Projections for Next Season

[JustAFriend]

Hey Stallion,

I never predicted a win/loss record. I said the Offense will be vastly improved, go ahead and download that, take it to the bank and whatever else you wanna do with it. Since you seem to be such an obvious authority on just about everything, why don't you just go ahead and tell everyone exactly how many games you guys will win this season. In fact you probably already know scores and stats as well. Anyway, my take is that this year you guys have the potential to do some good things. By the way, where do you see the problem at WR?

[fbdad]

Stallion,
Why don't you take your demeaning,demoralizing observations back to the board you so loved.You once suggested I stop posting on the other board since I objected to the half a** observations/comments made by a majority of the in-crowd seemingly with you and your girl friend in charge. You suggested I go to the Ponyfans board which according to you consisted of a bunch of suckup parents,misguided alumni and players where censorship was rampant. Have you checked your old board lately?? You rant and rave about recruits and your alleged knowledge of the good ones. You also continuously put down the existing players making derogatory statements such as your most recent post.What credentials do you have to know what talent or potential exists on the present team? You ever play football(any level)? You ever coach? You ever parent a football player? Forget the recruits...Our season will depend primarily on talent thats here now and coaching adjustments made in the off season. The team needs encouragement, not irresponsible comments from people that should know better. I do know that most of the players avoid these websites because they consider a lot of the posts BS from people who have no idea of whats going on with the team.I don't expect a response from Stallion on this post, I've never received one in the past when he's been challenged.

[Stallion]

.....boy that's a mature response. I guess that when you're making Projections for 2003 you're only allowed to wear rose-covered glasses and do a handspring while singing Varsity! Rah! Rah! Rah! Look I been saying the same thing for 14 years and guess what Pessimism has equaled Reality. I didn't say the year would be a total failure just that SMU would be lucky to win 5 games which would be in the upper 25% of seasons since the DP. I said I doubt we will win a game before October and guess what in the last 5-6 years we've only won about 10-15% of our games in September. I'm sorry you've lost touch with reality perhaps some kind of psychiatric care might help. BTW maybe you can enlighten me where I went wrong-we have 5 games with Bowl Teams-TCU, Tech, Oklahoma St. Fresno St, Boise St. and each game we WILL be a 10-14 point underdog. I got us losing to Baylor in Waco( a BCS team with considerably better talent than SMU- I could be wrong but our record against former Texas SWC teams is about 10% since the DP-no really it is! We will likely be underdogs in road games against Nevada, Louisiana Tech and SJSU who adds two JC All-Americans from Texas in Tyson Thompson and DT Eddie Brown. I say we handle Tulsa and UTEP and I'll give us the slightest of nods over Rice at home despite the fact Mean ole Rice has truly dominated SMU since the DP-what is it 11-3. We'll find a way to win 4 games but be "lucky to win 5 games" Ooopps I did it again! I suggest you not pick up any Preason magazines either as I've already seen two that rate us 8th. Which Bowl do you think we are going to so I can make early reservations?

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 02-19-2003).]

[SoCal_Pony]

Everyone will agree that Bennett did a remarkable job this year, as SMU was ranked the best non-BCS recruiting class in the nation. But the fact remains our class was ranked #60 and there are 63 BCS schools. Since we need to schedule BCS opponents to attract crowds and gain credibility, the reality is we will be fortunate ANY year to have a winning non-conference record. I am also assuming that we will revert back to history and have a .500 record against TCU, a proven elite non-BCS opponent.

[INFINITYRR]

How about just making your point this way without any personal attacts, you know how parents are about protecting their kids.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Stallion:
[We have 5 games with Bowl Teams-TCU, Tech, Oklahoma St. Fresno St, Boise St. and each game we WILL be a 10-14 point underdog. I got us losing to Baylor in Waco( a BCS team with considerably better talent than SMU- I could be wrong but our record against former Texas SWC teams is about 10% since the DP-no really it is! We will likely be underdogs in road games against Nevada, Louisiana Tech and SJSU who adds two JC All-Americans from Texas in Tyson Thompson and DT Eddie Brown. I say we handle Tulsa and UTEP and I'll give us the slightest of nods over Rice at home despite the fact Mean ole Rice has truly dominated SMU since the DP-what is it 11-3. We'll find a way to win 4 games but be "lucky to win 5 games" Ooopps I did it again! I suggest you not pick up any Preason magazines either as I've already seen two that rate us 8th. Which Bowl do you think we are going to so I can make early reservations?

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 02-19-2003).][/B]</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Dooby]

For the record, even Stallion overestimated SMU's record last year. Stallion predicted 5 wins.

I am a little more optomistic than Stallion. I admit Baylor won't be a pushover, but I think we can take 'em.

[Lefty]

Nice going, Dooby - feed the Bear (or in this case, Stallion.)

[Lawgrad]

As much as I would hope that we will win more than five games next year, I have to admit that I agree with Stallion on the schedule breakdown. It is the toughest post SWC schedule we have had, and the fact that we play three Big XII teams makes it very difficult. I don't see people being negative in predicting less than six wins, just realistic and not putting too much pressure on the program to turn it around immediately. Any contribution we get from freshmen will be a very pleasant surprise, but not something that should be counted on right off the bat. In fact, there is a widely held school of thought that we don't want to dip too heavy into the freshman class immediately. I think everyone would agree that the more redshirts we can hold out there, the better off we eventually will be.

Coach Bennett is well on the road to a long term fix for the program. This will take time, and the last thing we need to do is to get hopes up so much that they are shattered early on, and the faithful lose faith. I have no doubt that we will be more competitive, play with heart and fire, and that these kids will leave everything they've got out on the field. Is that going to be good enough to win the WAC next year? Probably not, although we can hope. We are building a cornerstone for the future (and I believe that it is the near future) in which SMU puts out a team that WILL compete on the same field as anyone (including BCS schools) and WILL dominate the WAC on a consistent basis. We have the facilities, we have the coaches, and we are getting the players--just give it a little time.

Congrats to Coach Bennett for the stellar class of scholar-athletes and quality individuals, and I look forward to watching this coaching staff and players turn this program around for good.

[PK]

I agree with Lawgrad. Although I have in the past accused Stallion of being too negative, I think this recruiting class has revived his positive side and his observations above are generally a realistic look at where we are. I also think we will have a better squad next year overall because our players through practice and hard work are improving. How much improved they will be will show on the field. As long as they give their all, I'm behind them 100% and I think Stallion is too.

[OldPony]

OP is always optimistic (except right after a bad game). I say the goal should be to go undefeated. Reality is though that we may be favored in 4 games at the start of the season. Anything more will be a feather in Bennett's and the players' caps and will be the result of extreme dedication and hard work for the entire off-season and next year. May the coaches and players work so long and hard that all of us who are predicting less than 5 wins be apologizing to them next November for underestimating their heart and determination to be winners.

[Charleston Pony]

Hey; we would ALL love to see this team have a winning season, but I'm going to stick with my statement that 4 wins will be an improvement and will not be easily accompished. Road wins are hard to come by and the home schedule is as tough as it's been in years. That's no knock on our players. That's just dealing with reality. Every year there is a surprise team. I'd love to have next year's surprise team be SMU, but it will take a HUGE improvement over last year to produce even a .500 season.

[No Cal Pony]

While some view our situation with some "optomistic" hope, others with a "realistic" view, the situations seems pretty good when you look at the picture as a whole. Yes, the team is a bit undersized. Yes, our scedule is tougher than it has been, BUT.

Look, we have a schedule that will help us gain more press. More press means more attention. More attention brings more attraction for the team. More attraction for the team means Bennett can get even better classes. We have a freshman class that is better than we've seen in some time. We have a good stadium in place, and a coach who is bringing some enthusiasim that we haven't seen in a while either. Our future looks good, and can get only better. Now it is up to us as alumni, parents, students, and friends of the school to get out. Get to the games. Cheer, yell, wear the colors, put decals on our cars, get the other folks in Dallas to wake up. I don't expect to be champs next season, but I think it is in our near future. I don't see us as having huge crowds, but we can fill Ford.

Get people to look at Doak's memorial and Heisman. Remind them of the glories of our past. Time to move on from the DP drudgery. Send mail to the administration and leadership of SMU. Don't let the "Committment" be just false words. Support the kids in the program. Win or lose. They are out on the field for the glory of SMU. No one should forget that!

If Bennett can keep up the level he seems to be bringing, then the future is bright. We cannot expect to just turn it all around overnight, but most certainly within two years. Let's GO!

Go Ponies!

[FloridaMustang]

As with basketball, next season I'll be a pessimist, or "realist" as we're calling it on the board. I'd be happy with 5 wins... but I expect us to get better and better for our recruiting to keep improving.

[Arkpony]

I'm going the 6-6 route with my fingers crossed and a prayer on my lips

[RedRiverPony]

I'll be thrilled if we go 6-6. It's 2004 when the higher expectations really kick in for me.