Pony NATE-tion: Can Mustangs rebound in home opener?
Ponies host Liberty at 6 p.m. Saturday
Posted on 09/15/2016 by PonyFans.com
PonyFans.com is proud to have 16-year-old Nate as a guest columnist. In this installment, Nate offers his view of Saturday's home opener against Liberty. 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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SMU suffered its first loss of 2016 Saturday in Waco, 40-13, to the Baylor Bears. This one is pretty hard to explain. SMU hung in there really well in the first half, given the score was 6-6 at halftime in a defensive struggle. What was really surprising was how SMU hung in there for that long without starting quarterback Matt Davis and starting running back Xavier Jones, neither of whom played because of injury.

The Mustangs were simply inopportune in the first half, and also early second when the game was still within reach. Baylor was doing everything it could to try to spot SMU a one- or two-touchdown lead. The most crushing mistake that made all Mustang fans put their faces in their palms was after a big pick by Jordan Wyatt got returned all the way back to the Baylor 12-yard line. At the time, SMU was up 6-3. A touchdown would have put SMU up, 13-3, which would have separated the teams by two scores. A touchdown would have been a game-changer at that point, but on third-and-10, SMU quarterback Ben Hicks dropped back and didn’t put enough air under a fade route to James Proché and got picked off by Baylor defensive back Orion Stewart in the end zone.

Nate sees significant improvement in the 2016 SMU defense, which got strong performances Saturday from the likes of Kyran Mitchell (11), Darrion Millines (29) and Jordan Wyatt (15) (photo by Max Franklin).
The turnovers were plays that made you sick to your stomach. The next turnover, coming off a gift from Baylor when wide receiver Blake Lynch caught a ball and was on his way into the end zone, but fumbled the ball, and SMU fell on it in the end zone, was even more crushing as Ke’Mon Freeman fumbled the very next play, and Baylor tied the game, 6-6, right before halftime.

Baylor came right out in the second half and scored, making the score 13-6, and after an SMU punt, Baylor quarterback Seth Russell threw a duck to SMU safety Darrion Millines, and Millines took it back to the Baylor 18. Then, on third down, Hicks dropped back and saw SMU wideout Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone wide open, and fired the ball too low and it was picked off in the end zone again, this time by safety Davion Hall, and he took it back 62 yards to the SMU 38-yard line. Five plays later, it was 20-6 Baylor.

The last turnover committed by SMU was a pick-six thrown by Hicks, which effectively put the game out of reach.

There were certainly a lot of things to like about what the Mustangs accomplished. But the fact that this game was a blowout came down to one fact: before SMU’s lone touchdown, the Mustangs made four trips to the red zone and came away with six points. The defense was awesome, given the crooked numbers put up by Baylor. The defense kept the Ponies in the game, flying around the field, and making plays, including two picks. The defense certainly did its part. Horace Richardson looked great, taking on KD Cannon all game long, and made plays all game long, keeping Cannon under wraps for the most part. The offense just couldn’t get anything going, turning the ball over at the worst possible times and putting the defense in bad positions.

“We talk about turnovers,” defensive coordinator Van Malone said. “We talk about things like minimizing mistakes and mental errors. We’ve seen the results. We chart our turnovers in practice. The first week the guy who had the most turnovers in practice was Horace Richardson. The guy who had the most turnovers in the game was Horace. In the game versus Baylor the guy who had the most turnovers in practice was Jordan Wyatt. He caused a turnover in the game. They are buying into what we’re selling. The players have improved. It’s paying dividends.”

Sitting at 1-1 now, SMU got some really awful news Monday. The knee injury that kept Davis out of the Baylor game has turned out to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), ending his season and making Hicks the starter. This is a massive blow to the Mustangs. Davis does so much for the offense, scrambling around and making plays, but sometimes he tries to make too much out of nothing on plays, and refuses to slide, and that is exactly what happened on the play against North Texas, where he suffered his injury. This isn’t good for Davis, who has the option of seeking a sixth season, and not good for Hicks, who will be thrown to the wolves right away, and should develop quickly.

“Matt would be the first to tell you he’s still just as much a part of this team now as he was before. Matt’s the leader of our football team. It is what it is. It’s Ben’s show, and he’s going to get better every week,” head coach Chad Morris said of the impact of losing Davis.

The Mustangs will move on to face the Liberty Flames Saturday in SMU’s home opener. Liberty comes in to the game with a matching 1-1 record, with its one loss coming to Virginia Tech, 36-13. SMU learned the hard way last year that it couldn’t take FCS opponents lightly, as James Madison came to Dallas last year and upset SMU in a shocker.

Liberty’s win came against Jacksonville, a 55-7 drubbing. The Flames’ offensive scheme consists of about a 2:5 pass-run ratio. Liberty has a running back-by-committee in place, which seems to work very well. The carries are split between Todd Macon (128 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville), Frankie Hickson (116 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville) and Carrington Mosley (87 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville).

The Flames’ quarterback is Stephon Masha, a junior who is susceptible to the pick, having thrown three already in the first two weeks. He was completely stopped against Virginia Tech, throwing for just 70 yards and two interceptions, but against Jacksonville, he threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Not much can be said of Liberty’s receiving corps, as the player with the most receptions in a game so far this year had four against Jacksonville, and the receiver with the most yards in a game so far had 72.

The priority for SMU Saturday is first to win the game, and make sure that happens, but SMU has to come out healthy and get Hicks warmed up and ready for September 23 when TCU comes to Gerald J. Ford. If SMU executes, avoids crucial turnovers, get takeaways and plays motivated, Liberty shouldn’t be a problem for the Mustangs. I’ve got SMU winning big this week.

Nate’s Take: SMU 48 Liberty 17

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