MM65 Question

[Otto]

Hey Stallion, do you know how serious SMU is/was about the guy? I'd heard he wasn't scheduled for an official visit, but since he's a former teammate of Andrew McKinney and lives relatively close, I assume he might have taken an unofficial visit already. Do you know if we're still trying for him?

What about his QB - Chandler Dane?
(That just sounds like a QB's name.)

[MustangStealth]

Of course, I'm biased towards it happening for obvious reasons but I doubt the powers-that-be at SMU would even consider playing a Div. 1-AA school.

Rumor was at the start of this year Bennett wanted to get out of the Okie St. game and replace them with a I-AA. Grambling or something... not 100% sure...

[Dooby]

That wasn't rumor; it was fact. It was in the Dallas Morning News. We tried to get out of the game, but OSU couldn't find another team to play.

I think we have an open date in '06. Don't be surprised if the team that fills it is a 1-AA.

Also, remember that we played UNT when they were 1-AA.

[jtstang]

I remember we had series with Grambling back in the slush fund days. And let's not forget the first post-DP win was against a D-1AA team, U of Connecticut. I think we'd play a D-1AA team in a second if we could get it scheduled.

[MrMustang1965]

*IF* S.M.U. were to schedule a Div. 1-AA opponent, here are my choices:

Sam Houston State University Bearkats (again...for obvious reasons)

Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks (lots of Lumberjack alumni in the D-FW area; good ticket sales)

McNeese State University Cowboys (their fans know how to travel!)

University of Montana Grizzlies (played for the 2004 Div. 1-AA national championship and have won it three times, I believe; fans also know how to travel but might not want to leave cooler climate for heat/humidity of Dallas in September )

Harvard Crimson (here's the headline: "Harvard of the South Takes on Harvard!" ; also went undefeated in 2004 and now has four straight wins over Yale; head coach Tim Murphy was named 2004 Div. 1-AA Coach of the Year)

[PlanoStang]

After 03's 0-12 disaster, I think weve sunk back down to our 89 -90 DP days. We had a hard time knocking off UConn 31 - 30 in our 89 first year back.

34-31 Mustangs in OT.

[couch 'em]

*IF* S.M.U. were to schedule a Div. 1-AA opponent, here are my choices:

Sam Houston State University Bearkats (again...for obvious reasons)

Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks (lots of Lumberjack alumni in the D-FW area; good ticket sales)

McNeese State University Cowboys (their fans know how to travel!)

University of Montana Grizzlies (played for the 2004 Div. 1-AA national championship and have won it three times, I believe; fans also know how to travel but might not want to leave cooler climate for heat/humidity of Dallas in September )

Harvard Crimson (here's the headline: "Harvard of the South Takes on Harvard!" ; also went undefeated in 2004 and now has four straight wins over Yale; head coach Tim Murphy was named 2004 Div. 1-AA Coach of the Year)

Are you insane? We should be finding the SMU of I-AA to play, not a good team. Can you imagine what if it will do if we lose, or even play a close game against a IAA team!?

[MrMustang1965]

Well...the SMU of Div. 1-AA at this time (at least in the Southland Conference) would be the former Southwest Texas State University, now known as Texas State University-San Marcos. The Bobcats, at one time, had delusions of grandeur and thought they would move up to Div. 1-A! That was one of the reasons they gave for the name change. They felt that SWTSU made them sound 'too regional' and that it would prevent them from a successful petition for Div. 1-A status. They've since put those plans on permanent hold. Needless to say, the past couple of years have not been kind to the Bobcats. Their coach was fired last year after some illegal recruiting of a Div. 1-A QB from the University of Houston and they had a losing season in '03 and '04.

Another choice might be Virginia Military Academy (VMI)(Big South Conf.) which didn't win a single game in '04.

[MrMustang1965]

by Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle

There was no escaping the reality of Dustin Long's situation at Texas A&M. The Aggies were going to be Reggie McNeal's team, and Long would have to accept that or leave. Long chose to switch rather than fight.

So we should call him a quitter? (Note: Stallion probably would!) Hardly. Rather, let's call him a pragmatist. Long wanted to play football, not watch football. So he left Kyle Field for the cozy 14,000-seat playpen on the Sam Houston State campus, then led his appreciative new Bearkats teammates to the Division I-AA semifinals. His performance was sufficiently impressive to earn him the quarterback spot on the Chronicle's 2004 All-Texas team.

And he beat out McNeal in the process.

NFL scouts polled by the Chronicle weren't unanimous on the subject, but all agreed Long had shown himself to be the best passing quarterback in the state by throwing for 4,588 yards and 39 touchdowns during the Bearkats' 11-3 run to near-national glory.

"He can flat fling it," said C. O. Brocato, who has scouted Texas for years — decades, really — on behalf of the Houston Oilers turned Tennessee Titans.

It didn't hurt that Long had plenty of time to flat fling it. He suffered just three sacks on 478 passing plays until Montana got to him for six in the semifinals.

"The kid went over there and just had a great year," said Mike Maccagnan, the Texans' coordinator of college scouting.

[MrMustang1965]

Here's how the Div. 1-AA teams ranked at the end of the season.

Team (First-place votes) 2004 Record Points Previous Rank
1. James Madison Dukes (67) 13-2 1,675 8
2. Montana Grizzlies 12-3 1,594 7
3. William & Mary Tribe 11-3 1,500 6
4. Sam Houston State Bearkats 11-3 1,434 9
5. Furman Paladins 10-3 1,371 2
6. New Hampshire Wildcats 10-3 1,241 5
7. Delaware Blue Hens 9-4 1,204 10
8. Eastern Washington Eagles 9-4 1,172 14
9. Southern Illinois Salukis 10-2 1,167 1
10. Georgia Southern Eagles 9-3 1,092 4
11. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 9-3 997 3
12. Hampton Pirates 10-2 904 11
13. Harvard Crimson 10-0 842 12
14. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 9-2 679 13
15. Lehigh Mountain Hawks 9-3 673 16
16. Cal Poly Mustangs 9-2 658 17
17. Northwestern State Demons 8-4 654 15
18. Wofford Terriers 8-3 519 18
19. Lafayette Leopards 8-4 408 25
20. Alabama State Hornets 10-2 372 19
21. Penn Quakers 8-2 367 21
22. South Carolina State Bulldogs 9-2 258 23
23. North Dakota State Bison 8-3 249 24
24. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 10-1 239 22
25. Northern Iowa Panthers 7-4 160 NR
Others receiving votes: Southern 135, Portland State 92, Villanova 35, Massachusetts 20, Colgate 9, Stephen F. Austin 6, Southeastern Louisiana 6