DMN's Sherrington takes shot at SMU

[mr. pony]

... compares SMU to Florida Atlantic in Sunday column on UNT-OU.

No biggy, but it just makes you wonder why pick on SMU?

Blackistone took a similarly unrelated shot last year after TCU beat OU, saying SMU could never do anything like that. (Of course, the following week SMU kicked TCU's #ss!!) Cowlishaw recently admitted he knew little about SMU's team.

I don't think I've ever seen a group of columnists more hostile to a hometown program. And yes, I've read a few.

Also, another huge UT recruiting feature on page one of Sports today - on women's soccer, of all things.

[CalallenStang]

You could find easier ways to start a new career. This was like taking a job at the zoo, and the first day they put you in charge of the tigers.

A grace period might have been nice. SMU, maybe. Florida Atlantic. Something a little less, uh, volatile, at least until everyone's introduced.

You know, for some reason I don't read that as some huge insult like you seem to. All I see in that is: "Oklahoma was so much better than UNT that it wasn't even fair. Dodge would have had it easier if he would have played someone like SMU, or someone like Florida Atlantic."

That seems to be a true statement, wouldn't you say? The only way we are compared to FAU is that neither team is as good as OU. I can definitely agree with that assessment.

Edit: If you are wondering why he uses those two schools in particular in the comparison, let's see what UNT's next games are:

Sat, Sep 08 SMU at Dallas, TX 7 p.m.

Sat, Sep 22 Florida Atlantic * Denton, TX 6 p.m.

Hmm...

[mr. pony]

Edit: this posted before your last.
But, why put SMU, out of ALL the teams in the country, with a Sunbelt team?

It hurts SMU's perception and recruiting - and I think they know it.

[mr. pony]

Edit: If you are wondering why he uses those two schools in particular in the comparison, let's see what UNT's next games are:

Sat, Sep 08 SMU at Dallas, TX 7 p.m.

Sat, Sep 22 Florida Atlantic * Denton, TX 6 p.m.

OK, but who in hell knew that? He should have noted it in the reference.

[Sam I Am]

Until SMU wins and wins, we will be rightly perceived as a losing, weak school. 20 years of futility makes it easy for columnists (communists actually) to take shots at the ponies. I don't like it either, but we can't let the bad guys see us sweat.

[PonySnob]

But, why put SMU, out of ALL the teams in the country, with a Sunbelt team?

It hurts SMU's perception and recruiting - and I think they know it.

SMU has done enough on its own in the last 20 years to hurt its perception and recruiting.........

[smu diamond m]

I don't think people worried about SMU's perception and recruiting are going to be reading an article about UNT-OU (at least with the intention of hearing about SMU).

[mr. pony]

OK.
Never mind.

(of course, that's the point. Why mention SMU?)

[Stallion]

what makes you think that SMU and CUSA is so damn superior to the Sun Belt-I got news for you the Sun Belt is standing toe to toe with CUSA on the field. Its a slightly better conference but not by near as much as you seem to think.

[giacfsp]

So they have their opinions and you have yours. "I've got news for you" doesn't make you an authority any more than a rivals subscription does. But as for C-USA vs. Sun Belt: six guaranteed bowl bids make it better. Folks who work IN the industry - both in college athletics and in the bowls themselves - clearly see C-USA as the better league. Because it is.

[Longtime]

...and we lost to a Sun Belt team last year.

You've got a warped mind if you think the DMN columnists are "hostile" towards SMU. I only wish they cared enough to be hostile.

Losing, missing out on Big 12 membership, and more losing makes us irrelevant, not hated. If we ever get to a bowl game and they still take shots at us, then they're being hostile.

We can't just win six games, miss out on a bowl, and expect people to change their perceptions. Going to a bowl would change everything. Well, maybe not everything, but it would remove us from the category of sad sack programs and legitimize SMU in the eyes of most pundits.

[jtstang]

...and we lost to a Sun Belt team last year.

You've got a warped mind if you think the DMN columnists are "hostile" towards SMU. I only wish they cared enough to be hostile.

Losing, missing out on Big 12 membership, and more losing makes us irrelevant, not hated. If we ever get to a bowl game and they still take shots at us, then they're being hostile.

We can't just win six games, miss out on a bowl, and expect people to change their perceptions. Going to a bowl would change everything. Well, maybe not everything, but it would remove us from the category of sad sack programs and legitimize SMU in the eyes of most pundits.

Extremely well said, although I don't know if I agree with the last part. Rice, for example, went to a bowl last year. Has that legitimized them? Maybe the Houston contingent can shed some light on what, if any, effect that has had with the Houston media's coverage of the Owls.

[perunapower]

...and we lost to a Sun Belt team last year.

You've got a warped mind if you think the DMN columnists are "hostile" towards SMU. I only wish they cared enough to be hostile.

Losing, missing out on Big 12 membership, and more losing makes us irrelevant, not hated. If we ever get to a bowl game and they still take shots at us, then they're being hostile.

We can't just win six games, miss out on a bowl, and expect people to change their perceptions. Going to a bowl would change everything. Well, maybe not everything, but it would remove us from the category of sad sack programs and legitimize SMU in the eyes of most pundits.

I'd say this season has seen the most open hostility toward the SMU program in a long time (e.g. D Magazine and homersontherange.com or what ever goofy blog that was.) Yeah we are getting picked on by the small time bloggers and whatnot, but that's honestly better than nothing. It means people are paying attention for once, and it's not because we just demolished and the opposing team setting a new NCAA record for most TDs by a single player.

But on the other hand, the people that actually take the time to research SMU and its current circumstances have wonderful things to say and have high expectations for this program. Who cares if Tim Cowlishaw doesn't know anything about the SMU football team? He'll know quite a bit come Tuesday morning when the score of the Tech game jumps off the front page of the Sports page.

[SC Pony]

"I got news for you the Sun Belt is standing toe to toe with CUSA on the field"

Stallion, your shtick is truly incredibly tired. Who (and I mean anyone - other than possibly you) thinks that the Sun Belt is "to to toe" with CUSA.

Phil Steel ranks five team from CUSA (including the lowly Ponies) above the highest ranked Sun Belt Team.

Jeff Sagarin ranks eight CUSA teams (including the lowly Ponies) above the highest ranked Sun Belt Team.

Mike Huguenin ranked all Division 1a schools and Troy, the highest ranking Sun Belt Team, is at 89 (BTW SMU is 63 - nothing to rave about, but better than 89, 103, 104, 106, 107, 113, 115 & 119 - his ranking of Sun Belt Teams).

Collegefootballpolls.com has a comptuer ranking that places SMU above EVERY Sun Belt Team. Yep, toe to toe.

Please give it a rest, we all know that CUSA is not the Big 12 (although Phil Steel ranks USM above half of said conference). We are what we are and some of us, while wanting to be better yet, are fans of what we are.

[jtstang]

I'd say this season has seen the most open hostility toward the SMU program in a long time (e.g. D Magazine and homersontherange.com or what ever goofy blog that was.) Yeah we are getting picked on by the small time bloggers and whatnot, but that's honestly better than nothing. It means people are paying attention for once, and it's not because we just demolished and the opposing team setting a new NCAA record for most TDs by a single player.

To be fair, those guys were laughing at an advertising campaign, not a football program.