Mean Green Fan checking in

[meangreenfan]

Hello Ponies -

I know you open with Baylor, but since we open with you guys this year I thought I would check in and say hello.

A couple of thoughts on the game:

- Our fans recognize that Morris is the real deal and that this years game could be a dogfight. It's a HUGE game for both teams in terms of the record and overall morale.

- We continue to have concerns about the QB position. Our starter will be #5 Andrew McNulty. He played most of the last half of last season and had more downs than ups. He is the antithesis of your guy as he is from Iowa City and was very lightly recruited. He is not big, does not have a big arm, is somewhat mobile but certainly not a running threat per se. He is a redshirt senior and hard worker, smart kid. He won't lose the game for us but he won't win it either. We brought in a talented juco (All conference Jayhawk) who was not able to participate in the spring. Most think he will ultimately win the job but it will not be by our game with you.

- Overall, I think the team will be as good or better than what you faced last year. Last year we lost a lot on the offense and defense and so this season we have a good amount of returning starters. McCarney mixed in a fair amount of juco talent this past recruiting year so it could take a little time for them to gel. But overall, I think we should be a more athletic, deeper squad than we had last season.

- We have a pretty outstanding sophomore kicker and our special teams should be a strength.

- Mac needs to win this season. The problem is our schedule stinks, we play a lot of tough teams on the road and have two p5 games with Iowa and Tennessee. Mac has 1 winning season and 3 losing ones. With this being his 5th year he really needs to show progress and it will be tough for him to do that with the schedule. We had one of our best seasons in 2013 so going 4-8 in 2014 really hurt us in terms of expectations and momentum. Basically all the good vibe we developed in a 2013 bowl winning season was squandered last year. Conversely, Morris has NO pressure and I think this could play to your benefit, especially if he is able to get an early lead or keep it close in the 1st half.

- With this being our first game, I would expect a very solid turnout from our fans. This is not a typically road game. We have a lot of people in the DFW area who won't drive to Denton but will show up to games in Dallas. Since we open this season with a bye I think you will get quite a few more who are just interested to see how this team plays. We usually start the season with a body bag game (UT last year etc) so you won't have that albatross affecting attendance at Ford. A lot of our fans are taking the train to avoid the parking issues. Hopefully you guys will get a good turnout as well and we can put up some good attendance numbers.

- Sam Rice, a former SMU player is now eligible after sitting out the year and may well be one of our best offensive linemen. I know he is very much looking to play this game.

I've stated this before, but many of our fans have SMU ties through friends, family etc. We have always had the "other side of the tracks" feeling of rivalry with SMU and it is always a game that our fan base gets very excited about. I know that many of you do not share in this, but I do think our fans do and it will bring a lot of added emotion to this game. Personally, I pull for SMU when they aren't playing us. My wife went there (as well as other family members and friends) and my Dad played football there. I also have taken an interest in the Morris regime since it reminds me a lot of what we did when Dodge was hired with the Texas high school coaching connections etc. Obviously, Morris is being paid a LOT more money and brings WAY more college experience than Dodge did. Our biggest mistake in hindsight was allowing Dodge to bring in all of his Southlake assistants who were way out of their league. Clearly, SMU is not doing this and making good assistant hires with guys who have more experience.

Whether or not your fans like to admit it, our programs are connected in terms of being in DFW, recruiting similar players at local high schools and we are both trying to move to the next level in terms of winning and support. I think SMU going to the AAC directly impacted our ability to move into C-USA. If SMU were to get into the Big 12 etc, I would think it would immediately impact our opportunity to move to the AAC, etc. So there is a connection there and I think that helps generate interest.

Our fan site is http://www.gomeangreen.com and we welcome you guys to visit us and join in the discussions. I have linked this site on our main board and hopefully our fans will behave themselves when they visit. Good luck against Baylor and see you guys on Sept. 12th.

[smumustang1980]

Welcome Mean Green. I hope you enjoy visiting SMU and watching the game. SMU is coming to play this year and I think the experience will reward the respective fans. #PonyUpTempo

[No Quarter]

Interesting post. Not sure I agree that SMU coach Morris is under no pressure.

Can someone remind me of th circumstances of Sam Rice leaving SMU?

[Rebel10]

If your QB is worse than the one you had last year it could be a long year or the Mean Green. I don't think we are recruiting that many similar players but we do cross paths on rare occasions. Anyway should be a fun crowd. And I do agree that this is a transition year and Coach Morris is under no pressure and should not be as he is trying to upgrade recruiting and establish a new offense and new defense for the team. You must be the moderator over there. If so welcome Harry.

[Junior]

Interesting post. Not sure I agree that SMU coach Morris is under no pressure.

Can someone remind me of th circumstances of Sam Rice leaving SMU?

I think he smoked a lot of dope

[LA_Mustang]

Welcome back, meangreenfan. I believe you're the NT fan I chatted with last bball season. I hope you and other NT fans come to the boulevard before the game. We are very welcoming as long as you're not wearing purple. BTW, did you make it to a game at Moody?

[meangreenfan]

Welcome back, meangreenfan. I believe you're the NT fan I chatted with last bball season. I hope you and other NT fans come to the boulevard before the game. We are very welcoming as long as you're not wearing purple. BTW, did you make it to a game at Moody?

I did not but I watched several on TV. I hope to this year. Thanks for the welcome and am looking forward to the boulevard.

[LA_Mustang]

I did not but I watched several on TV. I hope to this year. Thanks for the welcome and am looking forward to the boulevard.

If you do, send me a pm beforehand. I'll stop by to say hi and get you a beer. Good luck to you guys this season.

[Dutch]

there is reciprocal appreciation on my part as my dad went to UNT. not a fan by any stretch b/c all my energy is devoted to the Mustangs (and that can be draining at times) but wish y'all luck this season in your other 11 games so it helps our strength of schedule

[tristatecoog]

I'm looking forward to this game more than Baylor, especially if the crowd approaches 25k.

In the Baylor game, will the attendance top 30k and will SMU cover?
The UNT game will be competitive and is a needed win if the Ponies will show real progress (3-4 wins). UConn, Tulsa and James Madison are three other very competitive games.

Game 2 just seems too early to expect much and hope ppl aren't banged up after Baylor. Maybe the D will just be worn out.

[Rebel10]

I'm looking forward to this game more than Baylor, especially if the crowd approaches 25k.

In the Baylor game, will the attendance top 30k and will SMU cover?
The UNT game will be competitive and is a needed win if the Ponies will show real progress (3-4 wins). UConn, Tulsa and James Madison are three other very competitive games.

Game 2 just seems too early to expect much and hope ppl aren't banged up after Baylor. Maybe the D will just be worn out.

There will be 25k fans at the North Texas game. SMU does not play UConn this year.

[PerunaPunch]

To me, North Texas is probably the most interesting game on the schedule. First off, in upper management here at the office there's me and 3 former Eagles. So I got caught a full ration of sh** last year, and I'm ready for some revenge. Second, I think this game will be the best barometer for how far the team has progressed or regressed through the coaching change. I'm actually holding off on making travel arrangements to a couple of road games based on the outcome of the NT game. My expectation is that we'll be improved if for no other reason than that a ball control offense (rather than a poorly executed R&S) should take a lot of pressure off our defense

Sad that we lost Sam Rice. Quality OLs are something we were in short supply of under "he who shall not be named". Rice was a fairly amazing athlete for a big OL. I heard unsubstantiated rumors of substance-related issues as well. I hope he's past that, as I wish all former Mustang players nothing but the best.

[Digetydog]

I'm looking forward to this game more than Baylor, especially if the crowd approaches 25k.

In the Baylor game, will the attendance top 30k and will SMU cover?
The UNT game will be competitive and is a needed win if the Ponies will show real progress (3-4 wins). UConn, Tulsa and James Madison are three other very competitive games.

Game 2 just seems too early to expect much and hope ppl aren't banged up after Baylor. Maybe the D will just be worn out.

We don't get to play Uconn this year.

Our competitive games should be UNT, JMU, Tulsa, and USF.

[Rebel10]

Sounds like North Texas has around mid level Sunbelt talent even though they are playing in CUSA. Should be interesting.

[PonySnob]

I'm looking forward to this game more than Baylor, especially if the crowd approaches 25k.

In the Baylor game, will the attendance top 30k and will SMU cover?
The UNT game will be competitive and is a needed win if the Ponies will show real progress (3-4 wins). UConn, Tulsa and James Madison are three other very competitive games.

Game 2 just seems too early to expect much and hope ppl aren't banged up after Baylor. Maybe the D will just be worn out.

We don't get to play Uconn this year.

Our competitive games should be UNT, JMU, Tulsa, and USF.

What about Tulane?