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PonyFans.com is proud to welcome, as a new columnist, Nate, who is 13 years old, in seventh grade, might want to be a sports writer and knows more about football than a lot of people who already make their living covering sports. Nate will preview each game throughout the season, looking at a key player, matchup or statistic that could prove relevant in each upcoming game … and he'll go out on a limb and pick the score of each game. Feel free to post comments and constructive criticism, and to give suggestions for upcoming games!

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Jeremy Johnson said the SMU offense is improved this year in large part because of the improved comfort level of quarterback Garrett Gilbert and the Mustang receivers (photo by SMU athletics).

The Ponies are now two wins away from bowl eligibility after a 38-21 win over the Connecticut Huskies, who now drop to 0-9. SMU improved to 4-5 and is closing in on .500 for the first time since Week Two. Some things that stuck out to me Saturday were:

I think I’ve said it three straight articles: I wish Garrett Gilbert was here for four years, instead of only two — iimagine what he could’ve done if he had had more experience in this offense. He is starting to draw more and more attention from NFL scouts with these numbers he is putting up. Another huge game: 33-of-52, 353 yards passing, four touchdown passes, seven carries and 23 rushing yards. Wide receiver Jeremy Johnson spoke about the offense’s improvements.

“A lot of it has to do with us (the receivers) and Garrett getting on the same page,” Johnson said. “Most of the offense is the same as it was before. (First-year assistant coach Mumme's offense) wasn't really hard to pick up at all. It's just a matter of everything clicking, so you don't have to think about anything. Garrett knows the plays, and we (receivers) know the plays, but we had to get to a point where we saw the same things and made the same adjustments right away.”

At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure about our receivers. Boy, have they proved me wrong. Darius Joseph is just a sophomore but has a very bright future. Seniors Keenan Holman and Johnson are having fantastic senior seasons with the Mustangs. Johnson spoke about Holman’s and Joseph’s great seasons.

“(Joseph is) a great receiver — really physical” Johnson said. “With him, you had better have somebody strong, someone who can be physical, because if you try to press him at the line, he can beat you.

“Keenan works so hard in the offseason, and you can see it paying off. He gained some weight. We both did — we talked about it in the offseason, because these boys in this conference are bigger than what we saw before.”

SMU has to run the ball more. Even without Traylon Shead, K.C. Nlemchi and Prescott Line have been a pretty nice one-two punch when June Jones has decided to give the ball to those two. Nlemchi can hit you on the big run with his quickness and Line can just get you a first down on a third-and-1, third-and-3, etc., with his power.

I have been critical of the defense the past few weeks, but I have seen great improvements with the defense the last couple weeks. The Mustangs have only given up 28 and 21 points, respectively, the past couple of weeks. I know the 21 was against UConn, which has had a bad year, but the 28 was against a solid Cincinnati team. Tom Mason is drawing up more and more delayed blitzes, and it’s working. Shakiel Randolph has made the most improvements at safety the past couple weeks since Hayden Greenbauer went down, and we’re seeing more and more of Zelt Minor on the defensive line.

Don’t Mess Around: Hey, SMU may have won, but the Huskies had the ball at one point, down 28-21, trying to tie it. Now don’t get me wrong … the Mustangs did a good job finishing, but can’t get down early like they did against Temple, and can’t have to come back or have to hold on to beat 0-8 UConn. They have to get a convincing win this week against a 2-7 South Florida team.

So SMU will take on a USF team that got blown out on the opener, 53-21, by McNeese State. The Bulls are freakishly athletic, and are like all those athletic teams (i.e. A&M, Texas Tech, TCU and Rutgers) that have given the Mustangs fits, meaning this could be a trap game for the Mustangs with Houston and UCF coming up after this.

USF’s offense has done next to nothing this year, with only seven total touchdowns (the Bulls have scored just 14.8 points a game). This could be the game this year in which SMU’s defense looks really, really good (like a couple of games last year such as when SMU shutout UTEP). The quarterbacking time has been split between senior Bobby Eveld and freshman Mike White. SMU’s offense should be able to just pure outscore this Bulls offense.

USF’s defense isn’t doing much better, giving up 30 points a game, which gives SMU even more an advantage. Gilbert can’t make big mistakes that lead to turnovers, and especially not points, against this team.

The offensive line has improved in recent weeks, in part because of the emergence of Chauncey Briggs at left tackle, a move that has allowed the coaches to move senior Ben Gottschalk inside to guard.

“Playing guard (instead of tackle) is like a different sport altogether,” Gottschalk said. “This past weekend, I was blocking a guy who was about 330 pounds. How often do you see a 330-pound defensive end? Never. As a tackle, blocking a defensive end, that's more like basketball … but more physical, of course. If (the defensive end) gets to the quarterback, that's like him dunking on you, and obviously you don't want to get dunked on.

“Playing guard is more gratifying, honestly. It's like heavyweight boxing — you go up against a guy every week who's 320 pounds, 330 pounds, and strong as a bull, so if you can get a pancake on a guy like that … For a wide receiver, you see a guy make an 80-yard touchdown catch, and that's as good as it gets, right? For an offensive lineman, if you can drive a guy backward for 15 yards and knock him on his back, that's as good as it gets for us. There's nothing like that feeling, and when you're playing guard, you're trying to do that against the biggest, strongest guys on the defense. Nobody cares about you, but you still have to block every game, every play. Most people don't even know who you are unless you mess up.”

If the Mustangs win this game against USF, they have to only win one of the last two (at Houston and at home against UCF) to become bowl-eligible. The defense is showing large improvements and again, USF’s offense is sub-par, so that could result in a third straight solid day’s work for the Mustang defense. SMU’s offense should be able to pick apart a USF defense that hasn’t played all that well, giving up 30 points a game. By the end of Saturday, SMU will have a .500 record for the first time since Week Two.

Nate’s Take: SMU 38 USF 20