He speaks the truth.
SMU needs a win Saturday
08:03 PM CDT on Friday, September 15, 2006
SMU plays its most important football game Saturday since 1997.
In that season finale, SMU threw away a potential bowl trip with a loss to a bad TCU team. There is more at stake today, when the Mustangs face Sam Houston State at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
Lose this one, and the program retreats so far back into the dark ages, it might never re-emerge.
SMU needs 'A' game against I-AA foe
Lose this one, and SMU is a crushed 0-3 team. Lose this one, and real-estate agents will start calling coach Phil Bennett.
SMU should handle Sam Houston because a Division I-A team must beat a Division I-AA team that went 3-7 last season. There are no givens for the Mustangs, though. They should have won against North Texas last weekend on the basis of better talent but were outplayed in a 24-6 loss.
This is a test for Bennett. His challenge is twofold: get the players out of the UNT-induced funk and motivate the staff to fix the offense. The season can be saved.
Here's a tip: Make the offense simpler for redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Willis and tell him to have fun. The bet is Willis will produce more than the nine points SMU has scored in two games.
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