Alright, Let's talk some football

[FinallyADefense]

Most of us are excited about this year. We will be better. Will we beat TTU? We are more hopeful now than in decades.

We have some key players to replace (receiver, inside LB, Corners). We think our O line and D line are impoved and our LBs are solid.

We feel our QB will be better as well. We have some questions about who will be our main RB.
Our biggest issue is we don't have enough solid players yet. We are still young and will need a few Freshman to step up. No doubt there is the potential for a big team (like TTU) to cause us problems. Big running teams have caused us trouble in the past cause we are relatively small and without depth on D.

There will be an unknown for us with Tuberville and new offensive/ defensive coordinators. Makes guessing a more important factor.

TTU will have to face a much improved JJ offense. The Big 12-2 hasn’t seen that type of offense so there is potential to cause the TTU defense trouble.

1) Yes, SMU has a better chance to beat Tech now, than in the past. One reason is your coach, and offense. JJ is a great coach, and has proven himself where ever he has been.

2) This should be the match up of the game, imo. Your DL against the Tech OL. If our OL controls the LOS, it's going to be all over for SMU. We have a stable of RB's (Batch, Stephens, Crawford, Jeffers) that can hurt your defense. Hopefully Ben McRoy can get in the game, and be able to show his GAME BREAKING SPEED! He runs a legit 4.3 40 (ran 2nd fastest 200m in the country this season), and will be used in KO's, RB, and the in the slot, too. But, he's only a Freshman, so he may not get that many opportunities.

3) It will be interesting to see how Padron handles the intensity of the crowd in LBK, as hopefully they will be wild in Tubs debut. Tech will have SEVERAL Freshman out there playing, too, so it's not only SMU that will have to rely on them.

4) Yes, there is STILL an unknown for us Tech fans with Tubs/Willis/Brown. We know what they've been saying, but we really don't know what to expect.

5) My biggest concern is the SMU offense against the Tech corners. We just don't have the depth that we will need, and our best CB (Laron Moore) will be out with a broken leg he suffered in the Spring. He's not expected back until possibly week 3, or 4. We still have some talent, but it's all really, really young, and unproven. This should be a good test for them. Our front 7 will HAVE to get pressure to help them out.

[expony18]

how many red raiders does it take to screw in a light bulb?

will texas tech ever find a rival? (a$m doesnt count since they dont consider tech a rival)

will texas tech install a drainage system in the stadium this year?

[FinallyADefense]

How are SMU fans going to be received in Lubbock?

I wish I knew. You guys have at least one thing going for you!

YOU ARE NOT AGGIES!

In all seriousness, though, I think SMU fans should be fine, unless you're wearing a Craig James mask, or something.

[FinallyADefense]

how many red raiders does it take to screw in a light bulb?

will texas tech ever find a rival? (a$m doesnt count since they dont consider tech a rival)

will texas tech install a drainage system in the stadium this year?

1) One
2) ATM isn't our rival (we have owned them for the better part of 40 years), and UT has owned ATM for the better part of forever.
3) LBK is a desert, and it's not suppose to rain in a desert, so why would they need a drainage system. It was just a freak rainstorm that probably never happens.

Must be the Global Warming

[SMU 86]

What about the Tech secondary? And when is the next livestock train coming into Lubbock?

[FinallyADefense]

What about the Tech secondary? And when is the next livestock train coming into Lubbock?

Our starting corners will be:

LCB: Will Ford (Soph; played as a True Frosh last yr, and did very well as our nickel back). Backing him up will be Rivals 4* True Freshman Trevante Porter.

RCB: DJ Johnson (Soph. Played as a true freshman last year. Did well.) backing him up will be Jarvis Phillips (redshirt Freshman).
Our best corner, Laron Moore (SR) will be out with a broken leg he suffered in Spring.

Our safeties all started last year:

LS: Cody Davis. He's a redshirt Soph. He's a hard hitter, and very, very smart player. Not very fast, but is usually where he needs to be. Great instincts. Backing him up will be Terrance Bullitt (RS Freshman).

RS: Franklin Mitchem (SR). Backing him up will be Brett Dewhurst (JR).

As you can see, our secondary is pretty much all young, but most of them are very talented.

[SMU 86]

Does it still smell pretty bad when those livestock trains come into Lubbock?

[FinallyADefense]

Does it still smell pretty bad when those livestock trains come into Lubbock?

Actually, it smells bad when the wind blows the wrong direction, and you get to smell the Cattle Farms. It's not necessarily the trains that do it.

[NickSMU17]

How does someone go from lubbock to chicago...

[ponyte]

If man to man is the prime coverage, then it could get very interesting. Does TTU have 5 cover guys they can play all the time? JJ has ways of getting significant mismatches with receivers on LB. And inexperienced corners could be in for long night. All this is possible as nothing says SMU executes flawlessly.

That is why JJ's run and shoot offense is so different. He stretches the field North and south, not just east and west and he creates mismatches. His offense is the main reason we have a chance this year.

[PonyKai]

Most of us are excited about this year. We will be better. Will we beat TTU? We are more hopeful now than in decades.

We have some key players to replace (receiver, inside LB, Corners). We think our O line and D line are impoved and our LBs are solid.

We feel our QB will be better as well. We have some questions about who will be our main RB.
Our biggest issue is we don't have enough solid players yet. We are still young and will need a few Freshman to step up. No doubt there is the potential for a big team (like TTU) to cause us problems. Big running teams have caused us trouble in the past cause we are relatively small and without depth on D.

There will be an unknown for us with Tuberville and new offensive/ defensive coordinators. Makes guessing a more important factor.

TTU will have to face a much improved JJ offense. The Big 12-2 hasn’t seen that type of offense so there is potential to cause the TTU defense trouble.

1) Yes, SMU has a better chance to beat Tech now, than in the past. One reason is your coach, and offense. JJ is a great coach, and has proven himself where ever he has been.

2) This should be the match up of the game, imo. Your DL against the Tech OL. If our OL controls the LOS, it's going to be all over for SMU. We have a stable of RB's (Batch, Stephens, Crawford, Jeffers) that can hurt your defense. Hopefully Ben McRoy can get in the game, and be able to show his GAME BREAKING SPEED! He runs a legit 4.3 40 (ran 2nd fastest 200m in the country this season), and will be used in KO's, RB, and the in the slot, too. But, he's only a Freshman, so he may not get that many opportunities.

3) It will be interesting to see how Padron handles the intensity of the crowd in LBK, as hopefully they will be wild in Tubs debut. Tech will have SEVERAL Freshman out there playing, too, so it's not only SMU that will have to rely on them.

4) Yes, there is STILL an unknown for us Tech fans with Tubs/Willis/Brown. We know what they've been saying, but we really don't know what to expect.

5) My biggest concern is the SMU offense against the Tech corners. We just don't have the depth that we will need, and our best CB (Laron Moore) will be out with a broken leg he suffered in the Spring. He's not expected back until possibly week 3, or 4. We still have some talent, but it's all really, really young, and unproven. This should be a good test for them. Our front 7 will HAVE to get pressure to help them out.

I think that the game could be decided in the trenches...you're right, if Tech's O-Line manhandles our D-Line, then it is very likely lights out. We have a talented group of linebackers, but they're young, speedy, and match up much better with spread/CUSA teams.

One concern I have is that, historically, JJ's teams (or system) take a few games to really crank it into high gear. Last year we had trouble dispatching D-1AA Stephen F. Austin. We're a year more experienced and talented, but depth wise we're thin and at least another recruiting class from really being a threatening team, game in, game out. One downside is that even though the cupboard isn't fully stocked, we aren't going to sneak up on any one this year.

A couple of variables from SMU's side that could affect things are how will they handle the crowd, and how will the extra month of bowl practices and the extra game benefit a team heavily reliant on perfectly executing a system. For years and years SMU has watched opponents on their schedule reap whatever benefits are to be gained from those additional practices/games, and this is the first time in a very long time where we will be experiencing whatever benefits there are. Maybe I'm blowing out of proportion the actual benefits to it, but still it's a first for this team, and the reps have to help on offense because of the reliance on the system.

[PonyKai]

Oh, and my predictions are that we will score more points than we did in 2006 (3), and the margin of loss will be smaller than it was in 2008 (36).

[Charleston Pony]

I always respected Tubberville for what he accomplished in the SEC with what he had to work with (and go against) and he made the game fun. We might not see a punt in this game. I'm cautiously optimistic that SMU will make a good showing and I keep hoping that this could be the big upset we have been waiting for since our return from the death penalty (I'm no longer counting the game against TCU a couple of years ago, although it was nice handing them their only loss that season).

Hoping that whoever has the ball last wins this one. That at least gives us a 50-50% chance.

[FinallyADefense]

I always respected Tubberville for what he accomplished in the SEC with what he had to work with (and go against) and he made the game fun. We might not see a punt in this game. I'm cautiously optimistic that SMU will make a good showing and I keep hoping that this could be the big upset we have been waiting for since our return from the death penalty (I'm no longer counting the game against TCU a couple of years ago, although it was nice handing them their only loss that season).

Hoping that whoever has the ball last wins this one. That at least gives us a 50-50% chance.

Hey Charleston, stay safe with Hurricane Earl.

It should be an interesting game this w/e. I was reading some quotes from Tubs, and he said they won't hold anything back, they will show everything they have installed since midweek of last week.

I was kind of thinking that with Texas coming up in a couple of weeks, they would be a little more vanilla on offense/defense, and not show EVERYTHING, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I haven't been this excited for a home opener since Leach's first season. I can't wait to see what Tubs/Willis comes up with on defense.

just the fact that we will be aggressive, and send blitzes from everywhere (corner, safeties, LB). That's something that we haven't done since the Spike days.

[NickSMU17]

blitzing a run and shoot if the QB is well prepared is suicide