Big Al's Good-Bad and Frikin Ugly

[ponywhupp9202]

Sections 114 (a ton of loud [God Bless THEM] frat boys across the top section), 115 (almost 100%), and 116 were majority Ponies, plus you could see small pockets of red throughout the stadium. I’m likely not a good judge, but close to 3,000 and maybe over that!

We were near the top of 117 which was about 75/25 SMU/Memphis (estimate of about 50+ SMU fans within a 4 row 20 seat range of us). Fun bunch, really. As you went further down in the section it turned into a majority Memphis section, and the sections to our right (116, 115, 114) looked very dense with SMU fans.

The will call situation for the SMU tickets was great. Waited in line for less than 5 minutes, got our tickets, and walked right in with no security checks.

[smitty329]

...Speaking of Freeman, how does he run out of gas at the 25 yard line? ...

Freeman is a pounder back - 3rd or 4th and a couple yards, not an elusive open field runner. Where is TJ McDaniel? I thought we burned his redshirt? He should be platooning with XJ.

[malonish]

Denbow should not be in coverage as a safety. He's a hitter and should be at LB. There has to be a better coverage safety in the roster.

[78pony]

Great analysis, Alex.
Healthy RR and/or anything remotely resembling special teams and that’s a W!

[78pony]

so how was the crowd

I thought our crowd was outstanding. Loud and engaged. More than I expected, with a lot of students around me.

[PonySnob]

so how was the crowd

Outstanding

[SMU#92]

The ugliest by far was on Sunday on the trip back to Dallas in Arkansas. Between Little Rock and Texarkana we found ourselves in a “moving parking lot” due to construction and an accident. It took us nearly two hours to go 15 miles. Now, that was ugly!

Yes! Brutal!
6 miles in an hour and 35 minutes!

[JasonB]

In three of the last 4 games, we seem to be trending in the wrong direction. The near disaster against Tulsa, lackluster performance against Houston, with the defense giving up huge chunk plays, and Memphis, where there is no reason we should have been in that game late, with all of the huge chunk plays, given up again by the defense....and the absolute "atrocious" play of our special teams. Special Teams will not get fixed this season, but, some creative Camouflage, can still be applied, to get us through the season. Beat ECU!

The offensive line is getting exposed now because we need Granson running routes instead of a TE staying in to block with Roberson out.

[ALEX LIFESON]

In three of the last 4 games, we seem to be trending in the wrong direction. The near disaster against Tulsa, lackluster performance against Houston, with the defense giving up huge chunk plays, and Memphis, where there is no reason we should have been in that game late, with all of the huge chunk plays, given up again by the defense....and the absolute "atrocious" play of our special teams. Special Teams will not get fixed this season, but, some creative Camouflage, can still be applied, to get us through the season. Beat ECU!

The offensive line is getting exposed now because we need Granson running routes instead of a TE staying in to block with Roberson out.

True, but, they're still leaving Ryan Becker in there to help.

[JasonB]

In three of the last 4 games, we seem to be trending in the wrong direction. The near disaster against Tulsa, lackluster performance against Houston, with the defense giving up huge chunk plays, and Memphis, where there is no reason we should have been in that game late, with all of the huge chunk plays, given up again by the defense....and the absolute "atrocious" play of our special teams. Special Teams will not get fixed this season, but, some creative Camouflage, can still be applied, to get us through the season. Beat ECU!

The offensive line is getting exposed now because we need Granson running routes instead of a TE staying in to block with Roberson out.

True, but, they're still leaving Ryan Becker in there to help.

Yeah, when he is in the game . Earlier in the season, Becker was playing a good percentage of snaps. That percentage has gone down significantly.

Next year, with Brooks, Shelmire, and Ike providing depth, this is going to be a very good OL that is able to rotate players and properly replace players who get banged up. Power running game will finally be effective. If Thomas had two more inches he would be on everyone's draft list after his junior season.

[gostangs]

Denbow should not be in coverage as a safety. He's a hitter and should be at LB. There has to be a better coverage safety in the roster.

He really doesn't have to size to be LB and is not a safety. I'm sure he is tough as nails and doing the best with what he has but I would think it would be better to think about different personnel in that spot. it was painful to watch.

[SMU#92]

DVR'd the game while we were in Memphis, and I finally had a chance to watch it last night (glutton for punishment). Another bright spot worth noting was our D-Line play. They could be much better at playing with their hands, but they are extremely active. They play with a high level of intensity, and that rights a lot of wrongs. If they would do a better job of shooting their hands when they fire off, they could be a very dominant group in our conference.

Also, we looked much better on TV than I thought we looked live. There were a couple of times in Memphis where I felt the air dissipate, but I did not get that sense at all watching it on TV. Maybe it is because I knew what was coming. Maybe it's because I didn't feel 55k+ drunk Memphians screaming at us. Not sure. Either way, we looked pretty good on national TV.

It's a great time to be an SMU Mustang!

[PNW_Stang]

For those at the game: was it really hostile? I figured that it would be a very hostile environment for away fans.

One good thing about SMU fans, other than the occasional loser “pump our gas some day” chant I’ve heard a few times over the years, there is little chance of an away team fan being over the top harassed. Though I guess this could change once the stadium is half full of T-shirt fans.

[SMU#92]

For those at the game: was it really hostile? I figured that it would be a very hostile environment for away fans.

One good thing about SMU fans, other than the occasional loser “pump our gas some day” chant I’ve heard a few times over the years, there is little chance of an away team fan being over the top harassed. Though I guess this could change once the stadium is half full of T-shirt fans.

Good point. I don't know if I would describe it as "hostile." From a player standpoint, outside of playing at Michigan, this was probably the loudest environment they've ever played in (with the exception of a few of our transfers). From a fan standpoint, there were definitely some cats from Memphis letting us have it in the stands, but that's to be expected. That being said, I would imagine it was nothing like going to watch a game as a fan of the visiting team in Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa.

It was good for some of our fans to see what that environment looks like. When the game started, most of the SMU fans in our area were sitting down. The Memphis fans behind us lost their minds. "This is a football game! Why the f*** would you be sitting down?!" It was awesome.

[CA Mustang]

For those at the game: was it really hostile? I figured that it would be a very hostile environment for away fans.

To me, it wasn't. (My only other experience attending a game in Memphis was in 2011 when Memphis was bad and it was an 11 AM kickoff.) While there were plenty of folks in blue Saturday night, I didn't see any harassment or more serious stuff. After the game, they were complaining far more about the officials than SMU.