Daily Oklahoman: Scouting SMU

[GoRedGoBlue]

Scouting SMU
2003-09-18
By Mike Baldwin
The Oklahoman


Coach: Phil Bennett (3-11), second year
Record: 0-2, 0-0 in the WAC.

Offense: Multiple. The Mustangs are trying to be more balanced. This season, the Ponies are opening up their offense. Tailback Keylon Kincade has rushed for 206 yards and quarterback Richard Bartel is averaging 150.5 passing yards.

Defense: 4-3. SMU has eight returning starters. The Mustangs struggled in their opener against Texas Tech's pass-happy attack, but SMU held Baylor to 182 yards of offense. The Ponies are ranked 30th nationally in run defense, allowing 101.5 yards a game.

The skinny: Bennett needs another year or two to turn the program around. SMU is a huge underdog, but it's the Mustangs' home opener. Still, OSU has a tremendous talent edge and could have as many as 10,000 orange-clad fans at Ford Stadium.

Watch out for: Keylon Kincade. The Mustangs don't have any game-breakers, but Kincade, a senior, will finish among the top-10 rushers in school history.

Bennett's take: "It's a weird deal, but their Nebraska game was very much like our Baylor game. Turnovers just killed them. They have a lot of talent at most every position."

Quick kick: SMU pulled out the natural-grass surface that had been in the facility since it opened in 2000 and replaced it with A- Turf, which is similar to the turf at Boone Pickens Stadium. A-Turf is comprised of two-inch polyethylene fibers filled with a mix of crumb rubber and rounded silica sand on an underpad.

[PonyTales]

That passing number has got to go up -- way up -- starting this week.

[The PonyGrad]

OSU has a good pass defense. Even so, we need to get better and improve our passing this game.