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Wow. I hope we can live up to the hype. There are still some serious question marks with this team plus a really killer schedule. The great thing is that we are really good on both the offensive and defensive lines with talented, experienced guys who have legit NFL ability. We have a 1,000 yard back, a three year starter at QB, and a veteran WR group as long as DJ can get his act together in the classroom. I still worry about our secondary and the lack of playmaking ability there and we still are not in a position where we can sustain injuries and not see a significant drop-off. But there is not one game on our schedule where I will be going into it saying that we are overmatched. Yes, that includes TCU and Aggy. We can play with anyone on our schedule and I think our kids truly believe they expect to win.

Does anybody remember where we ranked in the preseason rankings before PB's last year? I think it would be interesting to know the change in the media's POV between then and now.

stc9 wrote:Does anybody remember where we ranked in the preseason rankings before PB's last year? I think it would be interesting to know the change in the media's POV between then and now.

CFN had us at 83 before the 2007 season

The O Sentinel has given SMU a lot of favorable print since JJ came to town. A very nice young reporter, whose name I can't remember at this moment, felt that SMU's improvement is one of the biggest stories in college sports. Unlike a local paper that I won't name. No, not the Startlegram.

I like the part where JJ said he is done saying his team ahead of schedule and that he expected big things during the 2011 season. It is a tough schedule but it looks like JJ has thrown the challenge, it's time to show improvement. One way or another, it should be a very exciting year.

agreed; this is a veteran team and it's time for them to show whether they can get it done. Need to win CUSA this year...and let's throw in a win against either A$M or TCU while we are at it.

Would an early win at ATM or frog pond get us ranked in top 25?

SMU89 wrote:Would an early win at ATM or frog pond get us ranked in top 25?

I wouldn't think a win against A&M would get us ranked. Some votes outside the top 25, though.
A win over TCU would get us into Top 25, especially since by then we will have played four games (three of which we should win).
But I'm not really counting on either of these things happening. Who knows, though. Maybe we will get a surprise.

SMU89 wrote:Would an early win at ATM or frog pond get us ranked in top 25?

We're going to beat TCU, but it's possible we might have a loss to A&M, so I imagine it will only be votes.

I give it about a 50-50 shot we beat both though, in which case we will definitely be in the Top 25.

More likely to win against tcu than a&m. A&M has a lot of returning starters, our passing game will likely be a little rusty in the beginning, Kyle Field is tough. Tcu has a lot of talent but they're going to bpe replacing A lot of talent and our passing game ought to be much improved by thEn plus our coachin staff seems to figure out coaching staffs after multiple games - even with much less talent, we gave them a great run for 2.5 quarters last year.

A&M will start the season rated much higher than TCU. Probably Top 10

Stallion wrote:A&M will start the season rated much higher than TCU. Probably Top 10

a&M will be far and away the best team (most talented) we play all year. We gotta hope that their offense sputters because they have a ton of weapons.

bottom line...beating EITHER A$M or TCU means this program has achieved a new milestone

would be great for CUSA

Charleston Pony wrote:bottom line...beating EITHER A$M or TCU means this program has achieved a new milestone

would be great for CUSA

Only if we don't have a letdown the following week. Beat tamu but lose to utep, same old SMU.