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so after seeing the official schedule that came out from dallas news (yah it has been out for awhile but now I have the time) here is my opinion of the season:

M=Maybe

Baylor -W- well we better beat these guys, they are our rival in my book

TCU- L- as much as i would like to see us beat these guys, our only hope is that Tye gun gets hurt against OU, which is a possibility

Texas A&M- L-a homecoming for bennet, but over at the end of the 1st quarter, just stay till halftime and watch the aggies do the varsity at the end of the 1st quarter and the aggie band.. then go to northgate and walk around w/ a beer in your hand from bar to bar, over 25 to choose from...

Tulane-M-not our DB's first test of the season but A&M is a no brainer blowout, so it will be the DB's first test of the season from a non superior opponent..QB Ricard is a hopeful to fill the shoes of Bill's Loseman but this game will tell us alot about Bennet finally showing what he was able to do at K State

Marshall-L- if tulane hurts us through the air this could be the start of an 1-6 slide to end the year and really hurt bennet and the recruiting process

UAB-L- Watch Hackney, a big pooh bear playing qb.. only the heart of Adami can bring this QB down w/ one person (and obviosuly that won't be happening)

Tulsa-M- i pick a W but I am extremely optimistic about the whole season anyways.. really this is a Maybe game and could give us a bump that will be needed if we are going to beat rice the next week

East Carolina-W- these guys suck even worse than Baylor and they like us are searching for QB but atleast we have three legitimate starters, they barely have two, they have a new coach so it is doubtful he is will turn around the program that has stunk since they bowl game year in the mid 90's

Rice-L- a W only if ... "read above comment" should bennet not figure out how to stop the bloody option we will of course lose... his past against the option is not a healthy stat... last two years they have outscored us 85-30...

Houston- L- Kolb and the play calling of Briles will put alot of points on the board against our "experienced" secondary .. no doubt about it

UTEP L-Price,Palmer and Edney (ucla transfer) could possibly lead them to conf champ

Now these are just my ideas for the season from the top of my head, I researched for about 5 mins in Dave Campbell magazine...My pick at QB is Eckert, watching him in the pocket reminds me of Applewhite b/c of his size and pocket presence, yes it is out there but just watch and you might see it
5 wins=Baylor, TCU, Tulsa, ECU, and Tulane Not Likely
4 wins=Baylor, TCU,ECU,Tulsa I will be thrilled
3 wins=Baylor, ECU, Tulsa Everyone will say "I told
you so"
Only 7 more weeks till the first game.. Can't wait

Baylor: win (1-0)
It might not be pretty, since both teams have some kinks to work out. Pony LBs will shut down the BU attack.

TCU: loss (1-1)
It kills me to say this, but our increasing talent level hasn't increased enough. Yet.

Texas A&M: loss (1-2)
We'll play the Aggies closer than some expect, but they're loaded.

Tulane: win (2-2)
Johnnie Freeman to make cameo appearance.

Marshall: loss (2-3)
Randy Moss to make cameo appearance.

UAB: loss (2-4)
Mustangs get caught in debate why letters on opponents' jerseys are pronounced "You Ay Bee" -- rather than "wab."

Tulsa: win (3-4)
They're still Tulsa.

East Carolina: win (4-4)
See tmustangp's analysis, and then edit it down to something clever and witty.

Rice: win (5-4)
All the preseason magazines seem to think Rice wants to throw the ball this year. None of them have a reason why, but that's the rumor. If that's the case, "PONIES WIN! PONIES WIN!"

Houston: loss -- barely (5-5)
Coogs can put up points, but they can also give up points. Tony Eckert will put up Mike Romo numbers in this one.

UTEP: loss (5-6)
JUCO-laden UTEP roster OK'ed by NCAA, despite the fact that in SMU, they're facing a team with players who actually are the right age to attend college.

Offensive Player of the Year: Ryan Kennedy
Defensive Player of the Year: D.D. Lee
Special Teams Player of the Year: Chris McMurtray

"UTEP L-Price,Palmer and Edney (ucla transfer) could possibly lead them to conf champ"

...I think the ucla transfer is Tyler Ebell. (Set ucla pac-10 freshman records...california highschool records). Tyus Edney played for the national championship Bruin basketball team in the early 90's.

Our 5 best opportunities are Baylor, Tulane, Tulsa, ECU and Rice.

Baylor has better athletes and we still have not figured out how to defend the option attack of Rice.

We probably beat Tulane, Tulsa and ECU; but Tulane and Tulsa are toss-ups.

you people are greatly underestimating Tulane. We might have a shot at them but they clearly should be favored.

I believe Rice is switching up their offense this year.

Stallion wrote:you people are greatly underestimating Tulane. We might have a shot at them but they clearly should be favored.

Listen, it would not surprise me if we are underdogs for every single game this year. Tulane has spanked us repeatedly of the last several games we've played them, and we are coming off 3 wins in two seasons.

I bet we are favored against Rice. Now, would that be a good bet? No. But I expect the homefield gets us favored. Possibly ECU, too. Any other game...depends on how the season plays out.

we most certainly WILL NOT be favored against Rice. These oddsmakers are not dumbshits-they know how Rice has dominated this program.

We'll see. As you know, the line is based on where the oddsmakers think the money will go, not on who they think will win. Rice @ SMU will in all likelihood be the ESPN "Pillowfight of the Week" between two teams with fewer than 4 wins between them. Though Rice has dominated SMU post-DP, to the average gambler it will probably be a pick 'em game with SMU being favored by 1 or 2 due to home field.

as i always say.. know what i mean not what i say..

your right is ebell and he had 64 tds his sr year is california.. but he went to the equivalent of a small 3a school.. but he still turned head as a freshman at ucla

Most on this board are not ready to emotionally commit to a winning record.
Smart thinking.

SMU needs to prove the team can win.

Those in the know, so to speak, see bigger, stronger and faster players than 4 to 5 years ago. Does that mean we win ANYTHING. NO

What it means is we should be better and lets see what the game plan is and if the guys execute.

Lets hope for wins, yell for wins but also be sane.

We should not be favored against any team. Not yet.

BUS wrote:Most on this board are not ready to emotionally commit to a winning record.
Smart thinking.

SMU needs to prove the team can win.

Those in the know, so to speak, see bigger, stronger and faster players than 4 to 5 years ago. Does that mean we win ANYTHING. NO

What it means is we should be btter and lets see what the game plan is and if the guys execute.

Lets hope for wins, yell for wins but also be sane.

We should not be favored against any team. Not yet.

Well stated.

My guess is that we have a good shot a 4 wins. 5 or 6 would mean great strides have been made. I secretly hope that one of our wins is over TCU. And to beat the Aggies and the Bears. One can dream. The other issue will be competitiveness. If we win 3-4 but are in all of the games, Bennett stays. If we win 3 or less, but are blown out over and over again, he's gone. I think he's going to be allowed two jail breaks this year at most. (Aggies and one other team).

Let's hope it isn't TCU again. But if anything what we need to be wary of under Bennett's tenure is that he has shown time and again that he will have the team very well prepared for some teams, even teams with superior talent, and then very unprepared for others. Last year it was Texas Tech and TCU, the year before that he has us well prepared for Fresno State, and then we got blown out by La Tech, the year before that we got spanked by Navy and then played a close game with Texas Tech. Besides wins I want to see more consistentency in the performance of the team. Too many times in the past three years they will play a really good game against a decent team, and then play much more poorly when they face a weaker team. (not necessarily weaker than us, just weaker than the team that got the good preformance) That is one of the things that has really bothered me about Bennett's performance over the first three years, and one I hope he goes a long way toward correcting this year.