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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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SMU head coach June Jones said that in order to play Saturday against UCF, quarterback Garrett Gilbert has to show he has the mobility to escape oncoming defenders (photo by SMU athletics).

At 11 a.m. Saturday, all my work doing these articles, your work watching this roller coaster, and most importantly, the hard work the players have put into this since June and July is on the line. SMU enters a do-or-die game against a probable BCS-bound UCF team who is 10-1, and their only loss is to top-10 South Carolina. SMU’s 34-0 loss to Cougar High was the first time the Mustangs have been shut out under June Jones.

The team obviously is not the same without Mr. Garrett Gilbert. Neal Burcham did as much as he could, but it just wasn’t even close.

"We have a lot to work on,” Burcham said after practice this week. “Me, personally … I have a lot to work on. Just got to keep fighting, pushing and take it one day at a time.”

I couldn’t watch the game, as I was on the road to Auburn, Alabama to see the Iron Bowl, so I listened to it.

Kevin Pope stepped in and did a nice job at the running back position, but said that after reviewing the film, he saw room for improvement.

“Offensively I could have done a lot better,” Pope said. “That comes from game experience at running back. A couple of times I should have kept my feet, but I haven’t (run) the ball in a while and I’m looking forward to doing a better job this Saturday.”

He also discussed how much he expects to play on Saturday, and how playing running back affected his linebacker play.

“That’s up to Coach (June) Jones,” Pope said when asked how much he expects to play on offense Saturday. “Hopefully, I can take some pressure off of Neal, in the backfield and me and Prescott (Line) can come in and do a good job. (Playing running back) didn’t really affect (my play at linebacker). I felt like I played a good game on both sides of the ball, going in as a running back and coming over (on) defense. I was a little fatigued, but I owed it to my team to be out there and do a good job.”

SMU’s defense kept the Ponies in the game. At one point it probably could have been 17-14, Houston, or something like that.

I said last week that SMU could not turn it over, but the Mustangs did just that, turning it over four times. The real dagger probably was the botched snap when SMU actually had a decent drive going that UH ran back to the one. Hats off to Pope, who chased the play down and made the tackle at the SMU 1-yard line when he could have just watched Houston score. The play caught the attention of Jones, who called it “one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.”

UCF comes in needing either a Louisville win over Cincinnati Thursday or a victory against SMU to clinch the American Athletic Conference title and a BCS bowl berth. SMU comes in needing a win to be bowl-eligible. The Mustangs faced this same scenario last year: 5-6 going into the last game and have to beat the conference champ (although I still think there is a huge gap between last year’s Tulsa and this year’s UCF). The Knights are coming off a win in which they turned it over five times and nearly lost to the lowly USF Bulls.

UCF is led by coach George O’Leary, who is in his 10th season with the Knights. On the field, the leaders are quarterback Blake Bortles, who has completed 215 of 316 passes for 3,038 yards and 22 touchdowns and running back Storm Johnson, who has 182 carries for 978 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Bortles has had great targets to sling the ball to: Breshad Perriman (34 catches, 735 receiving yards, three touchdowns) and Rannell Hall (49 receptions, 729 yards, three touchdowns). Perriman is the man who could really burn the Mustangs with the deep ball, as he averages 21 yards a catch.

UCF is No. 16 in the BCS polls, but has struggled with very weak teams like Memphis, Temple and South Florida. The Knights are very beatable, but also very capable of running SMU out of the building. They only give up 20 points a game (17th in the country) and score 34 points a game (31st). Bortles leads a nice passing attack that averages 283 passing yards per game (27th), and Johnson and Co. average 157 rushing yards a game (76th).

SMU’s best chance is if Gilbert plays. As of now he’s questionable.

June Jones said that if Gilbert is going to play, he has to prove to the coaches and medical staff that he has the mobility to protect himself from UCF defenders.

“I don’t want to put him in there,” Jones said, “if he isn’t able to defend himself when they come after him.”

Jones said that if Gilbert plays, he will do so wearing a brace to protect his knee.

What SMU fans should be rooting for is that Louisville beats Cincinnati, thus clinching the AAC title for UCF. This could mean the Knights sit everyone and we just see a bunch of backups.

Nate’s take: With Gilbert — UCF 27, SMU 21; without Gilbert — UCF 34, SMU 17