Projections for Next Season

[MustangKurt20]

Might as well get this thread started I figured. Let me state firsthand that I'm gaurdedly optomistic but realistic about the upcoming season and I'm absolutely thrilled about how hard the team is working to prepare! Ive talked to several players here on campus who say their working their tails off during their offseason workouts. They deserve our respect and admiration. Trust me they earn their scholarships gentlemen. So my thoughts on the upcoming season? Well I just don't know. If we win 6 games I'll be very encouraged and looking forward for the next year. I think 6 wins needs to be our aiming point, but again not to say we can't win more. Just where I think we land.

Kurt

[Mustangs35SMU]

Um...Well this season should be the turning point in SMU Football and Hopefully we can get more than 3 wins out of it! We should get more than 3 wins! Sooo I agree 6 wins should be our aiming point but I dont think we will do it I think we'll end the seaso with a 5-7 Record but hey its better than what we've been gettin! But This should be the turning point in SMU Football! Every game last year we did get better! Its not like we were just gettin our [deleted] handed to us each game and not gettin anything out of it! We'll see come this fall! Go Mustangs!

------------------
The Red and Blue Is Back! God Bless SMU Football!

[Phil Fan]

Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here, but I think the aiming point should be much higher than 6 wins. I'm not predicting more than 6 wins, but what happens if the ball bounces SMU's way this year —— some opponent loses its star tailback on the second play, a deflected pass hits the ref in the head and bounces straight to Jonas Rutledge who races into the end zone, some horrible call by the official gives SMU a win the Ponies don't necessarily deserve —— and suddenly the Ponies find themselves with a 6-3 record after 9 games? I think you should always aim high, because if you somehow reach those goals, the intensity to improve further is sometimes hard to muster.

[ponyte]

Our goal should be to win the WAC and have one strong out of conference win.

Realistically we should shot for 5 conference wins and one out of conference win.

Also, we should set a goal to decrease turnovers and prevent the long play on defense. And get as many young players experience as possible (so at least one blowout by us).

[StangEsq]

Six wins actually seems pretty optimistic to me, considering that we had our arses handed to us in all but about 2 or 3 of the games we lost last year.

[This message has been edited by StangEsq (edited 02-17-2003).]

[JustAFriend]

I think you will see a totally different team this year than last. I think it will look brighter from the start. You will have several positives on offense: a QB with some experience and confidence, the return of your biggest playmaker at WR, bringing back KK and ShanD, not to mention the promise shown by Francis and Griffen, and the untapped talent of Jay Taylor. I dont know much about the line so forgive me if I forgot something, but either way, I think if the Defense plays pretty good you guys should win several games. Teams are gonna have to respect the pass this year, so no more 8-9 man fronts. It should be fun to watch.

[Stallion]

Here we go again!!!!!!!!! Should I start downloading these predictions now? Last year the predictions were so ridiculous I still get a good laugh at all of you who predicted bowl games, winning seasons et al. I didn't have the heart to rub them in your face because they were so pathetic. The talent level on this team will be lower this year than last unless freshman contribute heavily. I see HUGE holes in the defensive line, offensive line, TE, WR, CB, FS and untested, inexperienced players at just about every backup position. As far as truly superlative All-Conference players I think we have one Chris Cunningham(a questionmark due to injury). I like Stansbury, Kincade is little above average and Adami is an aggressive but undersized defensive lineman. Other than that most of the other returning starters have a lot of improvement to make including guys like Rutledge who we consider among our most talented players. I say we will be lucky to win 5 games and again will be lucky to win a game before October. I think its been so long since you people have seen a seasoned, experienced and talented roster that you've lost perspective. I'd be surprised if we were picked higher than 8th in the WAC.

[Mustangs35SMU]

Yo Why Ya Gotta Have a Negative Attitude! Thats the Least We Need Right Now! They're tryin to turn the program back around then you go and say that we're gonna be worse than last year! We need positive attitudes through out the rest of the year! I can tell you I cant wait till this Fall! weither we make it to a bowl game or not I dont care because these guys are gonna try their hardest to the pride and joy back to the Hilltop! So Either Have a Postive Attitude or get out thats what I gotta say! Sorry if it sounds rude.

------------------
The Red and Blue Is Back! God Bless SMU Football!

[FloridaMustang]

I'm with Stallion. I'm cautiously optimistic; I'm not going to get worked up over one good recruiting class that will have little immediate impact.

[Charleston Pony]

Like it or not, we gotta be patient. Let's see: Ron Meyer went 3-8, 4-7 & 4-6-1 before his teams started winning. Coming off a 3-9 season and playing a TOUGHER schedule this year, I think 4-8 will be an improvement. Does anyone think Baylor in Waco will be easier than Navy was at Ford? Who will we beat on the road...TTech? Nevada? San Jose? Tulsa? La Tech? How many home games do we win against Okla St, UTEP, Boise, Fresno, Rice & TCU? Is anyone confident we can improve on lst year's 3-9???

[PerunaPunch]

I'm NOT going out on a limb to call next season, cause quite honestly, I've been burned before. And while I'm not necessarily predicting doom and gloom, there are just too many unknowns to make any sort of accurate prediction.

Will the passing game be improved? I think so, but it's going to require a healthy Comet and/or some of our other receivers to step up and finally have a breakout year.

Will the running game be improved? With KK a healthy ShanD, the talent of Massey Turner and perhaps Dorsey waiting in the wings... And nobody has really talked about Johnny Fitzgerald, who my be the best of the lot. The outlook seems bright, except for the one tiny problem of not having a great line to begin with, and now we have a hole to fill at LT and several unproven backups.

On defense, I think the undersized excuse is gone since Walker, Johnson, Karrington and Adami are all 270+. And I think everyone agrees that Stansbury is going to be GREAT on the weak side. But will Karrington and Johnson be as good as advertised? Who goes where? Who will be the backups? Too many questions.

I think we're good with experience at linebacker, and I think we'll be improved at safety and CBs.

But we're looking at a lot of "ifs" here. IMHO, with the talent on this team we could 7-5 if things come together and circumstances fall our way, or we could just as easilty go 4-8.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Hey - Bennett has had a whole season to get his systems installed!

10-2 easy this season. Hopefully a bowl will take us.

[ponyte]

I like the 10-2 and a bowl projection. One can dream and always hope.

[EastStang]

I think that the Ponies will do well to be at .500 this year. Baylor, TT on the road will be tough. OSU tore us up last year. Boise is retooling. Fresno is no worse than last year. TCU may be ripe for an upset. La. Tech on the road is no picnic. Tulsa and UTEP are beatable, but UTEP is much improved. Rice at home is a possibility. Nevada in the thin air is tough. SJS has a bunch of JUCO's ready to play if their stadium doesn't blow up again.

[Scoops]

Settle down Freiburger! Getting a bit ahead of yourself, don't you think? (I mean I like the enthusiasm, but ... reality check ...)

And PerunaPunch: Don't forget Johnnie Fitzgerald in the RB mix. The coaches are absolutely geeked about the kid.








[This message has been edited by Scoops (edited 02-18-2003).]