Not Bennett's Fault

[Johnny Rock]

Do not blame Bennett for the horrible play. Blame the administration for putting restrictions on recruiting. It is sad when many freshmen are better than the seniors and juniors on the team. Bill Parcells could not win with the lousy QB play that we have. With Bartel and Wallis, we struggle to get a first down. Phillips will change this. The defense also has no chance when they are on the field the whole game. Give Bennett time to get his players in here. A few more seasons of lower restrictions and Bennett's recruiting will make a hugh difference. The new conference will also help. In the meantime, go to the games and support the team and pray the the losses do not effect Bennett's ability to recruit good players.

[SMUFan]

I don't know what Phillips will bring to the offense, since it will be his first game running the show. But I do know I'm going to be in Tulsa to cheer on Phillips and the rest of the Mustangs.

[McAndless]

I hope and pray he will get some good recruits in here, but wake up people. If high school recruits were at that game Saturday, we probably lost any chance to sign them. It was awful. And how do we expect any upperclassmen to host these recruits and sell the program on their great relationship with the coach? Considering the relationships are pretty shaky at best, don't expect recruiting to be lights out.

[giacfsp]

Most of the recruiting hosts are younger guys - true freshmen and redshirt freshmen.

And there weren't many recruits at the game this week. There are expected to be more for the Rice game.

[Mike Damone]

Johnny-
I'm going to have to say I agree with you on this one. We've got to give it time.

I don't think Bennett is scared for his job this year, but I think that he knows thatif this team doesn't show serious improvement next year(win 6 games), he is in trouble. If he feels that Phillips is the guy for the future, lets go with him. Although I do have reservations about burning a redshirt this late, I'd rather him go through the growing pains of his first five games during a season that's already shot, than during the beginning of a season where hopefully we can start to see some results.

Also, this way if Phillips turns out to be the man, Meeks won't be completely canceled out by him and will be around a year longer.

As far as throwing an inexperienced QB out there. Honestly, can it get any worse than it is now? There have been some true freshmen out there the last few year that have been able to suceed, and usually they are the mobile strong armed type like Phillips that have the ability to improvise if they have to.

[Johnny Rock]

Right on Mike. Bennett is a great coach. But he needs players. In particular, he needs a quarterback. Hopefully, he will have at least five seasons to recruit and establish some consistency. SMU needs to stick with him for a long time. We still have a chance to get some highly recruited players for next year since they can play immediately and contribute. With a few good recruiting classes, Bennett can redshirt many if not all of his recruits like the good teams. It is not Bennett's fault that we have the youngest team in the country.

[sam]

Tell me JR what has bennett done in his two years at the hilltop to warrant the title of "good coach"

[Johnny Rock]

Thank you for asking Sam. First, Bennett has coached at many of the top programs. He has been around good coaches and good players. People associated with him during those years only have good things to say about him, including his former players. Second, Bennett has a great track record of recruiting excellent players. While he was at Kansas State, he had one of the best defenses in the country. He recruited Texas and was very successful in getting great players from Texas to play at Kansas State. Third, he recruited what was considered by many recruiting services the best non-BCS recruiting class in the country last year(excluding JC and transfers). He convinced Cleveland, Turner, Massey, and Phillips to play for him despite the fact that these players had offers from other programs with more success than SMU. He also was able to secure the commitments of Hall and Meeks early which is not normal at SMU. He already has commitments from excellent players such as Chase and Henderson. My point is that Bennett is bringing in players that are better than what is already here. With some success, he will be able to recruit with the Big 12 schools. Fourth, it is easy to sit and second guess the coaches since we have not won. Bennett does not have a quarterback--the most important position on the team by far. I do not believe that there is a coach in the country that can win with our quarterback play. Give him time and you will see the results.

[Mike Damone]

Bring in some of the most talented players that SMU has had in 20 years.

He should get 4 years, no questions asked, to do this job. Its a massive overhaul and you can't expect him to see results until some of the players he recruited are upperclassmen.

[sam]

JR you posted alot of stuff and never answered my question which was what has bennett done in the last two years to warrant anyone saying he was a good coach althought he has done numerous to prove he was not.But lets go over your details
1.Coached at top programs-he was a coach for the 0-10 TCU team and he is doing the same here
2. Been around good coaches-thats always a given,he has to be a good coach then Cavan and Vince Dooley
3. People say good things about him-yea the people that like him-others say he is a piece of s***
4. Track record of recruiting-he recruited alot of JUCO's it has not been proven that he can recruit a large amount of HS kids-and don't underestimate Ringo in this last recruiting class

Basically you can not give me one reason to base your post on strickly past things and hearsay will then he must be a good coach. The same one that lost to Navy(the worst team in the country) with 9 months to prepare,the same one who walks his team off the field at halftime with 45 seconds left in the half(protecting a 7 point lead)only to see us lose or maybe it was that 2pt conversion at the Nevada game this year -that failed- that convinced you he was the great coach that you think he is.Wait I got it it's the 117th ranked offense that has you convinced.If you need help keep this in mind,the Tulsa coach received a team in alot worst shape that SMU's and has done more with it.

[bodo]

Originally posted by Johnny Rock:
Do not blame Bennett for the horrible play. Blame the administration for putting restrictions on recruiting. It is sad when many freshmen are better than the seniors and juniors on the team. Bill Parcells could not win with the lousy QB play that we have. With Bartel and Wallis, we struggle to get a first down. Phillips will change this. The defense also has no chance when they are on the field the whole game. Give Bennett time to get his players in here. A few more seasons of lower restrictions and Bennett's recruiting will make a hugh difference. The new conference will also help. In the meantime, go to the games and support the team and pray the the losses do not effect Bennett's ability to recruit good players.

You're quite sad. Give it up. SMU sucks. The school spirit sucks. I've learned to live with it. Save your money, and move on.

The basketball team sucks too.

[Dark Horse]

Exactly why do you bother to come on a site for FANS of SMU? If you've accepted your negative perception of what you see in SMU athletics and consider it valid, fine. But what do you accomplish by coming on and suggesting we cheat again and belittling the student-athletes? Does this really make you feel better? If so, then it's you who is sad. If you don't want to support the athletic teams, buy tickets, wear SMU hats, etc., fine - that's your choice. But surely you have more to do. At least, for your sake, I would hope you do.

[bodo]

Actually, what is sad is that we lose to Boise St. by 40+ points. We can't fill a stadium or arena playing sub-par competition. School spirit sucks. Community support sucks.

Quit fooling yourself.