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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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Redshirt freshman Neal Burcham is expected to make his first career start Friday at Houston (photo by PonyFans.com).

SMU is .500 for the first time since Week Two after the 16-6 win over USF Saturday in Tampa. This week, the Mustangs will take on the Houston Cougars, who started at 7-1 and have run into a brick wall, losing three straight (at UCF and Louisville, Cincinnati at home). On Saturday I noticed:

Obviously, it was a heart-stopping event when Garrett Gilbert hurt his knee sliding into some beat-up field at Raymond James Stadium. My prediction of Friday’s game relied on whether Gilbert plays or not. It showed how the Mustangs’ offense struggled mightily once he went out. It looks like Garrett Gilbert will not play on Friday, and that Neal Burcham will get the start.

Gilbert acknowledge that the field conditions at Raymond James Stadium were less than ideal, but did not blame the playing surface for his injury.

“I guess I need to learn how to slide,” he said. “My cleats just got caught in the turf, I haven’t seen it on film so I don’t really know what happened.

“It wasn’t great, it was a little beat up, it had (an NFL) game on it the week before. What can you do? It’s just part of it.”

Jeremy Johnson’s amazing year continues, as he has broken Emmanuel Sanders’ record of 98 catches in one year back in ’09. Johnson now has 100 catches through just 10 games and leads the nation in catches per game. His fellow receiver, sophomore Darius Joseph, is fourth in the nation in catches per game as well.

I predicted that this would be the one game this year in which SMU’s defense looks really, really good. The Mustangs held USF to a lone touchdown and only allowed 259 yards of total offense. Then again, the defense pitched a shutout because the only USF touchdown was on a punt return.

Burcham struggled when he came in, but he had some nice flashes of potential, such as that perfect 37-yard pass to Der’rikk Thompson for the touchdown on a gutsy play call from June Jones to fire deep on fourth-and-1. We got a nice, long look at the Ponies’ quarterback for next year, and we’ll get a full game this week with Gilbert being out.

Burcham said he didn’t like that he earned a chance because of Gilbert’s injury, but said he is excited about his first start. But he said he is trying to approach Friday’s game like he does every week.

“It’s just going to be the same old thing and we’re just going to do what we do and try to execute,” he said. “You just take it one day at a time you just focus on what your assignment is. You just think about what you got to do each play. I can do this stuff — I’ve done it (in high school).”

Friday’s game against Houston will be the 29th between the Mustangs and Cougars. Houston leads the all-time series, 17-10-1. UH averages 287 passing yards a game, 140 rushing yards a game (for a total of 437 total yards per game), and 33 points a game, so, it appears that the game will be a shootout.

The Cougars are led by freshman quarterback John O’Korn, who is having an outstanding year with 2,644 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. One of O’Korn’s favorite targets has been sophomore receiver Deontay Greenberry, who has 1,106 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. They also can hit teams with a nice dual threat at running back in Ryan Jackson and Kenneth Farrow. The Cougars have a pretty salty defense as they only give up 22 points per game, so it will be a tough task for Burcham.

A huge key for SMU will be to stay away from the turnovers. Houston has forced 36 turnovers this year and is plus-23 in turnover margin. The defense is led by Trevon Stewart, who has forced 10 of the 36 turnovers himself.

The offense needs to play well, and the defense has to somehow keep this Houston offense in check. The players on defense for SMU that have to have the biggest games would probably be Kenneth Acker, because he needs to slow down Deontay Greenberry, and Darrian Wright has to get pressure up the middle and collapse the pocket.

The defense still has room for improvement, but it has gotten better as the season has worn on. I can’t imagine what the defense will be next year without Randall Joyner, Kevin Pope, Kenneth Acker, Jay Scott and Stephon Sanders. The defense will need to give some pretty hefty help to the offense Friday as it won’t be the same without Gilbert. Burcham, please prove me oh-so-wrong Friday. One thing I do know: enjoy what we have on defense now, because my guess is that the game won’t be pretty.

Friday’s game is the second straight that SMU will in an NFL stadium (last week’s game was played in Raymond James Stadium, where the Buccaneers play; this week’s game is in the Texans’ home: Reliant Stadium). Last week, the field conditions were terrible, but this week they play on a nicer surface. The Cougars also are coming off a game (against Connecticut) that was played on a bad field, so the play should be smoother this week for both teams.

These are two very even teams. The Mustangs have to get their sixth win on Friday and become bowl-eligible, because they host UCF, which is ranked 17th in the country, the following week. Houston is on a landslide after losing three in a row, and SMU is hot and smelling bowl eligibility. Problem is, one of the top players in the nation, yards-wise, isn’t playing.

Nate’s Take: Houston 27, SMU 17