Okay, so what do we really know about Houston?

[Pony!Poni!Pone'!]

They brought in a great recruiter to replace Briles. Evidently he's not a great PR man, though, because we've heard next to nothing about them. What's the skinny on UH this year so far?

[Roach]

Lots of mistakes and (as always) lots of speed.

If they play their best, they certainly can beat us. If they play like they did against Air Force, we'll beat them. This game could go either way by 20 points.

So it's obvious:

SMU 37
Cougar High 20

[LA_Mustang]

H-town - 42
Ponies - 27

[03Mustang]

Houston 42
SMU 28

Maybe next week.....

[NTXCoog]

We're not really sure what we have either. Mostly we know we haven't really played an entire game yet this season. Against OkState we played a good 1st half & bad 2nd half. Against AFA, CSU, & UAB, we spotted them the first half and rallied the 2nd half. ECU has been the only game with a good effort the entire game, but we were a turnover machine with 4 turnovers, but we still won easily by 17.

If UH plays their best the entire game, they're very tough to beat. Unfortunately they haven't done that yet so it's hard to predict. What you can expect is a VERY good offense and a very inconsistent defense.

[Duke Blue Blood]

Turnover machine? Have you seen SMU stats on turnovers? I bet we are better at turnovers than you are...wait...that is not a good thing, is it?

DBB

[sarcoog2010]

It's a very young offense and every skill player, except Mark Hafner, is an underclassman. The line has obviously improved with better coaching, but I'm not convinced they are anything more than an average unit. The new offense Dana Holgorsen brought here resembles the TTech offense, but we do not have the trademark "wide splits" between the linemen and tend to run the ball more.

The run defense, particularly our linebackers, scare the hell out of me. We are starting a former walk-on from Plano (Matt Nicholson) and a true freshman from Arlington Bowie (Marcus McGraw) in those spots. Phillip Hunt, a DE from Ft. Worth is one of the top pass rushers in the nation and has 8 sacks so far this year. The secondary hasn't really stood out to me although we have forced more INTs and tackle better. Kenneth Fontenette, our top DB, has struggled with a hand injury all season. This defense is much more fundamentally sound, but there's just a lack of talent in a lot of areas.

A lot of people freaked out when Briles left for Baylor, but in retrospect I'm glad we have Sumlin now. Unlike the previous staff, he takes defense and special teams seriously and holds guys accountable when they make bone-headed mistakes. I was never convinced in previous years that guys were ever held accountable. We upgraded big time and I think it will show in the next few years. I wouldn't be surprised if Sumlin ends up leaving for a bigger gig.