I am sure that most SMU fans are disappointed in the Ponies’ record, along with the way that the team lost the game to Houston Saturday night, but I left the game encouraged by many things that I saw. First of all, I can not tell you all how much I enjoyed visiting with all of the folks that I had the chance to visit with on the Boulevard. It continues to blow my mind at how awesome the pre-game atmosphere is at SMU. It makes me so very proud to be one of the many lettermen who have represented the SMU Mustangs.

Flanigan says SMU's 2008 record is somewhat offset by the vast improvement shown by players like quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell (photo by Travis Johnston).

When the season started, I warned Mustang fans about being too optimistic about the season from a win-loss perspective. One of the biggest things is that until June Jones and his staff are able to recruit a lot of depth on the defensive side of the ball, it will be very difficult to win close games. The defense simply wears out — because of the style of offense that SMU runs. Even when the offense is scoring, the amount of time that the SMU defense will spend on the field will be significantly more than the other team’s defense will spend on the field. Many people want to know why the defense wears down when the offense that they are playing doesn’t wear down. It is very simple: defensive players have to play harder on each play than do their offensive counterparts. The defensive players have to run to the ball on each play, and depending on the type of play, certain offensive players are able to conserve energy.

When watching the next game, watch the end of the play and see how many offensive players are standing still at the end of the play as compared to how many defensive players are standing around after a play. Defensive players have to run to the ball on each play, because they never know when a tackle will be missed or a fumble will be caused.

The other problem that SMU will face when trying to win close games is the ability to run the football. That is why fans should be careful for what they ask for. Everyone clamors over the amount of passes thrown and the offensive numbers amassed in this system, but the lack of a conventional, consistent running game makes it extremely hard to salt away close games in the fourth quarter.

The play of Bo Levi Mitchell was very encouraging. He played well enough to put his team in position to win a game against a very good, well-coached conference opponent for the second straight week. He managed the game well and continues to minimize his mistakes. The chemistry that he has developed with his outstanding receiving corps is remarkable.

The other thing that is really encouraging is how well the receivers are playing. The quarterback receives most of the attention in any offense, and even more so in the Run-and-Shoot. However, I think that the biggest reason for Bo Levi’s improvement has been the steady play of the tremendous playmakers at receiver. I believe that one of the key factors in his steadily improving play is the fact that there has never been a question as to if he would be the quarterback for Coach Jones. He has been able to prepare to play each week knowing that he will be able to go out and make plays without worrying about the consequences of an occasional mistake or bad play. He continues to deliver the ball to the correct receiver a very high percentage of the time. If you watch college and pro football on a weekly basis you will notice that one of the toughest things for a quarterback to do is to know where to throw the ball, and you can actually see his confidence level rising with each passing game. The receivers do not drop many passes, compared to how many passes that are thrown at them. They also seem to have a great grasp on the offense, as far as being in the correct places on the field at the appropriate time.

Most of the people that are reading this on PonyFans.com, that are PonyFans will do what I am going to do in two weeks. We are going to do what we have always done, go to the game (party on The Boulevard first, of course), and believe wholeheartedly that our beloved team will give us four hours of joy. What most people who are not SMU Mustangs just can’t possibly understand is that regardless of our record, we are still better than they are!!!!!

I can’t wait to see all of you PonyFans in a couple of weeks!