

Although only having five years' experience, Hunt can still make a big impact: he has blocked 14 kicks so far in his collegiate career with SMU.

Hunt should have a big senior year, and I'm sure he will use his near seven-foot wingspan to take down opposing quarterbacks.

I was lucky enough to get an interview with the man himself and I hope you enjoy:

CL: Does your experience in events like the hammer throw, shot put and discus help your performances with SMU?

MH: I would say it does, I always had a good biomechanical understanding of the throwing events and I had to take that knowledge and apply it to football when I was learning and that helped me. The biggest thing was to learn the game itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIV8LYURsc

CL: What are the main things that you are looking to improve upon during this offseason?

MH: I'm working a little on explosiveness and power, but conditioning and being able to be on the field the whole game and go fast every play is my main focus.

CL: How are you able to block so many kicks?

MH: We have good schemes, but the main help comes from my teammates who create the gap where I penetrate. None of that would be useful if you aren't fast enough off the football, though, so we work on reaction drills every practice, and during the game it becomes second nature.

CL: You have great height, in what ways do you think this impacts on your performance?

MH: It makes me more exposed to blockers if I don't stay low, but at the same time, If I stay low and use my leverage, it will give me a huge advantage.

CL: Do you see yourself as a future 3-4 or 4-3 defensive end at the NFL level?

MH: I don't know. The only system I know is the 3-4, but I will play whatever they throw at me. Some of our packages include some 4-3 looks, and it's fun to move around during a game and try different things.

CL: By the end of your senior season, which round do you hope to be drafted in?

MH: I would hope to be drafted as early as possible, but we'll just have to wait and see. The only thing I can control right now is my attitude towards practice and it has been really good so far.

CL: Do you think that you could run a 4.6 40-yard dash and set NFL combine bench press records like Dave Wollman predicted?

MH: Running a 4.6 would definitely be possible, I just need some work and practice. I ran a 4.7 while sick and really tired. The combine bench press record would be a totally different challenge, to do reps that high, we need to work on it all the time and find a perfect rhythm to last for 50 reps.

CL: Is American Football growing in Estonia because of you?

MH: I sure hope it is. Sometimes I do get emails from my fellow Estonians who have been watching the games and mentioning that they are really interested in this game. I think we would have some great talent in Estonia to have a great team. We do have a team, but those guys are just doing it for their own fun and they have a great passion for the game. 

CL: What made you decide to focus on football rather than track?

MH: I had a left shoulder injury in February of 2011, and that took away a full year of throwing, so I focused on football that year. Also, we already have three world class discus throwers in Estonia and it would be difficult for me to try and make a huge comeback this year, and last season was great for me. That's why I decided to focus on football.

CL: Due to you being relatively new to the sport, which hurdles have been the hardest to overcome?

MH: Getting used to the pace of the game and learning the game itself. When you watch enough film on your opponent and learn them, then the game will be a lot easier and you have some idea of what to expect on certain situations.

CL: What has your best game in your career so far?

MH: I would say the bowl game against Pittsburgh, because that game I was really able to let myself loose and have fun. But I have one more season left, so I hope that my best games are still ahead.

CL: Which NFL players do you admire most and why?

MH: DeMarcus Ware and Mario Williams because they are both big guys and know how to get to the quarterback fast.

CL: Which NFL team are you a fan of?

MH: I don't really have a specific favourite, whenever I watch the games I simply focus on what the defensive players are doing and try to learn from that.

CL: What are some of the qualities a defensive end needs that may not be apparent to the casual fan?

MH: I would think that they need to be students of the game. They are the front that has to work together and communicate amongst themselves to know what's going on and what the other guys on the defensive line are doing,.

CL: What are your expectations for the upcoming season?

MH: Our team is looking good and I will push the guys to get even better, because I know that this season we can really let it loose and win some major games. It's all about fundamentals and mastering them and being more physical than the other team. I expect us to win our conference and have a great season!

I'd like to say thanks to Margus for doing this interview and to Brad Sutton for arranging it. I wish Margus the best of luck for the upcoming season.

It's never too early to start thinking about next year's draft. Not every player on CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman's "Freak List" is eligible to be drafted next year, but the list is a good starting point for predicting players who will dominate draft talk in 2013. Feldman's No. 1 freak is the kind of player who has the potential to redefine what is possible at the annual event.

Leading the list is SMU DE Margus Hunt. Hunt is 6'8" 280 with an 82" wingspan. He can also bench 225 35 times, which is ridiculous at that arm length. SMU track coach Dave Wollman predicts that Hunt will run a 4.6 40-yard-dash and bench 225 45 times at the combine next year.

Those numbers would blow away the measurables of 2012 combine star Dontari Poe, who went 11th overall to Kansas City despite poor tape at Memphis. Hunt projects as a 4-3 end, which is an increasingly tough position to find in the draft. The skyrocketing stock of Bruce Irvin, Chandler Jones and Shea McClellin, the top three 4-3 ends drafted last month, shows just how much teams coveted players with upside who fit that position. It's not difficult to imagine the Minnesota Vikings or Miami Dolphins taking Hunt in the top 10 next year if they don't improve greatly this season.

Wollman also raved about Hunt's pure athleticism, calling him "the most kinetic aware of any athlete I've ever had", which includes 19 Olympians. Hunt won the gold medal in the shot put and the discus at the 2006 World Junior Championships, the first athlete to ever win gold in both events in the competition. The Estonian had no experience playing American football until 2007, which puts an exclamation point on his virtually unlimited potential. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIV8LYURsc

Even if Hunt is too raw to play a big role on defense early in his inevitable NFL career, he'll make an instant impact on special teams. He has blocked 14 kicks in his three years playing football at SMU. With four more this year, he'll break the NCAA record for combined blocked kicks in a career. That ability will just be the cherry on the sundae for the team that gets this future household name in draft circles.

Southern Methodist running back Jared Williams sustained an injury in the BBVA Compass Bowl against the Pittsburgh Panthers that would make the toughest human reach for a garbage can.  Many are calling it the most brutal football injury they’ve ever witnessed.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli reported on Twitter this news regarding Williams.

If you really want to see it, here's a GIF of the injury from mocksession.com.

Trainers were predictably forced to carry the halfback off on a stretcher.

Williams is only a freshman, but he received plenty of playing time near the end of the season for the Mustangs.  He rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries against Rice in the season finale to help his team get to the Compass Bowl.  Before his gruesome injury against Pitt, he had rushed for 40 yards on the day.

SMU went on to win the game 28-6, but right now, all ears are on Williams' status. 

Andrew Taglianetti is the Panthers player who tackled the Mustang causing the injury.  As soon as he realized what was happen, the junior safety was distraught as he and teammates around the pile urged trainers to run to Williams’ aid.  After the game, Pittsburgh’s DB was in tears talking not about his teams loss, but Williams’ injury.

Also thanks to mocksession.com, here is a GIF of Taglianetti after the play; this one isn’t nearly as gruesome.

While Twitter blew up with prayers for Williams, it also exploded with praise for Taglianetti who showed flawless sportsmanship under the given circumstances.

Many are comparing the injury to Joe Theismann’s infamous break which ended the quarterback’s career.  He broke it, though, back in 1985.  Hopefully with today’s advanced modern-day medical technology and procedures Williams will not only fully recover like Theismann, but his bright young career won’t be cut short.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels

SMU is reportedly one of the six schools—along with Air Force, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston and Navy—that has been invited to the decimated Big East conference.

Whether the Mustangs choose to accept the offer still remains to be seen. But just to see this program, which has gone through so much rebuilding over the last few decades, finally get an invitation to a BCS conference says enough.

After becoming the first football program in the history of major college athletics to receive the dreaded “Death Penalty” back in 1987, it took SMU 20 years to work its way back to respectability.

That’s what’s made the job that coach June Jones has done all the more remarkable.

Jones arrived in 2008, and in just his second season managed to guide the Mustangs to a winning campaign and their first bowl game since 1984. He then repeated the feat a year later, guiding SMU to the Armed Forces Bowl last season.

Jones has managed to turn around a program that seemingly nobody wanted a part of. Now, SMU has become a desirable attraction for a BCS conference like the Big East because of its recent success and its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth television market.

SMU athletic director Steve Orsini has made it clear that he wants his football program to belong to a BCS conference. While Orsini would obviously rather join a conference like the Big 12, where the Mustangs could match up with some of their old Southwest Conference rivals, an invitation to the Big East is not something that should be taken lightly.

It remains to be seen what move the Mustangs ultimately make. The fact that they received the invitation in the first place shows that this is a program that is headed in the right direction under June Jones, and one that could finally shake the “Death Penalty" curse that has plagued it for the last two miserable decades.

Conference realignment continues to be the headline news in college football. A much-maligned Big East Conference is about to get exactly what they need in two programs joining their ranks as soon as next week.

The Dallas Morning News reports the Big East will indeed get a little bigger as they scramble to answer the loss of West Virginia to the Big 12.

Southern Methodist University as well as the University of Central Florida will join the Big East for the football season only.

The most pressing matter for the conference was to remain in good standing with the BCS as they come up for re-evaluation for their current automatic-bid status.

It seems they have thwarted disaster by adding two programs that have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.

The Big East states they were well aware of West Virginia's loss to the Big 12. The fact that Louisville is staying is the X-factor in keeping the conference intact. Commissioner John Marinatto released a statement on the situation.

This move by West Virginia does not come as a surprise. League officials, members of our conference and the candidate schools to whom we have been talking were aware of this possibility...We are confident that in the coming weeks we will complete our own realignment program, adding a number of high-quality members to remain among the top conferences in both football and basketball.

For a couple weeks, all signs pointed to a conference that was nearly extinct. The sudden infusion of programs was necessary as the Mountaineers head west. Having more programs come to the Big East mixed with increased fines for leaving should keep the conference safe from destruction.

In what has been all too rare these days, the Big East was dealt some very encouraging news.

Almost all of the prospects in the Rivals.com Top 250 rankings for 2012 have the major conference programs knocking on their doors by the dozen, but this was not the case with 4-star wide receiver Gabriel Marks (Los Angeles, CA).

The No. 166 overall prospect and No. 25 ranked receiver announced Thursday he will play his college football for June Jones at Southern Methodist University.

"I just got off the phone with coach (Adrian) Klemm," Marks told Sam Erwin of PonyPride.com. "I was just talking to him and he basically told me that they really wanted me and I know it is the best school for me. They are going to put the ball in my hands so I decided to pull the trigger."

What is more surprising than Marks' commitment to SMU is that he only had offers from four major conference schools (California, Boston College, UCLA and Utah). 

The Venice High School standout told Adam Gorney of Rivals.com he loves the idea of being able to catch a lot of passes in Jones' pass heavy offense.

"They were giving me the best offer, so it was the best fit for me," Marks said. "I definitely will get a lot of chances to catch the ball and make a lot of plays and be one of their receivers in the offense so it's a good fit for me."

Marks said Wednesday he wanted to take official visits, but apparently the chance to play early and be an active receiver was too much to turn down. The 6'0" and 175-pounder did not rule out the possibility of taking a few visits to other schools though.

"I may still take some visits but I feel like I am done for now," Marks said. "It is the school I am going to."

Marks is the only prospect out of the nine commitments in SMU's 2012 recruiting class with a 4-star or higher rating, but he feels that could change relatively soon.

"If (Coach Klemm) can get some more of the kids we have out here, and I know he can because he is a great recruiter, we will have something special at SMU. I think that we will be good," Marks said.

Check out my blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story, along with other articles and video reports on major sports. You can also follow my blog on Twitter, @DirtyDugoutBlog, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted!

The Army Black Knights deserve a lot of credit in this 2010 Armed Forces Bowl. They came in ready to play and they outlasted the SMU Mustangs to win, 16-14.

It didn't take much for Army to take control of the game, as they returned a fumble for a touchdown on just the third play of the game.

From there, another score and three first half turnovers from SMU essentially put this game away. It was those mistakes, all three from quarterback Kyle Padron, helped Army hang on even after the Mustangs attempted a late second half rally.

Army linebacker Steven Anderson was named the player of the game, and for good reason. He was all over the field making tackle after tackle and came up with big stops when the team needed it.

For SMU, it was wide receiver Darius Johnson who had the biggest game with 152 yards and a touchdown on just nine catches.

For Padron, even though it was a tough first half for the young quarterback, he rebounded with a solid second-half effort, throwing two touchdown passes and almost leading his team all the way back from a 16-0 first-half deficit.

He finished the day completing 23 of his 34 pass attempts for 302 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions with a fumble. Not a day he wants to remember, but his second-half effort is something he should definitely be proud of.

What a day it was here on the campus of SMU at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The atmosphere was amazing, the fans were up and cheering all game long—it's one of those games you love to be around and a game that was worth watching right down to the end.

Congratulations to the Army Black Knights for winning the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl.