PonyFans.com is proud to welcome back, for his third season as a columnist, Nate, who is 15 years old, in ninth grade, might want to be a sports writer and knows more about football than a lot of people who already make their living covering sports. He will offer his thoughts and will preview each game throughout the season, looking at a key player, matchup or statistic that could prove relevant in each upcoming game … and explain why it will impact the outcome. 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 Mustangs lost their first game of this year’s conference play in the American Athletic Conference. Sitting at 0-1 in conference games and 1-4 overall, SMU needs to pick up the slack.

Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. leads the American Athletic Conference and is fifth nationally with an average of 382.5 yards of total offense per game, is third in the league in rushing yards (472) and touchdowns (7), and is the nation’s only player (photo by uhcougars.com).

The Ponies fell to East Carolina, 49-23, in another game that was a tale of two halves. SMU played a great first quarter-and-a-half, but toward the end of the first half, ECU stormed back, and by halftime it was 23-21, SMU. With backup ECU quarterback James Summers torching SMU’s defense on the ground and through the air, and with SMU’s protection breaking down in front of SMU quarterback Matt Davis in the second half, it was church from there as East Carolina scored 28 unanswered points in the second half.

As head coach Chad Morris said after the game and in Monday’s media session, the young Mustangs, as they grow as a team, will need to learn to finish games. One thing ECU did to really slow down SMU’s offense: Davis finished with -17 yards on the ground. Yes, that includes the yards lost on eight ECU sacks, but it still is an eye-opening number.

Also, the Pirates limited all SMU runners not named Davis to just 57 yards rushing. This just goes to show that taking Davis out of the SMU offense is like taking the engine out of the car. If he’s slowed down, the offense becomes very anemic.

The Mustangs may not be ready yet, but they are showing unbelievable progress from last year, establishing their core players who are all young and eligible for the next two to three years. If they want to have success immediately, then these next few games are really important regarding bowl season.

With Houston on the weekday slate, the Mustangs will be deprived of a couple days of preparation for a road game against a very good Houston team. The Cougars come in unbeaten at 4-0 with their one impressive win being at Louisville. Houston’s offense is electric, averaging 45 points and just above 600 yards per game. That adds up to what could be a long night for the SMU defense.

UH quarterback Greg Ward Jr. is solid and can hurt defenses on the ground and in the air. That’s the type of quarterback SMU has struggled with this year (see Seth Russell, Trevone Boykin, Vad Lee, James Summers). Ward has thrown for eight touchdowns and has also rushed for seven, leading the team in rushing yards as well. The Cougars’ receiving core is also really deep and balanced, and includes a prototypical No. 1 receiver in Demarcus Ayers, two good complementary receivers in Chance Allen and Steven Dunbar and the classic low-reception, high-yardage deep threat in Kyle Postma. Bottom line: this is going to be an extremely tough assignment for the Mustang defense, especially with the short week.

Houston’s defense is fairly pedestrian, but good enough to where the Cougars can make enough stops to prevent SMU from keeping up with the high-powered UH offense. Davis and the Mustangs’ offense will be able to score a substantial amount of points again, as they have all year, but Houston’s offense will find success against the SMU defense with its large array of weapons. SMU defensive coordinator Van Malone will have another tough offense for which to scheme, especially with the short week. Houston’s offense is one of those offenses that require a full week of preparation, but the Mustangs will have to adapt and see what they can do in what figures to be a really tough matchup.

Nate’s Take: Houston 55, SMU 31