7 Reasons the Arkansas St. Game May be a Classic Trap Game

[jtstang]

And to Nacho's original point that all teams are trap games for us, it's simply not true and is therefore gratuitious bashing and therefore worthy of scorn and condemnation by all SMU fans. Yes, even those fans without "expectations."

You are just wrong. Our easiest win last season was supposed to be NTSU.

[Sam I Am]

It has been a very long time since SMU had an easy win in football. You don't make the bottom ten for nothing.

[ponyboy]

You are just wrong. Our easiest win last season was supposed to be NTSU.

Dude, every year every team -- no matter what their capabilities -- loses a game they should have won. It happens and is in fact the reason for the term "trap game." Use a little logic.

[ponyboy]

You don't make the bottom ten for nothing.

Understood, but we are not IN the bottom 10 any more. Not even close. So we DO have trap games and Ark State's the perfect example. NTSU last year was certainly one. And the only reason they are labeled as trap games is that there is some expectation that we ought to win against lesser opponents. Stallion's point -- and it's a good one -- is that ASU might not be that much "lesser" than us based on how they played last year and the fact that we're playing at their house.

[Arkstfan]

it just makes no sense to play up there. They would probably play us at Ford anyway if we said no way to going up there. It is really a no win situation.

You might want to read the papers and learn a little bit about the economics of Division I-A (excuse me FBS) football.

No one travels to another school without a return game for anything less than $500,000 and going rate is easily pushing above $750,000.

I wasn't aware that SMU attendance had reached the point that you were able to throw around a half mil to buy home games, it is a great development to be able to net $27 a head from every single person counted as attending a game, doesn't leave anything for SMU once you pay your opponent, but still nice scratch.

[jtstang]

You are just wrong. Our easiest win last season was supposed to be NTSU.

Dude, every year every team -- no matter what their capabilities -- loses a game they should have won. It happens and is in fact the reason for the term "trap game." Use a little logic.

I am using logic, see if you can follow it. Trap games, as I understand the term, are "sure win" games you lose because you overlooked the opponent. There is no team on our schedule that could not beat us if we overlooked them in any sense of the word.

[ponyboy]

We disagree on the definition, then. I see a trap game as a game you feel you will win easily but have a very good chance of losing if you're not careful. There are some very good reasons why we might feel we should win this game, not the least of which is the fact that we spanked them 10 ways to Sunday last year.

UT/Arkansas State, that's a sure win for the Longhorns. SMU/Arkansas State, not a sure win but a trap game for us.

[jtstang]

UT/Arkansas State, that's a sure win for the Longhorns. SMU/Arkansas State, not a sure win but a trap game for us.

But my point is you could go down the whole schedule and say that about every game SMU plays.

Well, no, on second thought, that's not true--there are some games that SMU should lose easily, like Tech and TCU, which would not fall into your definition of trap games.

So by your definition, what other games are trap games? I don't see any other games that I think SMU "will win easily," so maybe under your definition there are no trap games other than ASU.

[ponyboy]

I agree that there are zero games on our schedule that are a sure win. A trap game is one the team feels they will win easily. They're the ones that suit up and might take the opponent lightly based upon last year's game.

[jtstang]

I agree that there are zero games on our schedule that are a sure win. A trap game is one the team feels they will win easily. They're the ones that suit up and might take the opponent lightly based upon last year's game.

Well then why do you think ASU is a trap game? Did you ask the team how they feel? How would anybody other than the players know which games are trap games under that definition?

[mustangfan01]

I don't know what our non-conference record will be in the 5th week of the season next year....


But I do know this:

1) We beat the tar out of Arkansas State last year without Demyron.
2) Willis is not the freshman he was when he started against Tech.
3) TCU, for the first time in a while, will not have the better QB on the field.
4) Against NTSU this year, Demyron will run all over them like he did on the first drive last year. Only this time, he won't get hurt and allow NTSU to pull a fluke upset out of their [deleted].

[ponyboy]

Well then why do you think ASU is a trap game? Did you ask the team how they feel? How would anybody other than the players know which games are trap games under that definition?

Man, you'd argue with your grandmother. Read Stallion's original post. I agree with him.

[Arkstfan]

I don't know what our non-conference record will be in the 5th week of the season next year....


But I do know this:

1) We beat the tar out of Arkansas State last year without Demyron.
2) Willis is not the freshman he was when he started against Tech.
3) TCU, for the first time in a while, will not have the better QB on the field.
4) Against NTSU this year, Demyron will run all over them like he did on the first drive last year. Only this time, he won't get hurt and allow NTSU to pull a fluke upset out of their [deleted].

Heard the same sort of stuff from Army after they ripped us on their field.

ASU's running backs and QB's all freshman and one soph playing for the first time combined to turn the ball over four times in that game and a new punter / deep snapper combo added another.

ASU was in the midst of a QB controversy, each QB had 14 attempts in the SMU game because the staff hadn't settled on a starter yet.

And SMU hadn't fully implemented the spread offense in earlier games against I-A opponents causing ASU to prepare for a more limited spread variant seen on film.

When Arkansas State beat Memphis, every single yard gained rushing and every passing yard came from a freshman, every yard passing and rushing against SMU came from freshmen and sophs, seniors contributed a whopping 40 yards receiving in that game on catches.

SMU caught ASU at a great time last year because we were replacing our entire offense from the season before.

Someone noted that Army had players suspended for our game. True, but we started an offensive backfield that had never started a game and only one player in that backfield had even entered a college game prior to that day and out-gained Army 319 to 164.

[2112]

that's it fellas we're done! after reading that info, we don't have a snowballs chance in hades!

[2112]

i'm glad we don't have to look at pictures of that nts disaster...... on the home page again today. by far the most embarrassing game of my life. if we lose to those yahoo's again, orsini won't let bennett make it to the lockers. i might just join stallion, in the ut longhorn love fest.