SMU Mustangs Football

Every week the Mustangs are given a task that will put them closer to national football relevance again.

Last season they went to a bowl game for the first time since 1984, they have already defeated their first BCS conference opponent since 2000, they have their best start since 1986 and last week they fell just short of winning their first non-conference road game since 1998.

SMU will face another game on the path of a different “first since” moment. When the Mustangs (4-3) face off against Houston (3-3), it will be to take the top spot in Conference USA West.

With a win SMU would be the only undefeated team left in its division; if Houston wins, it will have a loss against Rice but wins against UTEP and SMU in the division. That will put SMU in a position to win its first conference title since 1984.

Saturday’s homecoming game is the biggest hurdle the Mustangs will face in their quest to win the West and play in the C-USA championship game. They will get another test against UTEP on Nov. 6, but if they lose to Houston that game will not matter.

SMU quarterback Kyle Padron has completed over 66 percent of his passes in each of the last two games and has only completed fewer than 50 percent one time this season. In the loss against Navy Padron threw for 254 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. But it was the interception that killed a final drive with the game tied.

Zach Line continues to get the ball and contribute to SMU’s rushing game. Against Navy he ran the ball 15 times for 83 yards, bringing his season total to 635 rushing yards. But he has not scored a touchdown since the game against Rice.

The Cougars are coming off a 34-31 loss to Rice. David Piland got the start at quarterback and completed 23 of 45 passes for 282 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Piland, a freshman from Southlake, has started the past two games for the Cougars.

Terrence Broadway played when both Case Keenum and Cotton Turner were injured against UTEP and got the first start after that against Tulane. Broadway didn’t start the next week against Mississippi State but threw two passes for a touchdown. He didn’t see the field against Rice.

Houston is coming off back-to-back losses. The last time they lost two games in a row was the C-USA Championship and the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl last season.

SMU’s offense got out to a strong start against Navy last week but then stalled midway through the game. If they want to get a win on homecoming, they will have to keep the pressure on the Houston defense to stop them and to stop the Houston offense to keep scoring.

The Mustangs are eight-point favorites to win, but the game will be tough. SMU has not beaten Houston since 2005 and is an overall 9-15-1 against the Cougars. Another thing both teams will have to deal with is the weather. Right now there is a 60 percent chance of rain by game time, and it is supposed to start raining any time beginning Friday night.

The homecoming parade starts at 11 a.m. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. at Ford Stadium.

The Mustangs couldn’t hold onto a lead Saturday against Navy in Annapolis, losing to the Midshipmen 28-21.

SMU (4-3) jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with touchdown passes from Kyle Padron to Cole Beasley and Darius Johnson. But the Mustangs would go over a quarter and a half without putting more points on the board, while Navy (4-2) scored 21 unanswered points.

Again it was turnovers that led to SMU’s demise. The Mustangs lost the season opener in Lubbock by only eight points to Texas Tech after turning the ball over four times. Against Navy the Mustangs turned the ball over three times, and the last one was the dagger.

With the game tied and just under two minutes left in the game SMUI had the ball at its own 11-yard line. On the first play Padron threw a pass intended for Bradley Haynes, but Tyler Simmons intercepted the pass at the 19, and returned it to the 13-yard line. Navy would need just two plays to take a 28-21 lead.

SMU would make a final push, but the drive would end at the Navy 25-yard line after an attempted hook-and-ladder play.

Padron finished the game completing 28 of 42 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns, but the interception at the end of the game would mar his performance. It was Padron’s fourth game with at least three touchdown passes and his fourth game with over 250 yards passing.

Johnson had his second consecutive game of over 100 yards receiving with 104 on 12 catches. Beasley finished the game with 72 yards on nine catches, and Aldrick Robinson was held to just 41 yards on four catches and a touchdown. Zach Line finished the game with 83 yards on 15 carries, while Padron carried the ball eight times for 45 yards.

It wasn’t a clean game played by the Mustangs. SMU was penalized eight times for 76 yards, fumbled the ball three times, lost two, and the interception. The Mustangs also botched a field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

With 14 seconds left the Mustangs lined up to attempt a 43-yard field goal on third and 18. The snap was low and holder Braden Smith couldn’t get it set in time for Matt Szymanski to kick it. Braden was stopped for a seven-yard loss, and on fourth and 25 the Mustangs couldn’t stop the clock to make another attempt.

On the other side of the ball Navy did what Navy does. They ran the ball, worked the clock and wore down defenses. The Midshipmen rushed for 258 yards and three of their four touchdowns were on the ground. They also ate up 32 and a half minutes in possession, over five minutes more than the Mustangs.

Alexander Teich led the Midshipmen with 95 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, including the game winner. Gee Gee Greene had the other rushing touchdown, and quarterback Ricky Dobbs connected with Aaron Santiago for the other Navy score.

The SMU defense was unable to force any turnovers and only managed two tackles for loss, both by Margus Hunt, against the Navy offense. Taylor Reed led the team with 20 tackles.

The Mustangs will look to regroup this week before facing Houston Saturday for Homecoming, and possibly the right to represent the West in the Conference USA Championship game. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. at Ford Stadium.

The second half of the season begins Saturday afternoon in Annapolis for the Mustangs.

SMU (4-2) will face a Navy (3-2) team the Mustangs have had issues defeating the past two years. In 2008, the Midshipmen did not attempt a pass as they took care of the Mustangs the last time the teams met in Maryland. Last season Navy used overtime to defeat SMU, 38-35.

But this will be the first time quarterback Kyle Padron has faced the Midshipmen. In 2009, Padron entered the game against Houston, the week after SMU played Navy. As a starter Padron is 9-3 including his 460-yard passing performance against Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl last season.

The Mustangs went 4-2 in the second half of the season in 2009, after starting the year 3-3. With a better start to the 2010 season the Mustangs are also looking for a better finish. Two of the toughest opponents come on back-to-back weekends for SMU playing Navy this weekend and Houston for homecoming next weekend. The final challenge will be the season finale at East Carolina.

The Mustangs are already 3-0 against conference opponents, including Rice and Tulsa within the western division, and finish their non-conference schedule with the chance to go 2-2.

It’s hard to judge how the team will approach this game. The Mustangs are just 1.5-point underdogs, and it is possible that is only because Navy is the home team. SMU is coming off a close win against Tulsa last week and has two divisional opponents the next two weeks including next week against Houston.

It is possible the Mustangs will overlook this game and seek conference glory. But if they can pull out a win on the road it can help maintain momentum, and give the team confidence to win on the road.

The Midshipmen only average 19.6 points a game, but only allow 17.6 points a game on defense holding opponents to just over 170 yards rushing and just over 140 yards passing a game. And their offense does most of its work on the ground.

Led by quarterback Ricky Dobbs, Navy ranks 10th in the NCAA in rushing yards per game with 260—Dobbs has 317 yards and five touchdowns rushing this season. But Navy has four other 100-yard rushers already this year. Vince Murray and Gee Gee Greene each have over 200 yards, with Murray is approaching 300. Greene is also the team's leading receiver with 13 catches for 197 yards. Greg Jones has 204 yards and one touchdown reception.

Navy has 12 touchdowns this season, nine of them are rushing. Time of possession can be a misleading statistic, but the longer the Midshipmen have the ball, the less time the potent Mustangs offense has it. Navy averages 33:28 minutes in possession a game, leaving their opponents with just 26:30 minutes to operate, about a seven-minute difference.

After playing while sick against Rice and only rushing for 45 yards on 11 carries expect Zach Line to be a big part of what the Mustangs offense does against Navy. He carried for 92 yards on 17 touches against Tulsa last week. The Navy defense is good, but it will be tough for them to contain Padron and all of the receiving weapons SMU has if the running game is successful.

Padron is coming off back-to-back 300-plus passing games—371 against Rice and 381 against Tulsa. After not looking like the same quarterback who tore apart Nevada’s defense last December things appear to be clicking again for the sophomore play-caller. While Line has been a pleasant surprise this season, the success of the offense still lies on Padron's shoulders, and his right arm.

The SMU defense will be called on to stop the run. The Mustangs have been good about keeping opponents' passing games in line, with the exception of Texas Tech, but Navy doesn’t throw often. Last week against Tulsa the Mustangs gave up 4.2 yards a carry, the highest team average allowed this season. Tulsa’s 135 rushing yards was second to the 190 rushing yards given up against TCU, but it took the Frogs 46 carries opposed to the Golden Hurricane’s 32.

The defensive MVP through the first half of the season may have been Ja’Gared Davis. Davis is third on the team in tackles with 44, but 12 of them are for a loss including seven sacks. He also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The Mustangs are underdogs because they are on the road, but if they play as well as they have so far this season, they can return from Annapolis with a win.

The SMU Mustangs (4-2) have played six games this season, and have six regular season games left. What do we know, what have we learned and what should we expect in the second half of the season.

What We Know

We know that SMU is now one of the top teams in Conference USA. After finishing with the same record as Houston, but taking second in the West because of losing head-to-head, the Mustangs were expected to finish second in the division again.

Quarterback Kyle Padron is good. He showed that after taking the starting job after he came into the Houston game last season. He showed it again in the Hawaii Bowl throwing for a school-record 460 yards against Nevada.

SMU's core of wide receivers can catch and run. Led by senior Aldrick Robinson, junior Cole Beasley and sophomore Darius Johnson the Mustangs have several options for Padron. Robinson usually gets the big play, Beasley is usually the slant route for the first down and Johnson gets the ball in the end zone.

Robinson leads the team with 539 receiving yards and six touchdowns, but has six fewer catches than Johnson and three fewer than Beasley, but he averages 20 yards a catch.

Margus Hunt is a beast. The 6'8", 272-pound sophomore from Estonia turned heads as he was a kick-blocking machine last season. He has continued that trend this season as well as getting on the field for first through third downs as well.

The Mustangs defense is solid. The team has allowed just 25.5 points a game this season, compared to 27.6 a year ago. They only allow red-zone touchdowns 74 percent of the time, and total red zone scores of just 78 percent. Defensive back Sterling Moore returned an interception for a touchdown and linebacker Ja'Gared Davis returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown.

What We Have Learned

SMU should win the West. It was a two-horse race in the West between SMU and Houston, but Houston had to retire their stud quarterback Case Keenum as well as his backup Cotton Turner and had to turn to a freshman. Houston is still good, but the Mustangs have a chance to go 8-0 in C-USA and play for the conference title.

Zach Line is a running back. Line was recruited as a linebacker and a running back and head coach June Jones expected him to sit on the bench for a couple of seasons to learn the linebacker position in SMU's defense. But on a small roster Jones needed him to play running back.

Last season he was the power to Shawnbrey McNeil's speed, this year he is showing he is an all-around back running for 552 yards and five touchdowns this season. Line averages 6.8 yards a carry.

Hunt can play some defense too. After being a special teams hero last season Hunt has found his place on the defensive line. He has 12 tackles, two for loss, one sack, two pass breakups and two blocked kicks. The coaching staff has done a great job of taking and molding a player who came to SMU with no football background.

SMU linebackers are solid. Led by senior, and second leading tackler, Pete Fleps the linebackers are fast and can tackle. Fleps has 51 tackles and 3.5 for loss, Davis has 44 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks along with a forced fumble. Youri Yenga has also been solid with 36 tackles, 2.5 for loss, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

The SMU secondary is good too. With the loss of Bryan McCann and Rock Dennis there were several question marks about the Mustangs secondary. But with Moore, Ryan Smith and Richard Crawford those questions have been answered so far. Moore has 18 tackles, a sack, two interceptions and a touchdown, Smith has 19 tackles and two interceptions and a forced fumble and Crawford has 23 tackles, one for loss and an interception.

What to Expect

Padron to break the SMU single-season passing record. The record stands at 3,103, set by Chuck Hixson in 1968. SMU has played against the tougher defenses in the first half of the season and it took a little while for the passing game to get going. In the past two weeks Padron has thrown for 752 of his 1,564 yards this season. With games against Tulane and Marshall coming up in the second half Padron should break the record easily.

After going 4-2 in the first half of the season expect 4-2 to be the worst the team does in the second half. There are three big games for SMU: Navy, Houston and East Carolina. Navy and Houston come up in the next two Saturdays, and ECU comes on the last game of the season and could be to decide who hosts the C-USA championship game between the two teams.

SMU to win the West. Houston is still good, but without Keenum, and even Turner, they will not repeat as C-USA West champions. If the Mustangs go out and take care of business against their remaining conference schedule they will be playing on Dec. 4, and if they win out that game will be played at Ford Stadium.

High expectations are still a scary thing to have as an SMU football fan, but the 2010 team is getting the job done, and looks like they will only get better in the second half of the season.

SMU's 21-18 victory against Tulsa Saturday night wouldn't earn any style points in any ranking system, but right now the Mustangs are just concerned with wins.

Maybe at some point in the future SMU football will be ranked and making sure they beat teams like they are supposed to, and maybe even by more, but the 2010 team just wants to win, and they are doing a good job of that so far.

The Mustangs (4-2) have started the season 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1986.

After giving up a touchdown on Tulsa’s first drive of the game the Mustangs scored 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 lead with 11:53 left in the third. SMU quarterback Kyle Padron connected with three different receivers for the three touchdowns.

Padron hit Darius Johnson for a 22-yard score, Cole Beasley for a 32-yard score, and Bradley Haynes for a 14-yard touchdown. Padron would finish the game with 381 yards, it was his fourth 300-plus yard passing game of his career and second game this season.

Padron’s three touchdown passes give him a total of 16 for the season to go along with 1,564 passing yards and a 58 percent completion rate.

If Padron continues on his average of 260.6 passing yards a game he will set a new single-season passing record for SMU. The record is currently held by Chuck Hixson who threw for 3,103 yards in 1968 and along with Mike Ford, with 3,007 yards in 1978, are the only two SMU quarterbacks to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.

Padron’s four career 300-yard passing games ties him for fourth in SMU history, Hixson holds that record as well with eight.

After the third touchdown, the Mustangs’ offense struggled to put drives together. Tulsa however had a drive for a field goal, a field goal blocked and a touchdown with a two-point conversion that brought the Golden Hurricane to within three points with less than seven minutes left in the game.

Then SMU put together their most important drive of the game. They didn’t score, but the Mustangs drained 6:45 off the clock running 12 plays for 49 yards.  SMU picked up four first downs, converted on two third downs, and ran the last play of the game on the other.

It will not go down as one of the prettiest wins of the season, but the Mustangs did what they had to in order to get the win. They blocked two field goals and even though the offense wasn’t brilliant in the second half, they held the ball long enough to run out the clock.

The blocked field goal in the first half was Margus Hunt’s sixth career block, the attempt in the fourth quarter was blocked by Kevin Grenier and the Mustangs have five blocks this season.

While it didn’t always convert points, the offense was moving against the Golden Hurricane defense. SMU had season highs in first downs by pass with 17, passing yards with 381, total yards with 487, pass completions and attempts going 27 for 40. It was the defense who stepped up for the Mustangs.

Tulsa came into the game with the eighth ranked offense in the country averaging over 500 yards a game. The SMU defense held them to just 364 yards and half their season average of points. Pete Fleps led the team with eight tackles, Ja’Gared Davis had SMU’s only sack.

The Mustangs will complete their non-conference schedule next week as they travel to Annapolis to face Navy (3-2).

The Midshipman are coming off a 28-27 win at Wake Forest this weekend. The series between SMU and Navy is tied at seven, but Navy has won the last three games played in 2002, 2008 and last season’s 38-35 overtime game.

The Mustangs are 2-0 to start Conference USA play, but they won’t get their real test until Saturday night at Ford Stadium against Tulsa.

SMU (3-2) beat UAB (5-7, 4-4 C-USA last year), and Rice (2-10, 2-6 C-USA last year). But this week they get a team that always competes for the West title.

Last season the Hurricane went just 5-7 and lost six in a row, but in 2008 they won C-USA West with an overall record of 10-2 including a win against SMU in Dallas. The Mustangs are 11-6 all time against Tulsa, but the series is split at 3-3 in the past six meetings.

SMU has not won a conference title since they shared the Southwest Conference Championship in 1984. Last season they tied with Houston for the best record in the West, but Houston defeated SMU and was the representative in the C-USA Championship game.

This year, with injuries to both of Houston’s quarterbacks (Case Keenum and backup Cotton Turner), the Mustangs are poised to compete for a conference title. But Houston will still be a force in the conference, and the Mustangs will want to win every C-USA game to make sure they aren’t left out of the conference picture again this year.

The Tulsa matchup begins a stretch of three games that will shape the rest of SMU’s season. The Mustangs have conference games against Tulsa and Houston at home, with a trip to Navy in between. The focus is definitely on winning a conference championship, and possibly going undefeated in C-USA play, but the game against Navy can show where SMU stands on a national level.

The Hurricane (3-2) are coming off their first conference win of the season, defeating Memphis 48-7 on the road last week. Tulsa is led by quarterback G.J. Kinne, who has thrown for 1,420 yards and 13 touchdowns already this season. Tulsa also provides a balanced running attack with five rushers over 100 yards, including Kinne. Leading the way is sophomore running back Alex Singleton with 215 yards and three touchdowns.

The Hurricane average 507.8 yards a game (eighth in the country), are 20th in passing yards, 21st in rushing yards, and 12th in points scored with almost 40 a game. Some of those numbers are slightly inflated as Tulsa racked up 539 yards against Central Arkansas and 447 yards against a weak Memphis team. But it does show that the Tulsa offense has the ability to make plays, gain yards, and put points on the board.

This is not a “must win” game for the Mustangs, but it could provide the confidence and momentum leading up to bigger games. SMU has to fine tune some issues if they want to win the West, and Tulsa is not a pushover.

SMU has converted only 29 percent of third down conversions this season. The Mustangs have also been outscored 28-14 in the first quarter. While they have only lost three of them, the team has fumbled the ball eight times already this season to go along with four interceptions. The offense doesn’t seem to click at times, and the defense seems to let up late with a lead. Those are things head coach June Jones is going to have to work on with his young Mustangs, but if he can, SMU will be a force to be reckoned with.

There used to be a time in college football when the crafty veterans, juniors and seniors, would lead their teams with the knowledge they had learned playing behind the juniors and seniors before them. That time has come and gone.

While coaches still lean on the upperclassmen there is a trend of using freshman and sophomores in key roles they used to not be placed in. The 2010 SMU Mustangs are an example of a team that is letting the younger guys do some heavy lifting.

The most obvious player is sophomore quarterback Kyle Padron. He was pushed into the starting role when Bo Levi Mitchell was injured last season against Houston, but once he had the role he wouldn’t give it back. Padron would go on to throw for 1,922 yards and 10 touchdowns in just seven games played completing 67.2 percent of his passes.

Through four games this season Padron has thrown for 812 yards and 10 touchdowns. This season his completion percentage and average yards per game. His yards per game and completion percentage are down from last season, but last season he didn’t play in the game against TCU and SMU didn’t play Texas Tech.

 The receiving core at SMU does have veteran leadership from senior Aldrick Robinson and juniors Bradley Haynes and Cole Beasley. But two receivers who are getting a lot of looks from Padron are sophomore Darius Johnson and freshman Keenan Holman.

Johnson leads the team in receptions with 20, and is second in yards (202) and touchdown receptions (3). Holman has only caught two passes for 20 yards, but with Robinson and Johnson getting most of the attention from opposing secondary’s Holman could have a big season.

The biggest sophomore surprise on offense has been the efficiency and effectiveness of running back Zach Line. Line was the “power back” compliment to the speed and agility of Shawnbrey McNeil last season and was expected to play the same role behind freshman running back Darryl Fields and senior Chris Butler. But Line hasn’t given either much of an opportunity to get the ball.

In 2009, Line rushed for 189 yards on 49 carries and scored seven touchdowns averaging 14.5 yards a game. In four games in 2010, Line has rushed for 418 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.8 yards a carry and 103.8 yards a game. Head coach June Jones said the initial plan for Line, who was recruited as a running back and line backer, was to have him sit on the bench for two years behind the current line backers. But a lack of depth forced Jones to use Line as a running back, and it has worked out well for the Mustangs.

The youth aren’t only on the offensive side of the ball.

Sophomore defensive back Ryan Smith has had an impact early this season. After playing in just six games as a red-shirt freshman Smith already has two interceptions and a forced fumble to go along with 13 tackles.

Last season Margus Hunt was a household name because of his ability to block kicks. The 6-foot-8, 272 pound defensive end from Estonia is now having an impact on first through third downs as well. Hunt, along with one blocked kick this season has seven tackles, including one for a loss.

Ja’Gared Davis is another strong young player on defense. The sophomore line backer started five games last season collecting 51 tackles, two forced fumbles and three pass break-ups. Already in four games this season Davis is third on the team with 27 tackles, and leads the team with nine tackles for loss and four sacks. He also has a pass break-up this season.

Under Jones the younger players, mostly sophomores, are getting chances to contribute early. Their high level of talent and skill means the Mustangs are good this season. And in the following seasons when they add experience the future looks bright for SMU football.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

A quote made popular by President Teddy Roosevelt is a way certain teams and certain players like to describe themselves. Not very flashy, not the most vocal, but they get the job done.

The 2010 SMU Mustangs (2-2) can be the epitome of this saying.

Gone are the years of 1-11 seasons, but people are still wary of putting too much hope in the youthful Mustangs led by head coach June Jones. After reaching its first bowl game in 25 years last season people knew SMU was improving, but no one knows by how much.

After four games of the 2010 season the Mustangs are 2-2, much of what people expected. They lost to Texas Tech in Lubbock, and to No. 4 TCU while defeating UAB and Washington State at home. Now comes the part of the season with question marks.

Rice is no longer the team that held SMU out of a bowl game in 2006, but SMU has not played well on the road in its recent history. The Mustangs will have to play Navy and UTEP on the road as well this year, both of which could cause them problems.

The Mustangs also have to deal with pre-season top 25 pick, and favorite to win Conference USA, Houston on Oct. 23.

Yes, Houston is without Heisman hopeful Case Keenum, and junior backup Cotton Turner, but Terrance Broadway could be this year’s version of SMU’s quarterback Kyle Padron. Padron came onto the scene after Bo Levi Mitchell was injured in Houston last year, Padron wouldn’t give back the starting spot and Mitchell would end up transferring.

People expected Houston to run away with the C-USA West, host the championship game and win it. Now SMU and UTEP will battle with Houston for the title. UTEP has already lost to Houston, but if SMU beats Houston and UTEP beats SMU they could fight for a three-way tie.

As a team SMU has been thrown into the spotlight as favorites to win the West with Houston’s quarterback conundrum. They also had a strong showing against TCU on ESPN last Friday, proving to people that this program is on the rise. But they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

As a team they are speaking softly, but they can’t control what others are saying about them. Jones knows that his team’s expectations are growing at a fan and media standpoint, but expect the calm coach to keep his team level headed, and he has some help from young players to do that.

Padron, now a sophomore, isn’t putting up the numbers he did against Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl, but he is quietly putting together a solid season with both his arm and his legs.

He has thrown for 812 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions this season, and three of those interceptions came against Tech. He has also run for 135 yards and a touchdown this season. Padron has completed over 50 percent of his passes and spread receptions around with three receivers having at least 15 catches, Darius Johnson (20), Aldrick Robinson (16) and Cole Beasley (15) and two others, Zach Line and Bradley Haynes with eight and seven receptions respectively.

Robinson leads the team with 273 yards receiving and four touchdowns, Johnson has also passed the 200-yard mark with 202 yards and three touchdowns. Beasley, with two, and Haynes, with one, account for the rest of Padron’s touchdown passes.

So while Padron is putting together a solid sophomore season the big, and pleasant surprise has been the play of another sophomore. Line has taken advantage of Shawnbrey McNeil leaving early for the NFL.

Line has rushed for 415 yards in four games with four touchdowns. But the biggest number his has put up is his 7.8 yards per carry average. Against TCU Line rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown, and after the game Jones explained how Line became a running back after being recruited as a linebacker.

“He came here both as a running back and linebacker when we thought he would back up Ja'Gared [Davis] and Youri [Yenga] and sit on the bench for two years,” Jones said.

“We don't have enough players that can sit on the bench; we have to get them on the field. So I said we're moving him to running back. I'm glad we did he's got a little inside quickness and he's big enough to block a defensive end if he had to.”

Even if the “speak softly” part of the adage is gone, the Mustangs have to remember the “big stick” part if they want to compete for a conference championship.

The SMU Mustangs are no longer about getting moral victories, they came out to beat the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs Friday night but came up short losing 41-24.

The Mustangs (2-2) put up a strong fight until halfway through the third quarter, including leading 17-14 early in the third quarter. But an 83-yard kick-off return by Jeremy Kerley led to a quick TCU score to regain a 21-17 lead and the Horned Frogs wouldn’t look back.

After possessions for each team went nowhere the Mustangs put together an eight play, 88-yard drive ending with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Padron to Aldrick Robinson. The drive began with two rushes from Zach Line for 15 and 21 yards respectively.

TCU (4-0) would tie the score at 7-7 with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Matthew Tucker. The run capped off an eight play, 85-yard drive for the Frogs.

The Frogs would score again on another long drive taking 15 plays to travel 70 yards ending with a four-yard touchdown run by James Waymon. On their final drive of the half the Mustangs would only manage a 26-yard field goal from Matt Szymanski to cut the lead to 14-10.

The second half started with a bang for the Mustangs as Sterling Moore intercepted Andy Dalton’s first pass attempt of the half and returned it to the TCU one-yard line. It would take just one play for SMU to take a 17-14 lead when Padron connected with Bradley Haynes in the end zone.

But the lead would be short lived. After Kerley’s 83-yard return the Frogs would use just three plays to go 13 yards to take a lead they would never relinquish. “I thought that was really the biggest turning point in the game,” SMU head coach June Jones said about the kick return. “The crowd was just getting in the game, we're up 17-14 and then it took the wind out of everything.”

Padron finished the game with 169 yards and two touchdowns completing 14 of 35 passes and throwing an interception. But Jones still thinks the sophomore quarterback has a lot of learning to do. “He's tough enough to play against the big boys,” Jones said. “Hopefully, as he looks at the (tape) he'll just get better and better.” Line had another 100-yard rushing day as he ran for 139 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. The average of 8.2 yards a carry brings his season average to 7.8 yards a carry.

The Mustangs were only out-gained 375 yards to 361 yards, but were just 2 of 13 on third down conversions. SMU played strong, but seemed to lose intensity down the final stretch of the game. “Defensively, I thought we played with energy early; but then they kind of wore us down,” Jones said. “They're a good football team.”

While the Mustangs aren’t playing for moral victories, and felt like they had a chance to win the game at certain points there is one thing they can take from it. TCU dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 in both the Coaches’ Poll and the AP Poll with Oregon jumping them in each. Oregon’s 42-31 win at Arizona State was more impressive than TCU’s 41-24 win against the Mustangs.

SMU will continue its Conference USA schedule next week as they travel to Houston to face Rice on Oct. 2. The Mustangs are 1-0 in C-USA this season, it will be the first conference game for the Owls.

TCU vs. SMU
Pick: Under 54 points -110 odds
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These two well balanced offenses should be able to put points on the board. TCU has its most explosive offense –perhaps ever — with big time playmakers and a QB Dalton who is a duel threat running and passing. SMU, on a short prep week, simply does not have enough time to prepare for the speed and versatility of the Horned Frogs. At the same time, June Jones does a terrific job in finding a defense’s weakness and exploiting it. TCU’s defense doesn’t have much weakness but does yield points and can be softened. Depth is a factor and the now experienced QB Padron has a great teacher in June Jones in checking down to short routes on the recognition of blitzes. TCU does get too aggressive at times and that should allow the Mustangs to connect on hot reads. In addition, SMU’s run game is the best it has been in years, which will surely help against one of the top defenses in the nation. TCU is 4-0 O/U as a double digit road favorite while SMU is 5-2 O/U in September. “Over” the call.