JasonB wrote:mustangxc wrote:I'm not buying it. I think Tulsa or Tulane and at least one other team will be better than us. This is a rebuilding year and our team has not proven they have the mettle to perform in November. Still we are much better than we have been for most of the past 30 years.
Prepare to be very surprised.
Great players win early games. Depth wins you games in Nov and Dec. This team has the depth to play all the way through the year at a high level.
Last year, if Shane got hurt, he had to fight through it. This year, you have Mordecai, Stone, and Green all legit QBs. Do not sleep on Mordecai. His college stats are: 50/70 (71%), 629, 4 TD, 1 INT, 164.1 Rating. He is a very good QB.
Last year, when TJ went down, we hung together with Levine. When Bentley was banged up, there was no other option. This year, even IF TJ doesn't come back, you have Siggers at the power back with Levine (and of course Orlando Jones), and then you have Epton and Dawson for the Bentley role. We are way deeper and will be able to put fresh backs in when players are beat up.
Last year, when Grey and Roberson went down, we had Rice and a bunch of "Guys". Kerley is a big addition for depth. Wiggins took massive strides forward in the spring and is now ready to rotate. Upshaw will be much better in year 2 at WR. And we have legit frosh coming in.
Last year, Granson had to play with a cast against Cincy. He had to play hurt, because we had no playmakers. This year, if Grant gets banged up, Matthews is right there.
We are way deeper at OL and DL than we were last year. The OL will be night and day better than last season. Night and day. Our best OL, JT, for example, gets to move inside to his pro position (LG) instead of being an undersized LT. LB is going to look completely different. The depth in the secondary is just way beyond anything we have had since the death penalty.
People are sleeping on how much talent and depth is on this team. In the team talent composite on 247, SMU was 4th last year, and there was a huge gap between the top 5 and the rest of the conference. With the incoming talent from the recruiting class and transfers, SMU is going to explode up the charts; the only question is if they are behind Cincy or if they pass them up and take the top spot.
I'm hopeful that is all true. I realize our talent and depth is vastly improved but we have not proven we can beat even bad teams in November. I'm at the prove it to me stage. Until we can beat UCF and/or Cincinnati and win 3 of 4 or more in November I won't be singing the team's praises.
