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Way, WAY Out West
Mustangs Prepare For Fourth-Longest Journey In Team History
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com


From left, Taylor Thompson and Taylor Reed huddle with Coach Bert Hill on Thursday

DALLAS – For SMU Coach June Jones, who’s used to packing up a football team and traversing half the Pacific Ocean for a road game - any road game, Friday’s journey to Pullman, Washington is no sweat.

“Really nothing different that what we [always] do,” Jones said when asked how he prepares a team for extended sojourns. “It just happens to be a little bit longer this trip. We just stay on our normal schedule, do everything the same we do all the time. You’ve just got do it. You’ve got handle it, you know?”

The Washington State trip (1,928 miles, one-way) will be the fourth-longest in SMU history, behind Tokyo, Japan (6,473 miles), Honolulu, Hawaii (3,790 miles) and Corvallis, Oregon (2,046 miles). It’s also the furthest the Mustangs have traveled in the continental U.S. in 36 years. (See Notes.)

SMU’s current team has as its longest trip to date a 1,371-mile trek to Annapolis, Maryland, last year to play Navy, a game the Midshipmen won, 34-7.

Team captain Emmanuel Sanders said the key this week, as always, will be to maintain focus in the midst of distractions. “We approach it like every other game,” he said. “The plane ride there, you can be a little loose, you can laugh.”

“The bus ride over to the stadium is going to be a little longer, so it’s going to be a little harder to focus. … Really, this team is much more mature. You don’t even have to tell guys. They already know. You’re on that bus for 45 minutes, you take a nap, you focus, you listen to music. No joking around, no nothing.”

Sanders said he’ll listen to music on the three-plus hour flight – and something else too. “Actually, I need to get caught up on my homework, so I’ll read some books.”


Bo Levi Mitchell

Senior center Mitch Enright credits the coaches for making road trips manageable. “The coaches do a great job with our schedule,” he said. “Every week is the same on the road trip. The only difference in going far away is we might leave a little earlier in the day.”

Enright said road experiences are good for young players, though it can be a bit unsettling at first. “Anytime you’re a freshman or a sophomore you’re obviously going to have the ‘big eyes’ going into a new stadium with a lot of fans. Then, just going to another stadium and hearing how loud it gets when we’re on offense.”

“It’s something that they just adjust to, like I did when I was a freshman and sophomore. It’ll be good for them, going to a place like Washington State.”

Enright’s plans for the flight? “I hope I can fall asleep, that’s all I know. Usually I try to stay awake because it’s only an hour, hour and a half flight.”

Sophomore wideout Bradley Haynes said he thinks the team is ready to travel. “It’s not going to be a big deal for any of my teammates or myself,” he said. “I think by now we’re used to it. We’re maturing as a team and it really shouldn’t be a problem.”

Haynes said he’ll pass the in-flight time by reading sports magazines or catching a movie on his PSP.

In the end it’s about one thing. “Everyone has it in their mind,” said Sanders, “we’re going up to Washington State to become 3-0.”

And if that happens, the Mustangs may not need a jet to fly home.



Notes:
*SMU football’s Top Ten one-way distances traveled, in miles:
1. 6,473 - Tokyo, Japan, vs. Houston, 1983
2. 3,790 - Honolulu, Hawaii, vs. Notre Dame, 1984/vs. Hawaii, 1998, ’00, ’02
3. 2,046 – Corvallis, Ore., vs. Oregon State, 1973
4. 1,928 – Pullman, Wash., vs. Washington State, 2009
5. 1,727 – Berkeley, Calif., vs. California, 1957
6. 1,695 – Santa Clara, Calif., vs. Santa Clara, 1947
7. 1,690 – San Jose, Calif., vs. San Jose State, 1999, ’01, ‘03
8. 1,665 – Reno, Nev., vs. Nevada, 2001, ’03
9. 1,604 – Boise, Idaho, vs. Boise State, 2004
10. 1,557 – Fresno, Calif., vs. Fresno State, 2000, ’02, ‘04

*June Jones, on WSU: “We’re going to have to play better than we played at UAB to beat Washington State. They’re big, they’re heavy. I know what they’re going to try to do. They’re just going to try to maul us and run the ball. We’re a speed, undersized defense. They’re big and they’ve got some good talented running backs and big tight ends. They’ll try to maul us, I’m sure.”

*Jones, on injured freshman wideout Darius Johnson: “He’s better. He’s out of his sling. I noticed him moving his arm a little bit. I think he’s still five weeks, probably four weeks away [from playing.]”


Braden Smith sets to throw behind Kelvin Beachum, Jr., as June Jones, left, observes

Nice going, Mr. P. Love the pictures. Players sound pumped.

Nice pictures. Was that last comment regarding Darius Johnson?

Sounds like it, to bad, was hoping Darius Johnson would be back in time for TCU.

Oh well, thanks for the read!

SMU 86 wrote:Nice pictures. Was that last comment regarding Darius Johnson?

YES! Thanks, man. He was speaking of Darius Johnson.

Since when do we put stickers on the back of our helmets?

Must have missed tht

They're little skull and cross-bones.

mr. pony wrote:They're little skull and cross-bones.

Nice!

are the decals skull and cross bones or are they June Jones logo: Eonatoa, a Hawaiian gourd mask with cross spears
http://www.warriorsrespond.com/

listen to the soundtrack on Eonatoa before entering site from the home page. June Jones friend who wrote the score for Hill Street Blues, etc, wrote the Hawaiian chants/songs for the Warriors. Similar to last year's SMU entry song and this season's Jeezy's hip hop. This is June Jones way of branding the University, gives it identity and hopefully increased interest and revenue in logo items and merchandise.

Good pics and information...the white helmets are so much better....

nice work

Ralph wrote:are the decals skull and cross bones or are they June Jones logo: Eonatoa, a Hawaiian gourd mask with cross spears
http://www.warriorsrespond.com/

You may be right. I haven't seen them up really close. Just going by what someone who should know told me.
Looking at the photo again, it does look like the gourd mask and cross spears.
Thanks.

I thought we went to a Mirage Bowl where we played ND (and beat them), that should have also been listed or is my memory finally gone? I also remember going to the Houston game as it was also a conference game and had real significance that year.