USA Today Weekly Report on SMU Mustangs

[Water Pony]

Good summary from USA Today:

SOUTHERN METHODIST

INSIDE SLANT

It says something about SMU's improvement and expectations when the Mustangs can win on the road yet leave the field dissatisfied.

By holding off a late rally for 33-28 in Tulane's first game in the Louisiana Superdome since Dec. 4, 2004, the Mustangs own a winning record in September for the first time since 1992.

With their first road win in a conference opener since 1993, the Mustangs have also won four consecutive conference games for the first time since 1997.

"By far, it was not our best effort," SMU coach Phil Bennett said. "I think we can play better. But to say that after winning, I'm very happy. I'm not making any apologies."

The defense did its part by holding Tulane to minus-33 yards rushing and sacked Tulane quarterback Lester Ricard six times for a loss of 51 yards. The offense with 359 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Justin Willis.

The win did not come without its problems, though. The Mustangs led 17-0 in the third quarter when Tulane safety intercepted Willis, returning the pick 30 yards for a touchdown and igniting a Green Wave rally.

With 7:52 left in the game, Tulane led 21-20 and SMU needed a big play or two. The Mustangs got one from its kickoff return team, paving the way for Jesse Henderson to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and a 26-21 lead.

On Tulane's next possession, tackle Adrian Haywood sacked Ricard and forced the ball loose. End Cory Muse recovered the fumble at the Tulane 30, setting up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Emanual Sanders with 4:10 remaining.

"The third quarter got tough, because the guys started getting tired and they were going to the no-huddle offense," Bennett said. "We were struggling to get the plays in. Still, as things started turning, we showed some maturity that we haven't shown since I got here. I'm proud of the guys for staying together."

The Mustangs spent the final minutes hanging on for dear life and a win that Bennett didn't think should have been as close as it was.

"I'm very proud of the guys," Bennett said. "It's a step. I'm not going to sit here and beat our chests or anything. It was a game I felt we should win. I didn't feel it should be that close, but we won."

NOTES, QUOTES


GAME BALL GOES TO: QB Justin Willis –- He did get impatient and threw an interception that Tulane returned for a touchdown, but he also completed 23 of 40 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 76 yards and another score. Willis now has 12 touchdown passes on the season, 11 in the past three games alone.

KEEP AN EYE ON: WR-KR Jessie Henderson -– His 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the second career return for a touchdown, put the brakes on a Tulane rally and put SMU ahead for good. Henderson has 307 yards on eight returns this season, an average of 38.4 yards.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "All I saw was my front line; they were on every man. They kicked guys out, had people on the ground. They opened holes and made it easy for me to run. I was thinking 'score.' That's what we all were thinking." –- SMU kickoff returner Jessie Henderson

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL


LOOKING GOOD: WR Emmanuel Sanders –- The redshirt freshman receiver caught his second touchdown pass in the past three games.

DE Justin Rogers -– With two sacks against Tulane, he has five in the past two games.

SS Joe Sturdivant -– Sturdivant made plays all over the field for 10 tackles.

STILL NEEDS WORK: QB Justin Willis -– He's doing a lot of things right for a redshirt freshman but he gave Tulane new momentum when he threw an interception that the Green Wave returned for a touchdown.

RB James Mapps -– One week after rushing for 132 yards Mapps carried six times for minus-14 yards.

K Thomas Morestead -– He did make field goals of 34 and 23 yards, but his miss from 39 yards in the fourth quarter came at a critical time.

ROSTER REPORT: Starting RB DeMyron Martin (foot) missed his third consecutive game but could be back as early as this week's game at UTEP. With Martin out, and Johnnie Fitzgerald (ankle) and Fred Turner (foot) unable to return for the Tulane game, junior RB Cedrick Dorsey started and carried 14 times for 45 yards.

_____________________________________________________________

[AusTxPony]

Couple of points on that report. 1) SMU could have scored another touchdown at the end of the game to run up the score. 2) Wasn't the inteception tipped by Chase into the hands of the Tulane defender. 3) The miss by Morestead was not even close. Must have been mishandled.

[RedRiverPony]

Wasn't it Sanders' THIRD touchdown in three weeks? I could swear he scored against Sam Houston State and Arkansas State, too.

[D]

[quote=" 3) The miss by Morestead was not even close. Must have been mishandled.[/quote

It looked like the timing was off on the missed fg and it was mishandled - ie Duke was slow getting it down and it was pulled left...it happens. Just nice to have a kicker and special teams in general that have the ability to make big plays.

[EastStang]

To be real honest Willis' pass was behind the receiver and the receiver was lucky to even get a hand on it. He was also double covered. So, although it was tipped, it was a bad pass to begin with.

[ponyboy]

Another thing about that report. Not mentioning Haywood. He was a monster.

[jtstang]

Couple of points on that report. 1) SMU could have scored another touchdown at the end of the game to run up the score.

Please explain the significance of this "point on that report."

[Peruna2001]

I think AusTx was referring to the part of the report that said that we spent the final minutes hanging on for dear life.

While I think that we were definitely worried about hanging onto the lead, I wouldn't consider it as severe as the writer makes it seem in this report. The way this report sounds, it would almost seem like Tulane had gotten the onside kick and was pushing their way down the field.

[jtstang]

I think AusTx was referring to the part of the report that said that we spent the final minutes hanging on for dear life.

While I think that we were definitely worried about hanging onto the lead, I wouldn't consider it as severe as the writer makes it seem in this report. The way this report sounds, it would almost seem like Tulane had gotten the onside kick and was pushing their way down the field.

Well the writer was working off quotes from Bennett himself about how it should not have been that close, and if you were there and saw a 17-0 lead evaporate into a deficit, you'd know that is should not have been as close, notwithstanding we were in a position to "run up the score" at the end.

[AusTxPony]

I wasn't there, but watched it on CSTV not once, but twice...with the benefit of being able to replay every play. Strangely, I only felt nervous for a few minutes after Tulane took the lead 21-20, but Jesse cured that! Our drive after they scored 28 was impressive and showed that we can respond, something I felt has been missing (like ECU last year) and to tell you the truth I wish Dorsey had have gotten in to improve the point spread and express the character of the game better (40-28 would have looked nice in print). The offensive line play seemed better the second time I watched it. We certainly tired during the beginning of the fourth quarter on defense. Even Haywood and Rogers didn't seem to do much, but more importantly those boys kicked it in gear later in the game. Good luck this weekend, Mustangs.

[jtstang]

Well if you want to disagree with Bennett's assessment that it was closer than it should have been, more power to you.

[Peruna2001]

It was closer than it should have been, BUT I wouldn't say that we were hanging on for dear life in the final minutes of the game. That's a wee bit of an exaggeration.

[tmustangp]

Water Pony:
"STILL NEEDS WORK: QB Justin Willis -– He's doing a lot of things right for a redshirt freshman but he gave Tulane new momentum when he threw an interception that the Green Wave returned for a touchdown.

RB James Mapps -– One week after rushing for 132 yards Mapps carried six times for minus-14 yards. "

that int was partially willis' fault for underthrowing it but it hit chase's hands.. he should have caught it.

mapps was slipping all over the place b/c of the new field much like reggie bush on monday night

[AusTxPony]

"Strangely, I only felt nervous for a few miutes..."

Actually, I was just trying to express my own humble opinion and feelings. I am not surprised Bennett was even more concerned than I. He has a lot more to lose...like his job. But thanks for setting me straight!

[jtstang]

"Strangely, I only felt nervous for a few miutes..."

Actually, I was just trying to express my own humble opinion and feelings. I am not surprised Bennett was even more concerned than I. He has a lot more to lose...like his job. But thanks for setting me straight!

Well I am truly sorry I misunderstood your sunshine--I thought you were criticizing the manner in which the reporter conveyed the statements of Mr. Bennett.