Phil Bennett's fault

[PhirePhilBennett]

The Houston game was not his fault.

It was actually a very good game, except for the turnovers...which I do not blame on him at all.

I can only question him on the choice to go for it instead of take the 3 pts...unlike the ridiculous 2pt call against UAB.

My beef still comes down to wins and losses...the results are what they are...if we win out, then he has kept his bargain with me.

If not, then bah-bye.


7-5 and a bowl berth are things to take to a recruit's home. 6-6 is not.

Again, we were 5-6 last year and played 2 Big12 teams plus TCU.

We are 5-5 so far this year, and played 2 SunBelt teams plus Tech (and a 1-aa freebie).

And, most of our toughest CUSA foes were/are at home.

BTW, anyone notice that Columbus Givens played in this game? Where has he been lately?

[mustangfan01]

If Sanders is hurt we will be seeing a lot of him now...

[Charleston Pony]

I had no problem with the decision to go for it on 4th down. I did have a problem with the play call and giving the ball to Mapps to run wide on the short side of the field. Why do we not line up Martin behind a power set and just say we're coming at you? I think we showed some power sets running out of the I-formation last year with McKinney leading Martin. Where has that gone? No confidence in the big guys up front to get any push whatsoever?

[ALEX LIFESON]

I have said this for the third game in a row. Each time we have tried to run outside on these crucial plays it's been stuffed for a loss!!! Our tackles can't seal inside, when the defense is expecting a run play.

[codered28]

im sorry being a huge martin fan last year i cannot agree with giving him the ball in that situation...he ran scared and ran alot of half *** routs excluding his td...thats probably what got him pulled...he has been a disappoinment this year and you can blame injuries but that gives you no excuse to be 6'2 225 and tip toe through the hole...

[2112]

I'm not saying Martin is scared, but he sure looks like he is. He runs soft, and goes down easy now.......and the guy is 6-2, 230!! I saw the half-a##ed rout running too.

[FloridaMustang]

I'm not saying Martin is scared, but he sure looks like he is. He runs soft, and goes down easy now.......and the guy is 6-2, 230!! I saw the half-a##ed rout running too.

Yeah, he looks tentative.. he's in his own head.. the coaches really need to sit him down..

[Mustang98]

Our running game is suffering because of the pistol formation. The reason why everyone closes in so [deleted] Mapps and Martin is because the running back starts out 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. By the time the running back hits the line of scrimmage, the line has been blocking for an additional 2-3 seconds and the play breaks down. If our backs had a better start from snap, our running game would be effective. Then our passing game would be even more explosive.

[Stallion]

I disagree. If Martin is healthy I want him further back-a lot of teams do that with Martin's type of RB. It worked last year when he was healthy. I do not and never have thought our offensive line is a good run blocking line. I think Martin made them look better last year than they were. Don't think he is fully recovered.

[ponyboy]

If Sanders is hurt we will be seeing a lot of him now...

I want to see a lot of Bobby Chase. He's underutilized and was wide open on several plays on Saturday. I understand the Willis/Sanders chemistry and respect it, but Chase deserves more balls thrown his way.

[Stallion]

is Chase fully healthy?

[Mustang98]

That's right, Bobby Chase was open a lot on Saturday. The UofH radio announcers said several times, "Chase is open and Willis can't see him!" Whoever was covering Chase gave him a lot of room. I hope Willis' field of vision can pick Chase up against Tulsa.

[FloridaMustang]

That's right, Bobby Chase was open a lot on Saturday. The UofH radio announcers said several times, "Chase is open and Willis can't see him!" Whoever was covering Chase gave him a lot of room. I hope Willis' field of vision can pick Chase up against Tulsa.

They gave him a lot of room because we weren't throwing to him.. that's why you have to spread the ball around in our offense, to keep all the DB's honest.

Where the hell were our TE's Saturday? I'm starting to really doubt the coaching decisions again. Why on earth, with our porous defense, and our SUCCESS throwing the ball, would we keep running it on 1st down and putting ourselves into 3rd and long situations? The running game was dead and they weren't even stacking for the run anyway! Burns started aggressive playcalling again only when the game was out of reach.

Here's my main concern: I really think the coaches are limiting our players' potential. They are coddling them, and not giving them opportunities to show what they can accomplish.. consciously or not, that lack of confidence transfers to the players. This has been a symptom of every Phil Bennett team, Mike Cavan, etc. team.. I'm just sick and tired of playing to not lose. Where are the knockout punches? This has been a wasted year for me.. even if we win out, go 7-5 and reach a bowl game, I think a lot of these seniors should be disappointed and feel cheated by their coaching staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We're making progress, we have a QB and a possible stud reciever in the years to come.. but we HAVE to utilize the rest of our players, especially our seniors, our leaders.

Oh, and here's to figuring out how to run our playbook out of DIFFERENT formations next year.. ugh! I bet Willis ran a more sophisticated offense at Ryan!

Beat Tulsa.. I believe we can, but this coaching staff needs to BELIEVE in its players to win.. so far this hasn't happened since I've been an SMU fan.

[SApony]

With our lack of success running the ball on 3rd and short and 4th and short, why not pass the ball or try a qb draw or bootleg? Willis and the passing game have been the only constants in our offense this year, why go away from it on crucial downs. I know we should be able to line up and run the ball for 1 or 2 yards, but we do not run the right formations to have success on those plays. An option read is not the same thing as a double tight end I formation.

[Stallion]

you know even if you go with 2 TEs and you are going to run it on 3rd and 4th and short-you still have to move some bodies on the Offensive Line-that's the problem-we haven't been good enough to knock people off the line.