15 losses in a row before next chance for a "W"

[PonySnob]

Given that next year, our schedule starts with Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and TCU, SMU will have lost 15 in a row before it even has a chance at a win. Let's hope that Army loses in its last game so that SMU doesn't have the longest losing streak in the nation.
Wouldn't it be better to stop scheduling teams like Tech and OSU which are guaranteed losses and try to play winnable games to build momentum. Wouldn't attendance increase if SMU won games instead of depending totally on fans from the visiting school?

[GoRedGoBlue]

Double edged sword...no one comes if it is Chicasaw State, and we probably lose to Big12 teams.

We need the attendance for now.

Tech is going to be better, but with a NEW QB, and they lose 3 starting WRs.

OSU loses Woods and Tatem Bell, returns Josh Fields.

TCU loses several key starters, but they are junior laden now.

Indicentally, OKLAHOMA returns 18 starters, if anyone wants to guess who might win the national championship next year.

Remember, we will be better as well. We return something like 13 people who have started on Offense and 15 on defense. But they will be young, and we will also have key, big RS-FR OL and DL backups or challenge to start.

[CoxSMU]

Well, we already have one easy, easy schedule....so if we don't play these teams not only will our schedule get ridiculously easier, but we also could never been a good team without beating these guys...

[Charleston Pony]

I like our non-conference schedule because until we start competing with TTech and OSU, we are nobody in the world of college football. We may get whipped next year, but by 2005 I expect this SMU program to be able to step it up against those schools. I think it's important to schedule Big XII schools if we are going to be competing against them for recruits.

Not sure who we have in 2005 (I've seen mention of Baylor, Wake Forest and Northwestern as future non-conference foes). I'm O.K. with Baylor, but would prefer not to play Wake or Northwestern until we can generate a 20k crowd on our own.

Our CUSA schedule might be interesting as well because there was talk of games with Navy. I think Coach Johnson is going to bring Navy back to respectability. In fact, it appears he already has. I'm not sure how those games with Army/Navy will count. I assume CUSA will want to schedule 8 conference games and if Army/Navy are non-conference games, if we play one against either one of those teams we don't have much room left for non-conference games...especially if TCU bails out of CUSA and we continue our series with them every year.

Scheduling will be important because we are going to need at least 2 attractive games each year out of 5-6 home games to meet the attendance requirements. I'd like to think that once we field a competitive team, 12-15k will be a weak crowd at Ford and that will be easily offset by a couple of 25-30k crowds.

[gostangs]

You guys are wrong on this - big time. We need to back out of one of those Big 12 games and get a directional LA on the schedule. We trading seats early in the year (their fans)for empty seats later in the year (the fans we would have if our season was not over at the end of every Sept). Dumb it down for two years -and the program will build momentum and our own fan base. Its worth trying - it ain't working the other way.

[Mustangs35SMU]

I think we have a chance againist TCU next year! Oklahoma State and Tech I dont but in the years after that I think we can truely start competing againist them but TCU next year we truely have a chance againist!

[Diehard Pony]

We have played TCU tight the last two years. No reason to believe that a victory is out of the realm of possibilities. I do wish the game was later in the year.