Are We Turning the Corner?

[ponyte]

Since 2005, the current players have known 500 football currently 8-eight). The current players have known dramatic road wins (UAB, Houston), survived comebacks on the road (Tulane this year) and blow outs (SHSU, ASU). These players have known beating traditional (SWC) rivals (TCU, Houston, and Rice). The air of losing is not as familiar to our current players. We have not stunk up the field in a long time. Winning has to be learned. Have our current players learned how to win?

I consider every game left on our schedule a hard game. However, in the past we had teams that had not learned how to win. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. We have yet to turn the corner to a killer team that smells victory and puts opponents away. But it appears we are heading in that direction. We are having players step up (Willis in the second half against Tulane) when needed. Our D-line has vastly improved. We have had tremendous RB injury yet still had quality players to fill in (when was the last time we had that kind of depth at any position?). Our special teams have gone from totally unreliable to a strength.

The month of Oct will tell us whether this team is the team that turns the corner and brings winning back to the Hilltop.

[jtstang]

Makes you wish we'd actually beaten NTSU, huh.

[WorldStang]

We've turned the corner when we beat teams we're supposed to beat.. (North Texas).. and upset the ones were not supposed to beat (UTEP, Cougar High).

Truthfully, I think you can say we've turned the corner if we run the table from this point on.. otherwise the North Texas Game is still a pretty big setback. You have to offset it with some substantial wins..

[EastStang]

Since with lost to NTSU we will need to offset that with a winning conference record, 5-3. We have Marshall, UAB, and ECU from the east. Rice, UTEP, UH, Tulsa from the west remaining on the schedule. We could win some of those games or lose seven of those games. We need to win four from here on out (and I'd like to win all of them). Rice (away), Marshall, UAB and ECU (away) will be tough to beat but can be beaten by us. UH, Tulsa at home are certainly possibilities for an upset win. UTEP (away) is going to be a barometer of where we are. If we win, we might win the division. If we lose badly, it will tell us if we can rebound solidly.

[EP Pony Fan]

Out here (El Paso), most of the talk I've heard is that SMU isn't "really" 6-2 in the last 8 games, because some of the teams they beat (like, say, UTEP?) are "way better." People here seem to think Jordan Palmer is actually Carson Palmer, and that he's going to throw for 1,000 yards and 10 scores.

I don't know if the players and coaches think that way (clearly they're too jacked up about the press guide?), but that's the vibe I get from fans out here.

[ThadFilms]

That's a good question - and a great one to ask this week as I think the UTEP game may tell us the answer if we win (in any fashion) then I think the answer is yes. If we lose (in any fashion) then it remains to be seen.

And that would be a yes we are turning the corner, not a yes we have turned the corner.

[SMUltimedia]

Turn enough corners you end up back where you started....

I'm not actually sure I know what that means, but I feel like we've been talking about turning corners after every win since TCU.

[J.T.supporta]

OCTOBER will be the month that determines if this program has "turned the corner"

we ended September with a 3 game win streak and a winning record this past month for the first time since the 80's.

I feel that this game will determine if we have turned the corner. if we can build a streak of winning games on the road then we have successfully turned the corner.

but lets wait til the end of the month to see if we really have improved

[PlanoStang]

We hit the wall in the corner, aka UNT, but managed to get the car going frontwards again, and back on the track. We went another lap or 2, and
managed to get the car back up to reasonable speed by beating Tulane without going a lap down yet.

That same corner is coming up this week with UTEP, and with our
damaged front wing we may hit it again HARD.

Are there caution flags in football

[originaloverthehilltop1]

the klingons are massing in el paso. romulans plotting to the south. the wraith to the north. the federation will fail if we don't put this corner turning metaphor away for a while.