CFN CUSA/National Preseason Projections

[Stallion]

a whole bunch of national and conference projections-I linked to the CUSA page-but there is more to can be accessed on that page

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1055291.html

[mathman]

I was looking at the Big 12 predictions and had a laugh. Looking at Baylor's schedule, he has them losing to Kansas on Nov.12. Looking at Kansas schedule, he has them losing to Baylor on Nov.12.

[redpony]

3rd in our division? Did I read ? What a piece of crap. Hope all of us will write those idiots at the end of the season and remind them of their stupid predictions after we win the championship.

GO PONIES!!!

[Mitch McConnell]

This site is headed in the same direction as the Bleacher Report.

[leopold]

Huh. Tulsa expected to be really good. They must think so, too, they've really manned up on their OOC schedule. Best of luck to them.

[Stallion]

Tulsa was really good last year, returns a bunch of starters and had a bunch of outstanding newcomers. This comes as a surprise? They were 10-3 last year-one loss a miracle last play jump ball-closed with a 7 game winning streak. Biggest questionmark is new coaching staff and DBs.

[leopold]

Yes, it comes as a surprise, as I was not paying close atttention to their team.

Damn, Stallion, lighten up. You saw that 'Best of luck to them' part, didn't you?

[Mustangsabu]

I don't think, as much as we have improved, that Tulsa, Houston, Southern Miss and UCF will all beat us, especially not UCF at home. I will say that we should beat the teams they say we'll beat, but I really don't think anyone could say it was totally unfathomable that SMU runs the CUSA slate this year. Sure Houston, Southern Miss and Tulsa will be hard games but we always give Tulsa fits even when we're awful, Houston is well due a good drubbing at our hands, and Southern Miss is to me, the most difficult conference game on our schedule, but is still not unbeatable.

I expect to be in the Championship Game again this year.

I also stay awake at night and dream of beating A&M at Kyle Field, hitting the top 25 and then putting up silly numbers on TCU in Fort Worth, so my opinion should be taken VERY lightly.

[rich59]

Ignoring CFN, here are some interesting facts to ponder. To me, most football games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage. I see where JJ in the DMN says something about how SMU is getting stronger. Timing in life is all important and I see SMU being a little out of sync timing wise. This is no ones' fault. In 2011 SMU will be fielding a team that on the line of scrimmage will be big, strong and experienced on both sides of the ball. In addition the secondary will have some strong senior or junior leadership. The QB will be a junior, the RB a junior and some key receivers will be experienced. 2011 should be a strong team but maybe without the really good athletes depthwise to be able to compete with top 25 teams. In 2012, SMU will have a senior QB and RB and experienced and skilled linebackers with more quality depth than previously but the offensive and defensive lines will be losing some very experienced and quality members. Padron, since the SMU offense is so QB dependent ought to be at his best but who is going to block for him? It seems to me that, for SMU to really become a strong team, we are at least several years away.

[Stallion]

I think we can play with the CUSA teams-I don't think I can confidently predict at this point that it is probable that SMU has much success on the road against A&M, TCU, Southern Miss, Tulsa and UH. That's a tough road schedule. All those schools had better Sagarin ratings last year. Survive maybe -win at least 1 and hopefully 2 of 3 CUSA Road Games possibly but it will be tough. I can easily see us losing 4-5 of those games on the road too.

[PonyPlayer4]

Phil Bennett had his best year when he started his all senior DL of Muse, Bonds, Haywood, and Rodgers. Those four alond with a senior Sturdivant roaming at safety. I can't help but think our strong experienced DL with a 4 year starter at safety will produce June's best record to date at SMU.

[rich59]

I agree that road schedule is very tough. To me, a 7-5 season with some sort of a bowl would represent progress, particularly if we won the bowl game.

[ponyfan08]

Huh. Tulsa expected to be really good. They must think so, too, they've really manned up on their OOC schedule. Best of luck to them.

They will need it when they go to Norman. The big red machine is going to [deleted] slap the Hurricanes. They will be downgraded to a tropical depression.

[ponyte]

Way too early to make predictions. We haven't even finished spring ball. We don't know who will show up for fall camp and who will emerge as a up and comer. And this holds for all schools. I do wonder if we have turned a corner in one respect. Do the TCUs, TUs, UHs of the world now look at there schedule and feel thankful that they have SMU at home this year? Once a doormat, now perhaps a team to cause concern.

[rich59]

There are always surprises, of course. But I feel like we can match up pretty well with the Aggies, physically except for depth. SMU, for a change probably has as many NFL prospects as the Aggies do. Winning that game is probably a forlorn hope because of the venue. It is a difficult stadium for a visiting team to win in but I think it will be a useful growing experience for the SMU team.