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found it interesting a few comments by some PSU posters that their "roster is massively better" up and down the roster.

Total roster talent composite:
PSU = 11th in country
SMU = 25th in country

Not as big of a difference as they are believing IMO. Speed is key

As a comparison, Clemson is 5th

indianmustang wrote:https://pennstate.forums.rivals.com/threads/roll-call-who-was-there-the-only-other-time-smu-played-at-psu-in-1978.356407/

The TCU Rutgers debate had me laughing out loud. "Rutgers". "No it was TCU." "It was Rutgers." "No, TCU." "Rutgers." "TCU." "Rutgers." "TCU."

SMU Pom Mom wrote:

indianmustang wrote:https://pennstate.forums.rivals.com/threads/roll-call-who-was-there-the-only-other-time-smu-played-at-psu-in-1978.356407/

The TCU Rutgers debate had me laughing out loud. "Rutgers". "No it was TCU." "It was Rutgers." "No, TCU." "Rutgers." "TCU." "Rutgers." "TCU."

That was the year Ron Meyer took Mike Ford's SMU squad to Florida and won, lost a close one @ Penn State and tied Ohio State in the Horseshoe while introducing his program to 3 of the biggest H.S. football states outside of Texas

Pony ^ wrote:found it interesting a few comments by some PSU posters that their "roster is massively better" up and down the roster.

Total roster talent composite:
PSU = 11th in country
SMU = 25th in country

Not as big of a difference as they are believing IMO. Speed is key

As a comparison, Clemson is 5th

Their fanbase is extremely confident about their path to the final four.

Franklin is 3-19 vs top 10 opponents.

One thing is for sure, SMU will be loose and have nothing to lose. Draw back of course is 30 degree weather. That is absolutely brutal. No question that hurts us. That and their long grass

Pony ^ wrote:Franklin is 3-19 vs top 10 opponents.

One thing is for sure, SMU will be loose and have nothing to lose. Draw back of course is 30 degree weather. That is absolutely brutal. No question that hurts us. That and their long grass

I literally was just about to post about Franklin’s inability to win the big games. Hopefully this helps us!!

SMU Pony Mom wrote:

Pony ^ wrote:Franklin is 3-19 vs top 10 opponents.

One thing is for sure, SMU will be loose and have nothing to lose. Draw back of course is 30 degree weather. That is absolutely brutal. No question that hurts us. That and their long grass

I literally was just about to post about Franklin’s inability to win the big games. Hopefully this helps us!!

Has more to do with the quality of their opponents. Penn State gets the "brand" bias and gets ranked in the Top 10 but do they deserve it? We'll find out in a couple of weeks

Pony ^ wrote:found it interesting a few comments by some PSU posters that their "roster is massively better" up and down the roster.

Total roster talent composite:
PSU = 11th in country
SMU = 25th in country

Not as big of a difference as they are believing IMO. Speed is key

As a comparison, Clemson is 5th

Confidence is key. We need to not crap our pants like we did early vs Clemson. Also need to deal with cold weather but at least it will be in the middle of the day this time.

Charleston Pony wrote:

SMU Pony Mom wrote:

Pony ^ wrote:Franklin is 3-19 vs top 10 opponents.

One thing is for sure, SMU will be loose and have nothing to lose. Draw back of course is 30 degree weather. That is absolutely brutal. No question that hurts us. That and their long grass

I literally was just about to post about Franklin’s inability to win the big games. Hopefully this helps us!!

Has more to do with the quality of their opponents. Penn State gets the "brand" bias and gets ranked in the Top 10 but do they deserve it? We'll find out in a couple of weeks

Well, the only teams PSU lost to this year were Oregon (ranked #1) and Ohio State (ranked I believe #2 at the time). The only team to beat them at Penn State was Ohio State by 1 score. Oregon may have beat PSU, but the Lions rushed for 300 yards and had over 500 yards of total offense against a very good Oregon defense. PSU beat everyone else on their schedule and made the Big 10 championship game. So at this point, yeah I think they deserve to be ranked in the top 10. And I think they represent by far the biggest challenge this SMU team will have faced all year.

110,000 hostile fans, long grass that somewhat negates our speed advantage, sub-freezing weather, and one of the top teams in the Big-10 represent a huge test. I think there is a path to victory for SMU in this one, but I certainly think PSU should be favored. If the offense starts out like it did against Clemson, with a pick and a fumble deep in our own territory, then we are toast. If we play disciplined football, don't turn the ball over, and get a couple turnovers of our own, then we've got a shot.

At this point in my mind its all good b/c we are playing with house money. No one, and I mean no one, predicted the Ponies would be where we are right now at the beginning of the season. To be honest, I'm not sure from a roster construction perspective that we're quite where we need to be to make real noise in this playoff. For example, I think our O-line is good, but not probably not quite good enough for this level. Same with the secondary. But every game that we play like Clemson at BofA Stadium and Penn State at their house is a massive learning experience for these guys and this program. So no matter what happens on Dec. 21, I believe SMU football will come out a winner.

We need to win the TO battle AND the penalty battle (which we have less control over).

I’ve been to two bowl games involving Ped State and they lost both. But they brought a big Loud crowd of fans so I can imagine how loud it will be in their home stadium. How do the Ponies prepare for that? By practicing with extremely high volume music playing?

In the Armstrong Fieldhouse, they play a static machine that is so loud that you can’t hear the person next to you who is talking without them talking directly into your ear

dalpony wrote:In the Armstrong Fieldhouse, they play a static machine that is so loud that you can’t hear the person next to you who is talking without them talking directly into your ear

good to know but it seems really uphill and we need to play clean game no jitters