With four tackles and one quarterback sack, Marquis Frazier’s name might not have jumped off the stat sheet after Saturday’s 31-17 SMU victory over Marshall, a win that made the Ponies eligible to play in a bowl game for the second consecutive season.

But the argument could be made that Frazier’s performance was his best of the season, if not the best since his arrival at SMU last season.

Nose tackle Marquis Frazier had four tackles and a sack, and was a major disruptive force for the SMU defense in the SMU win over Marshall (photo by David Mojica).

Frazier modestly declined to rank his performance.

“I played decent, I guess,” the Mustangs’ junior nose tackle said. “But I’m always pretty hard on myself. I’m always pushing harder. There’s a lot I could have done better.”

Frazier’s impact wasn’t so much about tackles as it was about disruption of Marshall’s offensive line, and therefore the Thundering Herd’s offense on the whole. Frazier repeatedly shot through Marshall’s offensive line, either making plays behind the line of scrimmage, flushing quarterback Brian Anderson out of the pocket or forcing a ball carrier into the waiting arms of another SMU defensive player.

“(Defensive line) Coach (Bert) Hill did a great job breaking down what their offensive line likes to do, and showing us what to do against it,” Frazier said. “They have a good offensive line, and they have good-but-not-great size. If the center gives a ‘reach block,’ I have to be able to beat that, and I did.”

Frazier and the Mustang defense completely dismantled the Thundering Herd offense in the first half Saturday, allowing just 49 total yards before halftime as the Ponies took a 24-0 lead into the locker room at the intermission. But Marshall came out with newfound intensity in the third quarter, scoring 10 points in the first six minutes. Frazier said the Thundering Herd’s offensive improvement wasn’t a complete shock.

“That’s difficult when you go into a halftime after a half like that,” Frazier said. “When that happens, a coach is going to dig into some things and get up in their (backsides) to fire them up a little. Coming out at halftime, you expect them to make some plays, and they did.”

Frazier and the Mustangs are now bowl-eligible for the second time in as many years, but which bowl extends an invitation to the Mustangs, of course, remains to be seen; SMU still has to play at ECU Friday afternoon, and possibly in the Conference USA championship game before bowl matchups are determined. But Frazier already has his ideas about where he’d like to see SMU play in the postseason.

“If we get a chance to play in the Liberty Bowl, that’s where we want to be, because that means we won the conference championship,” he said. “But I loved our trip to Hawaii last year — I sure wouldn’t mind going back there.

“But I’m not a cold-weather guy, and Memphis can get pretty cold. So if it’s up to me, I want to win the conference championship and play the Liberty Bowl in Hawaii. Any chance of that?”