Richard Bartel

[GrapevineMustang]

Is it too late to get Bartel on the Heisman candidate list?

OK, maybe that's a bit overkill, but he played great, and I'm really proud of him. He made some sensational throws (he needed every ounce of strength in his arm to throw that rope to the sideline that Cardwell took for the score), and he had a bit of a swagger that I haven't seen from an SMU quarterback since .... Mike Ford maybe? The whole offense seemed to play with confidence after Richard made his first few passes.

Especially impressive was his performance at the end of the scoring drive where he ran two plays back-to-back. The toss to Kincade, with the clock winding down, followed by the touchdown run by Kincade. I think everyone in the stadium - the LaTech defense, the fans, even Rich and Craig on my radio - thought he'd either call timeout or spike the ball to stop the clock. He showed great poise running that sequence, and his passing has given the offense a balance we haven't had all year. He's opened up elements of the offense that we haven't been able to employ all year.

All accolades aside, this is a great win, but it's only one win. Practice hard, guys, and Beat Rice!

[PonyGirl]

Right, they're already carving Bartel's name on the trophy at the Downtown Suzuki-sponsored Athletic Club, or wherever they're handing out the award this year.

Maybe we'll wait till next year before throwing national awards Bartel's way, but he sure looked good Saturday, didn't he?

[HorsePower]

We all knew Bartel had a strong arm, but how many of us really thought he'd be that efficient, completing 21 of 30 passes?

I admit it, I didn't think he had that kind of accuracy in him. What a pleasant surprise he was Saturday!

[PK]

My favorite play...Cardwell FLYING down the sideline and Bartel's pass gets to him and he doesn't even have to slow down for the catch. The defenders were left in his dust as he continued to FLY down the sideline to the end zone....it was glorious!!!

[SmooPower]

For the curious, Bartel's QB rating is 158.4 right now (29/44, 414 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT). Let's hope he keeps it up against Rice.

[SMUFan]

What made PK's favorite play work was the poise and self-control Bartel showed. He spent the whole play looking to the left, which froze the safeties and even got them to drift to the other side of the field. At the last second, he whirled around and fired a shot that only a QB with that kind of arm could throw. That thing was a laser, and it hit Cody in the hands. That kind of deception by Bartel showed knowledge beyond his years.

And did you notice on the play that Cardwell got jammed on the line of scrimmage and was shoved out of bounds? (If he runs out on his own, he can't come back in and be the first player to touch the ball - getting forced out leaves him as an eligible receiver.) As he fought to get back on the field, he nearly ran into Coach Bennett! Getting back on the field and making that play was amazing work by Cardwell.

[SHAQFU]

Congrats to Bartel for taking his place at the table!

Also, I would like to acknowledge the O-Line. From what I heard, they played a great game. They gave Bartel the time to get the ball to his receivers.

[In Tate We Trust]

Yall can gather from my screen name that I'm a big fan of Tate Wallis. But I want to go on record as recognizing how superb Richard Bartel was Saturday. He was sensational, and he showed the kind of arm that makes it obvious why the Reds drafted him.

Also, SHAQFU is right - the Offensive Line did an outstanding job Saturday giving Richard time to throw and opening holes for Kincade.

BEAT RICE!

[SMUguy]

I loved Bartel's emotion during the game. He wasn't cocky, but he also wasn't afraid to let it all hang out. When the Mustangs punched in that touchdown late in the first half, when they ran two quick plays back to back, he threw his arms in the air, pumped his fist and waved at the crowd, emploring the PonyFans for more noise. He has a confidence that has to be contagious to his teammates - it certainly was impressive to this fan!

[Otto]

Who's the last SMU quarterback who had Bartel's arm strength? I think he has a bigger arm than McCown, Sanders, Luker, Page, Wallis, Flanigan, Freiburger, Romo - we have to back to the 1980s, at least, to find a guy with that strong an arm.

[Guest]

Watching Bartel in early practices (Two-a-days until Texas Tech game), Tate was definitely making better reads. Only until recently has Richard been taking extra strides to become a better player. He's made many mistakes and often acted frustrated and discouraged, causing him to perhaps, not really care. The attitude of the coaching staff was that Tate was pretty much untouchable as a starter. He scorched Bartel in practice. I can't blame Coach Bennett for starting Tate, however, he could have given him a few snaps each game. Most were blowouts anyway. But of course, I don't know of many head coaches (esp. 1st time HC's), that didn't have to use their 1st season to rebuild. I think things are finally coming together. Don at DE was a brilliant move and really adds some athleticism to that DE spot. Peterson wasn't cutting it. Don is a great player and a great kid. One of the friendliest and nicest people I've known on the team. Glad to see he's getting to display his real talent. Look for him to put pressure on Rice's QB's and give the LB's a better jump on sniffing out the option. If the defense can manage to force Rice to throw, I think our secondary can really step up. They've played more conistently of late. Just need to get Boof back on the D-chart and hopefully KG back. OH, and no one has addressed the special teams breakdown last week? Ahem, but give KG some credit. He really solidfies ST