PonyFans.com is proud to have journalism student Nate back as a guest columnist for the 2021 season. This week, Nate looks back at the Mustangs' loss at Cincinnati and previews Saturday's home game against Tulsa in the final regular-season game for each team.

Feel free to post comments and constructive criticism, ask him questions, and/or give suggestions for upcoming columns! (He can be followed on Twitter at @Pony_NATE_tion.)

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The Tulsa offense relies heavily on Shamari Brooks, the third-leading rusher in the AAC with 851 yards on the ground this season (photo by tulsahurricane.com).

It was back to the drawing board for SMU after a 48-14 pounding at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats, a game that ended SMU’s American Athletic Conference title hopes. SMU now sits at 8-3 after losing three of its last four games. The unfortunate theme from 2019 and 2020 has repeated itself as the Mustangs stumbled down the stretch again. Now the Mustangs play out the string with a home matchup against Tulsa on Senior Day, followed by whichever bowl game SMU ends up in.

Tulsa comes into Dallas with a 5-6 record and has had a very uneven season. The Golden Hurricane comes in having won two straight and four of its last six games. Tulsa has largely beaten all of the teams it was supposed to and has lost to a lot of good teams, including Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Houston and Cincinnati. Tulsa pushed Cincy to the absolute brink three weeks ago, as well.

Tulsa’s offense has been one of the better units in the American Athletic Conference, at least if measured in yards. The Golden Hurricane ranks third in the conference in yards per game (440.6), sixth in passing yards per game (247.7), second in rushing yards per game (192.9), but is eighth in points per game (25.5). Tulsa struggles some on third down, converting 37 percent of its third downs, and has turned the ball over 22 times this season. Tulsa’s 14 interceptions thrown is a clear weak spot that needs to be attacked. It’s quite clear that the Golden Hurricane leans heavily on its running game based on its per-game averages.

(photo by tulsahurricane.com).

Davis Brin is Tulsa’s signal-caller, and he has struggled some throughout the season. He is completing below 60 percent of his passes for less than eight yards per attempt. He has thrown 15 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. Brin has been under fire as well; he has been sacked 23 times.

Brin’s leading receiver is Josh Johnson, who is third in the AAC in receiving with 68 catches for 841 yards and four touchdowns. JuanCarlos Santana is Brin’s second option, with 40 catches and 554 yards. The bellcow of the offense is running back Shamari Brooks, who is third in the AAC with 851 rushing yards. Anthony Watkins and Deneric Prince also get heavy workloads, with a combined 156 carries for 1,022 yards and seven touchdowns.

Tulsa’s defense ranks fourth in the AAC in yards allowed per game (377.2), fifth in pass defense (225.7), fifth in rush defense (151.5) and fifth in points per game (27.1). Opponents are converting a little over 39 percent of their third downs as well. Tulsa has 14 takeaways.

Tulsa’s defense is led by linebackers Justin Wright and Yohance Burnett with 70 and 69 tackles each, respectively. Wright is second on the team with 3.5 sacks and also has an interception to his name. Defensive linemen Anthony Goodlow and Jaxon Player lead the defense in sacks, with 4.5 and 3.5, respectively. Tulsa’s secondary has a nice trio of playmakers as well: Tyon Davis has eight pass breakups, Travon Fuller has nine pass breakups and two interceptions, and TieNeal Martin and Jaise Oliver lead the safeties with 11 combined pass breakups and four interceptions.

This is an interesting game in terms of motivation. SMU’s preseason goals are just about gone and the Mustangs’ fate is sealed. This is going to be purely about how motivated SMU can get for a game that only has Senior Day implications. I’ll have a keen eye on the effort level given the circumstances. Tulsa-SMU is almost always a close game that comes down to the wire, and I don’t think this will be any different. I think the Mustangs get the band together one last time on Senior Day and get a win to head into Bowl Season with a 9-3 record.

Nate’s take: SMU 31, Tulsa 28

Linebacker Justin Wright leads the Tulsa defense with 70 tackles through 11 games (photo by tulsahurricane.com).