Deja Smoo - cusa-fans.com

[mr. pony]

Deja Smoo
SMU Gets Third Chance In Four Weeks To Tame The West
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com
http://cusa-fans.com/

DALLAS – Opportunity comes knocking for SMU on Saturday – again. Will the Mustangs answer the call?

For the third time in a month SMU has a chance to keep or take sole possession of first place in the West division. The first two times, versus Houston on October 23 and at UTEP on Nov. 6 after a Houston loss, SMU failed to win – and Opportunity moved on down the road.

But Houston has generously foundered again and the Mustangs are back in the lead, by virtue of a tie-breaker over Tulsa. This time, Marshall (4-6, 3-3), who ended the Mustangs’ title hopes last season, stands in the way.

“We get our third opportunity,” said SMU secondary coach Derrick Odum, “which I’ve never heard of. Hopefully, we can capitalize on it this time around.”

Cornerback Sterling Moore said the Mustangs are fortunate. “We know this is something special. Not many teams get to have more than one chance at going for a conference championship. We’ve got to take care of business and execute on Saturday.”

Moore is especially thankful since he may finally return to play after a knee injury.

“The past couple of games I haven’t been able to play and I’ve been kind of down,” he said. “For me to be back and have a shot at the title again is huge. And that’s something that we want to come out here and capture this time.”

Moore said he’s feeling pretty good. “It’s more gaining confidence back, just going full speed and seeing how [the injury] reacts to that.”

Marshall rallied to beat Memphis last week for its third straight win. SMU was idle and has lost three of its last four. Last year’s game at Marshall was SMU quarterback Kyle Padron’s only loss in six starts.

“It’s a big test for us,” said Padron, who stayed after practice on Wednesday to work on the deep ball with redshirt freshman receiver Charles Clay. “They’re coming down here. They got our number last year."


Kyle Padron

On paper, SMU holds the advantage, topping Marshall in most all statistical categories. But stats won’t matter on Saturday. Physicality will.

“They just bloodied our nose [last year] and we didn’t respond well,” Odum said of Marshall’s 34-31 win in Huntington. “Hopefully, this time around we’ll be more prepared for that.”

“Last year [at Marshall] is still fresh in our minds,” Moore said. “We had that conference championship right there and we let it slip through our hands. They played a more physical game than we did. That’s something this year that we’re really focused on, coming out here and competing with them at a physical level.”

Odum’s bunch has a day’s work ahead in facing Marshall’s 6-7, 267-pound tight end Lee Smith, who had seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown at Memphis. Odum also noted 6-3, 203-pound Aaron Dobson, who beat SMU last year with two second-half touchdown catches.

“He’s one of the top receivers, in my opinion, talent-wise in our conference,” Odum said. “He’s a tremendous wideout. He has great hands, competitive, tough. He’s very long. He makes a lot of plays happen for him.”

Courtney Edmonson, Troy Evans and Chuck Walker also drew praise. “We’re going to have our hands full.” Odum said. “They’re loaded.”

The Mustangs’ offense will need to account for Mario Harvey, The Herd’s 6-0, 247-pound linebacker with 4.35 speed, and defensive end Vinny Curry. Harvey’s 11 tackles per game rank second in C-USA and fifth in the nation. Curry is the league’s top sackman, with 10.5.

The Mustangs counter with C-USA’s top rusher, Zach Line; top receiver, Aldrick Robinson; second-ranked passer, Padron; and third-ranked defense, led by linebackers Taylor Reed, the third-leading tackler in C-USA, and Ja’Gared Davis, the Mustangs’ sack leader, with 8.5.

Padron threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns at UTEP and averages 274.5 passing yards per game, second only to ECU’s Dominique Davis. Robinson caught nine passes for 131 yards at UTEP, including one touchdown, his 10th of the year.

With protection, Padron could have a big game on Saturday. (SMU has allowed 23 sacks this year, ninth in C-USA, and Marshall is tied for the league lead in sacks, with 22.)

The play of senior quarterback Brian Anderson is big factor in The Herd’s late push.
“He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Odum said. “He puts them in the best situation. If it’s not there he throws the ball away or he runs it.”

Anderson passed for three touchdowns and 220 yards in the Memphis win.

Said Moore, “He doesn’t give a lot of opportunities for somebody to get the ball out of the air. When he does, we definitely have to capitalize on that. We’re going to have to have tight coverage because he puts the ball on the money.”

The Herd has allowed only five sacks this season, tops in C-USA.

Odum said the Mustangs are excited about Opportunity’s next visit. “Their attitude has been really good this week,” he said. “I’m excited to see them play [on Saturday.]”

Gameday: Marshall @ SMU, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010, 2 p.m. Central.

Prediction: SMU 44 Marshall 28 - The Mustangs’ offense clicks and an up-and-down season turns skyward.

Notes:
*Marshall has never won a game in the state of Texas (0-6) and never lost to a Texas team at home (7-0).
*SMU seniors to be honored on Saturday include: Pete Fleps, Youri Yenga, Ryan Moczygemba, Sterling Moore, Justin Smart, Bennie Thomas, Patrick Fleming, Mickey Dollens, Chris Butler, Matt Szymanski, Randy McKinnon and Aldrick Robinson. “We’re going to miss them,” Padron said, “but we’ve still got two – hopefully three or four more games with them.”


Cole Beasley






Aldrick Robinson

[The PonyGrad]

So Randy McKinnon is done? I thought he was applying for a medical redshirt.

[mr. pony]

Ooops. Good question.

[Stallion]

I don't think you can even apply for that waiver until about a semester before you enter the waiver year so they probably include him in case it is not granted. Same with Rock Dennis. There are a bunch of requirements that need to met before a player can qualify like medical reports and academic progress