Thoughts on the Memphis game

[JasonB]

Man, what a great win. Coming up with the big win on the road against a good team is something that hasn't happened... in a LONG time. What is awesome about it is I think Memphis played the best game that they could have played, and still came up short. SMU deserves to play in the conference championship game.

- Not only did Memphis play great, but they were helped by the refs as well. They were short on that 4th down play, and there were a lot of dodgy non PI calls over the course of the game. I'm not going to spend any more time on the refs though.
- How about that backfield depth? Rooster goes down early, LJ a little banged up, and Wheaton stepped up and had some great runs.
- Stone was fantastic in the second half. Stayed in the pocket more this game, which was really important. A couple of incidents of escaping too early and going backwards, but stayed in for the most part, which was important because Memphis has the athleticism to catch you back there. But that performance in the second half might make this his breakthrough game.
- An amazing stat - Brinson (14.0) was the only SMU player to average under 15 yards per reception this game. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that. We still need to hit the RB and Maryland way more frequently underneath, but the receivers have done a way better job of fighting for the ball over the past several weeks, so credit to them adjusting after a rough start to the season.
- White and Bryant are good players at tackle. But ever since JO moved out and Parr/Sparks have played at guard, the running game has been way more consistent and has gone to the next level. And today when PJ Williams replaced Bryant, the stability on the line changed in a good way. If the rumors are true that JO is thinking about coming back, the OL could be even better next season.
- Coming into the game I thought the biggest matchup was our great DL against a Memphis OL that has played really well in pass blocking. I thought we would stop the run (we did), but was curious to see how we would generate pressure. I held Memphis to 24 points in my preview because I thought eventually we would be able to get to the QB. All credit to the Memphis OL, however, because they kept Henigan clean for the most part. SMU wasn't able to generate pressure against UNT in the first half either; the game changed in the second half when the DL started dominating. We never saw that today. Memphis is rated by PFF as the best pass blocking unit in the conference, and it is that way for a reason. Navy, Tulane and UTSA are very mediocre in that regard, for those who are wondering, so hopefully we won't see it again.
- Memphis has really good receivers, but our defense did a great job of covering as long as they did. This wasn't a quick throw attack - Henigan had all day to throw the ball at times (especially against our 3 man rush, which we shouldn't do). They covered early but eventually a player would work free. Despite the yardage given up, I think we did okay in coverage. We just couldn't generate pressure.
- Henigan was fantastic and was really the reason Memphis stayed in the game. Yes, we had a couple of picks that we dropped, but he really was a stud back there.
- Fantastic clock management at the end of the game from Lashlee to kill the clock, both on the final TD drive and the last drive of the game.

Great result against a good team playing really well on the road. I just love it. This team deserves the AAC championship this year. I'm looking forward to playing Navy next week!

[EastStang]

Thanks. Beat Navy.

[highlander]

I was really, really impressed with the Tigers O-line. By far the best we've seen all year -- including non-conf.

[dalpony]

Thanks JasonB

[Topper]

The Memphis O Line was brilliant against the rush and Henigan is a gutsy kid. He was really hurting but played through the pain. Camar comes through when needed again. If we could bottle Stones 2nd half we will be a force in the ACC.

[Donnell88]

Great insights, Jason B. And, I couldn't agree more - I hate the three-man rush in obvious passing situations. It puts far too much pressure on our secondary; they can't cover talented receivers for 7-8 seconds, especially against a quarterback as talented as Henigan.
The best defense I've ever seen is the 1985 Chicago Bears; you know how often they used the three-man rush? I can answer that - never.

[Topper]

Great insights, Jason B. And, I couldn't agree more - I hate the three-man rush in obvious passing situations. It puts far too much pressure on our secondary; they can't cover talented receivers for 7-8 seconds, especially against a quarterback as talented as Henigan.
The best defense I've ever seen is the 1985 Chicago Bears; you know how often they used the three-man rush? I can answer that - never.

The Bears defense was coached by Buddy Ryan. He said that the 3 man pass rush was so named because it prevented the team employing it from winning.

[redpony]

a win is a win. however if we don't get pressure on the tulane qb (if we play them) he will pick us apart. IMO pratt is a better then henigan and we will likely be out coached. Willie Fritz will have his team ready, not so sure about RL and which team will show up. this was our first test against a decent conference team and we did not dominate.
But first we need to sink navy. they will come ready play as usual and this will not be an easy game.
At least we will know who we play in the championship since the UTSA-Tulane game is on Friday night.

kudos to Preston Stone- he really picked it up in the second half. IMO the O saved our bacon today.

[AusTxPony]

I agree on Preston and the O in the 2nd half, outstanding. Would like to add that was the best play calling from Lashlee to date, IMO. Well done Mustangs, well done!

[JasonB]

a win is a win. however if we don't get pressure on the tulane qb (if we play them) he will pick us apart. IMO pratt is a better then henigan and we will likely be out coached. Willie Fritz will have his team ready, not so sure about RL and which team will show up. this was our first test against a decent conference team and we did not dominate.
But first we need to sink navy. they will come ready play as usual and this will not be an easy game.
At least we will know who we play in the championship since the UTSA-Tulane game is on Friday night.

kudos to Preston Stone- he really picked it up in the second half. IMO the O saved our bacon today.

The good news is that the Memphis OL is much better than the Tulane OL.