SMU Falls To TCU, Looks To Shake Rice Stadium Jinx
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com
http://cusa-fans.com/
DALLAS – Perhaps one play best epitomized SMU’s grit against No. 4 TCU last Saturday, a game the Mustangs eventually lost, 41-24.
With the game tied, 7-7, in the second quarter, the Horned Frogs’ Ed Wesley took a hand-off at SMU’s 27 and headed right. With no running room, Wesley reversed field as SMU safety Chris Banjo and linebacker Taylor Reed, the Mustangs' leading tacklers this night, drew a bead and closed fast. Banjo went low, flipping Wesley high in the air, then Reed blew it up. The ball shot out and was scooped up by Richard Crawford as SMU’s stadium-record crowd (35,481) went nuts.
“I just saw the opportunity to get a lick in,†Reed smiled after practice on Wednesday.
Said Banjo, “One thing our defensive coaches always stress is getting to the ball fast - all the people to the ball, everybody hitting, trying to create turnovers. I felt like that’s what did in that situation.â€
Though Wesley was ruled down before fumbling - confirmed by booth review – the Mustangs got a boost, a message, which may carry deep into the season.
Said Banjo, “When we play a team like that you have to be at your best every snap. But it just shows that we can compete with a team like that. We had them rattled a little bit.â€
“But we can’t be complacent,†he said. “That doesn’t mean anything. We have to be able to pull out a win like that. It just shows us that we need to work a little harder – a lot harder, actually. … We just keep climbing up to where we’re going on this journey.â€
Said Reed of playing a Top 5 team, “It was a great challenge for us, both offensively and defensively. As a team, we found out that we can play with whoever we line up to. If we execute correctly we can go against the best teams in the nation.â€
“Those are plays that we call emotional plays,†said defensive coordinator Tom Mason. “Execution fuels emotion. That’s a statement that we try to use. That was one of those plays, like Sterling [Moore’s] interception.†(Moore’s third-quarter pick led to SMU’s 17-14 lead. Ryan Smith intercepted a pass earlier, leading to a Mustangs field goal.)
SMU hung with the Horned Frogs into the fourth quarter.
Aldrick Robinson scores in the first quarter.
“Other than about four plays, I thought [we did] pretty good,†Mason said of his defense. “We got into a big game a little bit. I thought our inside backers got their eyes wrong a few times, we tried to make too many plays as a defense, instead of just making the plays that come to you.â€
Reed said he enjoyed knocking heads with a top opponent, especially the Frogs.
“I’m only a sophomore and I really, with the rivalry, I don’t like them. I’m sure they don’t like us. It felt good though. It definitely felt good.â€
There was some jawing, Banjo said, though not as much as he expected. “It was all love of the game, football, just being competitive,†he said.
SMU (2-2, 1-0) returns to league play on Saturday at Rice Stadium, aka Peruna’s Black Hole. The Mustangs haven’t won there since … well … since TCU finished 1-7 in the Southwest Conference in 1986.
The 1-3 Owls are coming off back-to-back 30-13 losses to Northwestern and Baylor. It’s Rice’s conference opener. The Owls’ running game averages 93 yards per game, last in C-USA, while SMU’s rushing defense is tops, allowing 109 yards per outing.
Junior quarterback Nick Fanuzzi (6-4, 205) and two other QBs have led a Rice air attack that averages 217 yards game. The Mustangs average 210. (SMU quarterback Kyle Padron was 14-25 for 169 yards last week, with two touchdowns and one interception.)
Mason said he also expects to see Rice’s option quarterback, Taylor McHargue, though he hasn’t played in two weeks. “He can take one on you,†Mason said.
“They’ve got a nice scheme and they do some things that you’ve really got to practice. It’s not trick stuff, but it’s some things that can cause you problems if you don’t recognize them. And you’ve got to execute fundamentals throughout the game.â€
“Rice is a scary football team. I think they’re better than people give them credit for.â€
“They’ve got just enough weapons that they can create big plays on you,†Mason said, noting wideout Donte Moore and a pair of 6-5 tight ends, Luke Wilson and Vance McDonald.
Said Reed, “We realize that we can’t take this team lightly at all or they will win. They definitely have athletes. They definitely have potential on their team. We have to have great practices all week, and we’ll come out with the win.â€
For Banjo, the task is straightforward: “Fly around. Be locked in every play. Be at our best at every snap.â€
Gameday: SMU @ Rice, Saturday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m. Central
Prediction: The Bayou Jinx dies, but not without a fit or two: SMU, 27-14.
(Last week: picked TCU, 40-28; straight record: 3-1)
Notes:
*SMU running back Zach Line rushed for a career-high 139 yards against TCU.
*The Mustangs have lost 10 straight at Rice Stadium. The last win, 45-3 in ’86, featured SMU team captains Jerry Ball, Ron Morris and Brad Peveto, and head coach Bobby Collins.
*SMU-Rice will be the Mustangs’ only non-televised game this season.
*SMU ranks fourth in scoring offense in C-USA, with 28.5 points per game; Rice's 18.8 is 11th.
*SMU linebacker Pete Fleps is the league’s 6th leading tackler, averaging 8.8 stops per game; linebacker Ja’Gared Davis is tied for second-most sacks, with 5.
Zach Line
