What were YOUR expectations?

[PonySnob]

One would think that after 15 years post DP, we could expect more wins than 2-3 a season. When is it logical for SMU alumni to have expectations of winning seasons?

[EastStang]

I think that Charleston hit the nail on the head. I suspected we'd be 1-4 at this point in the year, maybe 2-3 if things broke the right way for us. I think though that the way we lost to Baylor, the way we lost to Tulane and the way we lost to Marshall shows that we are not moving forward like many of us hoped we would. Baylor and Marshall showed that we still cannot finish. Tulane showed that we can have really bad outings. I agree with Stallion that a senior QB ought to be completing more passes. I agree also that our running backs in a pass to set up the run type offense ought to be averaging longer yardage. The problem still appears to be in our offensive line. This has been a continuing problem and there is no improvement there to speak of. It is why BUS wants us to only recruit linemen. This is where the coaching staff really needs to evaluate things. Do we change our offense to accomodate a line which isn't getting it done? Do we change personnel? Do we rotate more? I don't know the answers to these questions.

[JasonB]

I expected the offense to build on the success we had at the end of last year. I expected an improved defense bolstered by an improved linebacking core.

- The defense is improved.
- The offense sucks.

I think beyond record, easily the must frustrating part of this season is the regression of the offense.

Looking at the schedule before the season, I thought:

1) We would be competitive against Baylor, Tulane, and TCU. We should pull out one of those games. RESULT: We pulled out one game, but the Tulane game was a disaster.

2) ECU and Rice are must wins.

3) Marshall, Houston, Tulsa are road games against poor teams. We should win one of those games, a decent team wins two.

So, in summary, I felt that 6-5 was a reach, 5-6 would not be too unreasonable if we were a decent team, and 4-7 is the probable record.

Yes, we still have an opportunity for those 4 wins, but with the big TCU win come higher expectations. At some point we have to EXPECT more. Plus, with the state of the offense, we are most likely not going to keep the UAB, Houston, and UTEP games close because those teams score points against EVERYONE. So in order to get those 4 wins, we would have to beat ECU, at Tulsa, and Rice back to back. And of those three, Tulsa looks tough after their Memphis win.

Therefore, unless the o-line suddenly comes around, we are on track for a 3 win season, which is not acceptable.

[SoCal_Pony]

I am surprised we returned almost the whole offense, including backups, and we are worse.

We're not worse. We're not where the fans want us to be offensively -- look at those tiny yarage numbers -- but at this time last year, weren't we averaging about a touchdown per game? We're better. Like you, I wish the improvement was faster coming, though.

Hoss,

Last year we averaged 18.4 points per game...this year we are averaging 15.0 points per game...Last year we had the 109th ranked offense, this year we have the 108th ranked offense...that is not improvement...it has remained about the same since PB has been here....that is the complaint of just about everyone...4 years and no improvement from a team that STUNK to begin with.

[Buckethead]

The best thing about beating TCU was we beat them. The worst thing about beating TCU was that it gave us all HOPE. I think if we get lucky we get 3-4 wins. Anything less and it is for sure time for changes.

[PerunaPunch]

I think JasonB continues to be an objective voice of reality. At the beginning of the season, almost every poster on this board had us going 0-fer in September.

The only things any of us should be surprised about are 1) beating TCU and 2) the way the team decided to bend over during and after the A&M game.

Sure, there's plenty to be angry about. Even the best coaches make questionable calls in hingsight (e.g. Parcells with the Cows this year). The thing that bothers me the most is that our coaches seem to be unable to get the team's attitude turned around and that both the Mustangs and their fans (myself often included I hate to admit) are so eager to abandon the season after only 2 conference games.

[EastStang]

You know before the Marshall game everyone was posting that we would get slaughtered, yet we came very close to winning that game (and would have now that the league has issued its second oops apology). Yes, our offense is clearly weak. But last spring I chalked up Marshall as a loss. So, we should really be a little less harsh about the outcome of that game. We should also give some credit to Marshall's defense.

[Ponymon]

I thought replacing OSU with Texas A$M was stupid. Why didn't Phil go for a Division II team? All of the momentum we gained from beating the Horney Toads was lost from losing to A$M. The trade-off sure didn't make any sense to me

[DickerJames]

I really don't have "expectations" for football anymore. The "wait till they mature" or "wait till our red shirts play" optimism left me 3 years ago. I said before the season started that anything less than 5 wins should be considered a failure. The most disturbing thing about the Bennent era is the lack of discernable progress.

[carolina stang]

I expected us to be competitive in all games with the possible exception of A&M. (We have not been)

I hoped (pretty sad) to be 2-3 with wins over Baylor and Tulane or Marshall. Tulane or Marshall may have been a stretch but again we keep hearing how we now have more experience.

1 and 4 wouldn't be a total disaster if we hadn't mailed it in at A&M and Tulane and so little offense against Baylor and Marshall.

Rest of year: Realistically the best I can see is a win over Rice (believe it when I see it) and/or East Carolina. I'm not confident of either.

Like Kansas in 2000, the TCU game instead of a harbinger of things to come has been an anomaly.

[Caballo]

My expectations were to be 2-3 at this point in the season. We should have beaten Baylor, played TCU close, not been embarassed by A&M, and pulled out a HOME win against Tulane. Marshall and UAB were roadkill games, but playing better football.

My main expectation was for the defense to be better, which it has. They are hindered by an ineffective offense. Even though our record will not be much better than last year, there is no excuse for our offense to be ranked as low nationally as it is.

We will end up 3-8, or 4-7 with luck. If the offense does not start producing, Bennett will be gone.

I have also changed my stance on Willis. If Bennett is not going to play Phillips, which it is evident he will not, play Willis in several series in Birmingham. Let him get a feel for the flow of the game. He cannot do any worse than Romo. Let him start against ECU and start the rest of the year. We'll have a QB with experience the next three years. The only bad result of this is that if Willis plays, HE NEEDS TO PLAY EVERY DOWN THE REST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!

[Nacho]

I had us 3-2. Look it up.