Dement Must Win This Year

[OldPony]

Do you think there are any D-1 teams we can beat in football? Maybe Buffalo? Our Sagasrin rating in f'ball is lower than about 35 D2 schools

[Hoop Fan]

Are there any D-1 teams we CAN beat? Yea, several of them. Will we? I don't know. There are teams we have played that we can beat including Baylor, Nevada and Utep. I'm pretty sure we can beat Tulsa if we play well and with pride.

[OldPony]

I don't mean that it is a physical impossibility to beat a D-1 school. I just haven't seen it yet and we have played some of the weakest. Lucky for us, 2 more of the weakest are on our schedule still.
I think a win over either might be enough to get us out of the bottom 10 but it isn't a guaranteeunless we beat both Rice and Tulsa. Come on basketball!!!!!!!

[QuietManDisciple]

Florida Mustang: Last year's win at Tulsa was historic for US! It's the toughest place to play in the WAC and very few visitors are able to overcome that jam-packed, hostile environment.

As for your comment that "Sooner or later, Dement is going to lose his job," well, we're all going to grow old and die someday, too. If you mean it is only a matter of time until Dement is fired for failing to get to the NCAA tournament, I can only hope that the powers-that-be keep in mind SMU must win the WAC tournament because the selection committee will never chose us over Fresno and Tulsa. And don't kid yourself. Conference USA will be no different. We'll discover soon enough that this conference switch is a lateral move.

Pony Fan - Look again at the results for 2002-03. SMU beat San Jose, Rice, Tulsa, Boise State and UTEP on the road during the regular season. That's five without the tournament win.

I haven't missed a game at Rice in 12 years and agree last year's victory was impressive. However, I don't see how you can call it the Mustangs' "best road game" of 2003. Neither the Owls, their coach (the most overrated in the WAC) nor the atmosphere (Rice fans can't even fill tiny Autry Court for SMU!) can compare to Tulsa.

Hoop Fan - Surely you don't believe the football and basketball programs having anything in common. The out-of-our-element nonconference schedule doesn't explain much less excuse the depths to which Mustang football has sunk. We're one of four winless teams in Division I-A and looking down the barrel of a 0-12 season. Bennett may be the coach of the future, but he has lost ground and momentum while Dement keeps on winning.

[Pony_Fan]

Originally posted by QuietManDisciple:
Florida Mustang: Last year's win at Tulsa was historic for US! It's the toughest place to play in the WAC and very few visitors are able to overcome that jam-packed, hostile environment.

As for your comment that "Sooner or later, Dement is going to lose his job," well, we're all going to grow old and die someday, too. If you mean it is only a matter of time until Dement is fired for failing to get to the NCAA tournament, I can only hope that the powers-that-be keep in mind SMU must win the WAC tournament because the selection committee will never chose us over Fresno and Tulsa. And don't kid yourself. Conference USA will be no different. We'll discover soon enough that this conference switch is a lateral move.

Pony Fan - Look again at the results for 2002-03. SMU beat San Jose, Rice, Tulsa, Boise State and UTEP on the road during the regular season. That's five without the tournament win.

I haven't missed a game at Rice in 12 years and agree last year's victory was impressive. However, I don't see how you can call it the Mustangs' "best road game" of 2003. Neither the Owls, their coach (the most overrated in the WAC) nor the atmosphere (Rice fans can't even fill tiny Autry Court for SMU!) can compare to Tulsa.

Hoop Fan - Surely you don't believe the football and basketball programs having anything in common. The out-of-our-element nonconference schedule doesn't explain much less excuse the depths to which Mustang football has sunk. We're one of four winless teams in Division I-A and looking down the barrel of a 0-12 season. Bennett may be the coach of the future, but he has lost ground and momentum while Dement keeps on winning.

Read your own posts...you said "6 wins".

Yes, the Rice was their best "team performance"....they were clicking on all cylinders. I am not comparing it to TU....but the Tulsa win was not historic by any means... and yes, I was at the Tulsa game. TU was playing bad basketball and lost to BS, La Tech, SJS, UH in that stretch and it wasn't a big win.

QM, Dement hasn't won ANYTHING yet...sorry but I am not happy w/ no WAC tourney champs, no WAC champs, no big wins... but in his defense, the Committment is not producing results and Moody needs an big overhaul soon.

<small>[ 10-23-2003, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Pony_Fan ]</small>

[Charleston Pony]

Old Pony: methinks your senility is creeping up on you when you say there are Division II schools ranked higher than us in the Sagarin football rankings. I assume you meant I-AA rather than D2. BIG difference. I-AA plays with 65 scholarships so the best I-AA teams are very competitive with middle of the pack I-A teams (just ask TCU about Northwestern State 2 yrs ago). Division II is limited to 20 scholarships. I know several kids of guys I work with playing at that level and trust me, SMU would look like Miami against that level.

[OldPony]

Of course you are right about my senility and the mistake. I haven't checked to see if any D2 schools are ranked above us- although it wouldn't surprise me. 1aa isn't 1a for a reason. To say they can play middle of the pack in d1 is wrong. They may have a team occasionally who beats a d1 team but I doubt there are 5 in any one year who would have sagarin ratings of in the 60 range.
Our situation reminds me of a coach who was fired many years ago now who explained his lack of wins by saying "We couldn't win on the road. We couldn't win at home. My failure as a coach was because I could find anywhere else to play".

[Sic_em]

Speaking of Baylor...the Mustangs play the Bears again this season. As a result of their NCAA troubles, Baylor lost their top 3 scorers in Lawrence Roberts, John Lucas and Kenny Taylor and only has 8 scholarship players and 3-4 walkons.

If SMU somehow lost to Baylor this year, would it cost Dement his job?

[bodo]

I sure hope so!

[Bergermeister]

Mike Dement will continue to win games at SMU. Maybe 2 each season or maybe 15 each season. He won't win any championships and he won't win any WAC or C-USA tournaments, but he is gonna be here and I'm gonna support him as are many, many others. How in the hell can a coach recruit a top-o-th-line crop (not just 1 blue chipper every 4 years) when you bring them to the campus and show them Moody Coliseum? I like going to games there because I have since I sat on the concrete in the east end for $1.00. But Mike Kunstadt's cream-of-the-crop doesn't give a thought to the nostalgia factor. Why would you want to get rid of Coach Dement, anyway? He's done an outstanding job with limited overall talent.