Victory over TCU marks new era for SMU
By Adam Rittenberg
Special to ESPN.com
In the afterglow of Southern Methodist University's upset over No. 22 Texas Christian University, someone tugged coach Phil Bennett's arm and told him something he already knew.
The Mustangs' win last Saturday was their first over a ranked opponent since 1986, otherwise known as the predeath penalty era. Bennett relayed the message to his players, but in doing so, a refreshing thought came to mind.
"Do they understand?" wondered Bennett, who grew up adoring SMU but was steered toward Texas A&M by his mother. "Very few of them were born then."
It has taken a generation for SMU to loosen the shackles bonding it to a murky past. But milestones like the TCU win could begin to cloud memories and revive enthusiasm for a team that effectively disappeared on Feb. 25, 1987, the day the NCAA leveled sanctions with an objective to "eliminate a program that was built on a legacy of wrongdoing, deceit and rule violations."
Now Bennett has a new date to highlight -- Sept. 10, 2005 -- as he continues the protracted process of returning SMU to glory.
"We're starting to separate," he said. "This is a new era. We're starting to get better athletes. We've had admissions changes that have made our recruiting pool much more doable.
"We're getting to the level where we can compete with people."
The NCAA sanctions were just part of the burden SMU bore in its rebuilding. The Mustangs were one of the so-called "Forgotten Four" who didn't move to the well-heeled Big 12 after the Southwest Conference dissolved in 1995.
"We sort of lost our identity," said Bennett, who is 7-30 since taking over as SMU's coach in December 2001. "A lot of people don't realize SMU's had a double whammy."
Make that a triple whammy, at least until last Saturday.
Six consecutive losses to TCU had effectively revoked the rivalry, at least for those wearing purple. The Iron Skillet, given to the game's victor, was rusting in Fort Worth, Texas, where TCU had prospered despite its own Big 12 exclusion.
Only 40 miles separate the two schools, but the gap had widened even before TCU stunned Oklahoma to open the season. During the practice week, Bennett picked up a local newspaper and read that his program was "light years apart" from TCU.
"We had lost their respect," he said, "and I told the players on Friday, 'We're on nobody's radar. At some point, if you want respect, you have to earn it.'"
Added freshman RB DeMyron Martin: "Why wouldn't you look over a team that's been talked bad about for so long? After they beat Oklahoma they just talked about who they were playing after us. They didn't even mention SMU being on their schedule. They just said they play Utah two weeks from then.
"No one thought anything about us."
TCU had plenty to think about Saturday night when SMU completed a 21-10 win and celebrated with their fans on the field. Martin, who was born in 1985 and first visited a college campus when his fourth-grade class field-tripped to SMU's Meadows Museum of Fine Art, scored three touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards in his collegiate debut.
"Like Lennox Lewis when he lost to [Hasim] Rahman, that's the kind of feeling they had," Martin said. "They weren't expecting it at all."
Since the win, Bennett has lived in his office, watching tape of SMU's next opponent, Texas A&M. He's taken few phone calls but did spend an hour Sunday with a longtime friend, Tulane coach Chris Scelfo.
With their home city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, about 90 Tulane students, including the football team, came to SMU after an initial relocation to Jackson State. Tulane players stayed at a hotel near campus and practiced at SMU. The two teams spent time together the night before SMU's season opener against Baylor, and the Tulane players attended the game at Ford Stadium.
"It's good to be a part of something like that when people are in a time of need," Mustangs quarterback Jerad Romo said. "That disaster is something you can't overlook. No matter what, people are going to help other people out."
Before the Baylor game, Scelfo addressed the Mustangs, whom his own team will play Sept. 24.
"He was like, 'Pray for us,'" Martin recalled. "'Go out and beat Baylor. And when you come meet us three weeks from now, we're going to come out there and try to beat you. So don't try and take it easy on us. Don't look down upon us because of the tragedy. Play us like you would if nothing happened.'"
SMU doesn't need the extra motivation. After another proving-ground game in College Station, the Mustangs open Conference USA play.
"Somebody asked me, 'Do you worry about being overconfident?'" Bennett said. "I said, 'Do you know who the hell we play?'
"This better not be the pinnacle of what we're looking for, to beat TCU. That's part of it, but you've got to get better."
Adam Rittenberg covers college football for the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald.
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:34 pm
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