1-2, same as...

[ponyte]

We are one and two with a chance to be 2-2 in the month of Sept. And one of those wins could be a conference win. Actually, not a bad Sept if we win next weekend.

Our record is the same as OU and Arkansas. And one could argue that we have played as good or better schedule than either of those teams. A much better team blew us out. We have to overcome that and concentrate on the next game. And we had our chances in the first half.

None of us expected the Ponies to play USC in the BCS Monopoly Bowl for the National title. We all are looking for improvement and the best season in a very long time. We still can have a good season. The hardest part of our schedule may be behind us. We are healthy, more experienced and gained some confidence.

Areas of improvement, tackling and special teams are no brainers. And we need to get more physical. A&M simply manhandled our O-line. We need to hold on to the ball. Interceptions really hurt us. Our D-backs have go to improve getting off blocks and making plays on the corners. We can expect to see a lot more option coming at our corners.

Now, on the bright side, we did improve in the passing game. Finally, we got the ball down the field.

It was an embarrassing game but we still can have a good season. I look forward to Tulane.

[DallasDiehard]

Agreed. As Stallion said, we could be fully prepared and get drilled. I think we were, and we did. We hung with them in the first half -- at times it even looked like we were the better team in the first half. Romo threw the ball better than I ever remember seeing him throw. The defense (in the first half) bent but didn't break (much). For one half, our performance was decent. Then we started to wear down again, and Reggie McNeal went absolutely nuts in the third quarter.

OK, fine -- this one is behind us. As far as I know, we didn't have anyone suffer a serious injury. So now the season starts. There were a lot of things in the first three games of the season about which we should be encouraged. I also can't wait for the Tulane game.

Go Mustangs!

[mrydel]

Another bright spot is that Ponyte, Arkpony and I do not have to be the objects of ridicule this week at the water cooler. I do not think even a "ghost" interference call can be used as an excuse for Arkansas' showing, although it will probably be tried.

The rest of our season should be competitve from the beginning to end of each game as long as confidence can be maintained.

[RGV Pony]

ponyte, I have a question for you. Given where you've come from with this program...e.g. being on the other end of a whipping w/ a&m that had Jackie Sherill wondering and vowing that some day his guys would hang with SMU...how concerned does it make you for our program as a whole? I said earlier it kills me to sit next to 60 and 70 y.o. diehard fans who are watching the on-the-field product now, and what they must've seen in their lifetime.

If Copeland/Phil asked you, what would you do to right this ship? Will it be righted? You have a vested interested in that you've sweated on a successful SMU team...are the rest of us throwing good money after bad?

[Mustangs35SMU]

Thats what Im most worried about in the confidence. We knew we had to have confidence going into conference play.

Im just hoping that the A&M game hasnt brought out confidence down.

[ponyte]

To mrydel, I notice that this weekend, there wasn't a word in the paper about the 'questionable' calls. As compared to last week when there was a fifth of a page devoted to the poor officiating.

RGV Pony,
First, I do not hold any of the current athletic department personnel responsible. What we are enduring is the lingering effects of the Pye administration model to destroy SMU athletics. Remember Pye's committee to kill Div I football? Remember all the crazy restrictions placed on athlete's admission? Remember the asinine self-imposed rules to restrict athletic recruiting? Many people will say, but most of those restrictions were eliminated years ago. And it takes years to change a system.

As many know, to institute moderate change within a relatively small organization (200 people) it takes about 2 years to implement the change. That has been fairly well studied and shown. And it takes longer to complete change in a much larger institution. SMU, as an institution has slowly changed. Bennett has only had about 2 years where he could go and get JUCO athletes. And we are just now getting to athlete friendly curriculums. That will take about another 4 years before the full effects of that program are realized. It is a long-term investment in our athletic program and will not flower quick results.

Gregg, Rosslee, Caven and Bennett have had to deal with these institutional restrictions. I do not blame coaches for doing as well as they have despite the athletic model designed to insure failure. And that is just what the Pye model was designed to do.

When we got the DP, we made two three critical mistakes. Hiring Pye was the first one. Canceling one season was the second and moving to Owenby was the third. During the Texas stadium days, recruits would go to the locker room and see 'their' locker and it was in the Dallas Cowboys' locker room. Talk about powerful. Instead, kids now went to see SMU play in a stadium that even Jr. high school teams avoided. Canceling a season punished athletes, students, coaches and the university. It insured that all our current football players moved on. It insured that we would not be able to have a pray at recruiting. It was plain stupid. And of course it was part of the Pye model to fail.

When the SWC broke up, we were lucky to even get the WAC. When the WAC broke up, we not only sucked but also were in a weak conference. It is a miracle that Copeland and SMU were able to move to CUSA. A definite move in the right direction.

A few years back, at the SMU-TCU game, where all we did was put the ball on the ground and let TCU run it back for a TD, I sat with my old head coach and old position coach/offensive coordinator. The SMU product on the field disgusted us all. No hitting. No blocking. Poor tackling. Lack of athleticism. Lack of heart. This year is different.

Notwithstanding yesterday’s poor performance, we have been more athletic, physical, competent, smart, and mistake free than any year since our only winning season post DP. We have improved. We are better. We have some athletes and we are playing better on both sides of the ball. This is a testament to Bennett's long-range plan to suffer early in an effort to build the program. That is a gutsy move given that we alums are hostile and desperate for wins. Try to remember all the games we fumbled away huge leads or arm tackled our way to a loss. Those intolerable mistakes are behind us.

This team has the chance to do good things. We now have some athletes and can play with most teams on our schedule. This is a character-building year. This is the first character building year we have had since the DP. The character of the current team, how it handles adversity and success, will determine how well they do. Therefore, despite yesterday, I still have expectations that this team will win and have a good season. The question isn't whether they have the horses to win, but whether they have the character to win. That is a huge difference from years past. And I credit Bennett and his staff for getting us to this point despite having to deal with the lingering affects of the Pye model.