vs 
11-18-2000
The SMU Mustangs (3-7 overall, 2-4 against Western Athletic Conference
foes) has two games remaining, and if any of the Ponies have their
sights set on the regular-season finale against TCU, they will have a
long flight home Saturday night.
That’s because the Mustangs head west this weekend to play a very tough
Fresno State team at 6 p.m. (Central Time) Saturday in a game that can
be seen locally on KSTR-Channel 49 and heard on KTCK-1310 (AM) “The
Ticket.â€
The Bulldogs (5-4 overall) are loaded again, and despite their 4-2 mark
against WAC teams, the ’Dogs still have an outside chance at winning at
least part of the conference championship. After opening the season with
a pair of losses to Ohio State and UCLA -- each of which was ranked No.
16 in the country when playing Fresno State -- the ’Dogs have gone 5-2.
Three of their four losses this season -- including last Saturday’s 24-7
loss to TCU in Fort Worth -- have come against nationally-ranked teams
(the Frogs were ranked No. 18 when they hosted FSU.)
The Mustangs, on the other hand, are coming off one of their best
performances of the season. Josh McCown returned after a three-game
hiatus from the starting quarterback role and led the Ponies to last
week’s 24-20 win over Tulsa. In the process, he climbed past former SMU
quarterback Dan Freiburger into fifth place on the school’s all-time
passing list with 3,815 career yards. (He needs 1,825 yards to catch No.
4 Ramon Flanigan, who finished his SMU career with 5,640 passing yards.)
The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game seeking a measure of revenge, after
the Mustangs won the only meeting between the two schools, 24-14 last
October at the Cotton Bowl. In that game, the Ponies employed a
ball-control offense, relying heavily on the talents of running backs
Rodnick Phillips and Kris Briggs, as well as an efficient performance
from McCown, to upset the Bulldogs. The Mustangs controlled the ball for
more than 38 minutes -- thereby keeping it out of the hands of FSU’s
record-setting quarterback, Billy Volek -- en route to the win last
year.
The Ponies likely will need a similar performance this year if they are
going to double their series lead with Fresno State. The Bulldogs are
ourscoring their opponents by an average score of 28.1-22.1 points per
game.
Even without the departed Volek, FSU employs a quick-strike offense;
although the ’Dogs are outscoring their opponents and are just about
equal in total offensive yardage this year (Fresno State has 2,913 yards
this year, as opposed to 2,967 for its opponents), they have far fewer
first downs than their opponents (148 for FSU, compared to 172 for the
Bulldogs’ opponents.)
Guiding the FSU offense is junior quarterback David Carr (6-3, 220), who
in eight games this year has completed 155-of-273 passes for 1,955
yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Against TCU, he was 15-for-30
for 183 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Fresno State ground game -- which clearly is secondary to the
Bulldogs’ aerial attack -- is led by diminutive sophomore tailback Josh
Levi (5-7, 190), who has just 296 yards this season, including only 11
against the Horned Frogs. Junior Paris Gaines (6-0, 233) has 253 rushing
yards this year running behind what SMU head coach Mike Cavan might be
the biggest offensive line the Ponies will face all season.
Against TCU, senior wideout Bernard Berrian took over the leading
receiver spot, with 31 catches for 518 yards, including 121 yards and a
score against TCU. Junior receiver Charles Smith has 364 receiving yards
this year.
Junior cornerback Tierre Sams (5-9, 170) leads the FSU defense with four
interceptions this year, followed by senior corner Dante Marsh, who has
three picks -- one of which he returned for a score.
Senior linebacker Orlando Huff is a 6-2, 241-pound bruiser who stuffs
the run from his inside position and leads the team in tackles with 64
and in sacks with eight. But right behind him on the team tackles list
is undersized (5-7, 215) Tim Skipper, a speedy senior who the FSU
athletic department is touting for All-America consideration. Skipper
has 60 stops thus far.
The defensive line is anchored by defensive tackle Jason Stewart, a 6-0,
280-pounder who is sixth on the FSU defense with 35 tackles. Nosetackle
Thabiti Lockhart (6-2, 280) is second on the team with four sacks.
Junior kicker Asen Asparuhov is 6-of-10 this year on field goals with a
long of 43 yards. Punter Jason Simpson is averagine 37.5 yards per punt.
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GO PONIES!
[This message has been edited by MustangMatt (edited 11-16-2000).]
