Scrimmage analysis

[Horseshoe]

Sorry this is a day late.

The SMU football team held its second preseason scrimmage Wednesday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The stars of the scrimmage clearly were the running backs, primarily sophomore Keylon Kincade, who carried the ball 13 times for a scrimmage-leading 135 yards and a touchdown. Junior Kris Briggs also ran well, racking up 122 yards on 10 carries (including a 70-yard touchdown run). Kincade and reserve tailback Jason Pipkins also scored one touchdown each.

Kincade was consistently effective, whether running behind the first-team or second-team offensive line and regardless of whether he was facing the first- or second-team defense. He showed a good burst into open spaces, and repeatedly carried defenders with him, racking up extra yards when it appeared he had been stopped.

"I think Kris and I make a good contrast," Kincade said. "He's a big bruiser, and I'm more of a quickness guy. Hopefully we can be a good complement to each other and keep defenses off-balance with a little change of pace.

"I don't care if I'm running behing the first-team offensive line or the second-team line -- I just try to run hard every time I get the ball. You can put me behind a middle school line, and I'm going to run hard."

The defense was missing several mainstays. Defensive tackles Lute Croy (calf), Warrie Birdwell (ankle), Marcus Walker (shoulder) and Austin Adami (ankle all sat out the scrimmage), although Cavan said he expects all of them to be back in time for the season-opening game against Louisiana Tech. Linebackers Vic Viloria and D.D. Lee -- who had his foot stepped on in practice Monday -- also sat out as a precautionary measure.

The kicking game looked much better than it did last year. Freshman Chris McMurtray drilled field goals from 43 and 53 yards (he also hit a 52-yarder in the team's first scrimmage Saturday), and Jacob Crowley connected from 23 and 43 yards.

"I tell you what, we've got a heck of a kicking battle going," SMU head coach Mike Cavan said. "McMurtray and Crowley are both kicking real well -- they've done a nice job. And Adam Walterscheid has been punting excellent. I don't think there's any doubt he'll be be our starting punter in the opener."

One area of concern was the receivers, who dropped numerous passes. Cavan said he was relatively pleased with the performance of the team's quarterbacks, but the drops whittled their statistics to less-than-impressive totals.