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Well this should be the best team SMU has fielded in several years and if there was ever a chance to take the next step as a progam it will be against the sheep humpers. Taking what I know of both teams, SMU has a legitamate shot if they can start off hot.

I am not a huge fan of Padron except for the Hawaii bowl where his throws had zip but otherwise he looks like a pudgy qb who can't escape pressure and is very average, he can also get rattled. Be that as it may he is a serviceable qb that is capable of putting together the good game and if the WRs step up this year the offense should be good due to the O line and running game.

I also believe SMU's defense should be fairly stout with the influx of athletes over the last couple years. Hopefully the pass rush will be there and the dbs play well because the D line is very solid.

So, playing at Kyle is concerning and when those idiots get all riled up and they are winning it gets a little difficult but don't kid yourself its not like playing at LSU at night. Being a former SWC team I am sure they will be up for it, you just hope they overlook you and start slow.

Aggie will have a very good offense led by a talented running game, veteran WR, young/inexperienced but talented OL and good but overhyped QB. They will score some points but their offense isn't like Oregon and while they have good skill players, none are elite and their o line can be stalled. Saying all that, 35 points is still probably the minimum number to pull off a win.

The ag defense will be solid but not as good as last year by losing hodges, miller, and patterson. The secondary is suspect, lbs will be dramatically worse, and the DL will be good in the middle and average at the rush.

If SMU can get out to a 2 score lead and get atm to go away from the ground game, and if the SMU defense plays the ag wr well then a victory is possible. This would put SMU on the map for the rest of the year, get er done.

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone thinking Padron was pudgy...

And I also don't think Padron gets rattled, I think he is incredibly tough. He took to many sacks last year because he was slow in his decision making not because he didn't have escape ability.

Jones teams typical come out of the gate poor and rusty in game 1 (refer to Hawaii and SMU), furthermore, Padron didn't exactly finish the season very strong and we will have a very different WR line up from last year. Anything can happen and we have more talent to use against them than ever before, but it is unrealistic to expect us to be prepared to beat them.

jones teams come up poor and rusty in first games? facts, anyone?

[quote="Pony_Law"]And I also don't think Padron gets rattled, I think he is incredibly tough.

Ditto.

We are senior laden on both o and d lines we should beat them in the trenches...where games are won.

Special teams.....we need productivity from this group.

Beat them in the trenches - are you nuts? They will out-weigh and out-athlete us on both lines - especially when we are on D.

That said - we have the formula for this game - dust off that TCU game plan and do it again against a far lesser team. A bunch of delay draws to Line and then some fake delay draws to Line with short quick slants. Once our O line gets their sea legs and their D line has had a couple of series to get tired - get DJ rocking.

On D - J Davis get your engine ready.

Give me the clip board JJ - and hey Pedron - since I am calling this game we will be signaling plays - so no more 5K back and forth to hear from Yoda.

I am encouraged that the OP feels our defense will be more robust. That is a very positive move for us. I too feel our D will be better. We have a lot of personnel returning with very solid experience. Not to the top 25 level just yet but getting their.

I have not been impressed by the Ag offense the last couple of years. Regardless of the QB, it just doesn't seem as potent as their talent level should produce.
That said, this present to us a very big challenge. My guess is it will be as big a challenge as TTU was last season.

originaloverthehilltop1 wrote:jones teams come up poor and rusty in first games? facts, anyone?

I decided to pull the scores from first games with JJ teams:

1999 - USC 62 Hawaii 7
2000 - Portland State (I-AA) 45 Hawaii 20
2001 - Hawaii 30 Montana (I-AA) 12
2002 - Hawaii 61 Eastern Illinois (I-AA) 36
2003 - Hawaii 40 Appalachian State (I-AA) 17
2004 - Florida Atlantic (I-AA) 35 Hawaii 28 Overtime
2005 - USC 63 Hawaii 17
2006 - Alabama 25 Hawaii 17
2007 - Hawaii 63 Northern Colorado (I-AA) 6
2008 - Rice 56 SMU 27
2009 - SMU 31 Stephen F. Austin (FCS) 23
2010 - Texas Tech 35 SMU 27

Draw your own conclusions from there.

couch 'em wrote:Jones teams typical come out of the gate poor and rusty in game 1 (refer to Hawaii and SMU), furthermore, Padron didn't exactly finish the season very strong and we will have a very different WR line up from last year. Anything can happen and we have more talent to use against them than ever before, but it is unrealistic to expect us to be prepared to beat them.

Agreed. Here's hoping JJ has something up his sleeve, and our QB can perform early in a very tough game.

vs I-AA teams 5-1
vs BCS teams 0-4
vs non-BCS teams 2-0

RGV Pony wrote:vs I-AA teams 5-1
vs BCS teams 0-4
vs non-BCS teams 2-0

two losses to I-AA as FAU was I-AA in 2004 (at least according to Wikipedia)

I'm as optimistic as the next guy about this season. . .but beating A&M in week one at Kyle Field is going to be a tall order. Make no mistake about that. The Aggies return 19 starters from a team that showed major improvement last season. I see SMU as competitive in this game, but not likely to win.

I don't know how week one will go, but I feel pretty confident that Padron is going to be much improved this year. It also bears mentioning that some of his struggles last season were the result of errors by the offensive line and/or the receivers. Padron certainly had growing pains. . .but I don't think its fair to lay every issue at his doorstep. I'm excited about the offense this year. I expect major improvement.