Southern Miss Thumps SMU , 27-3; Mustangs Focus on Future
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com
http://cusa-fans.com/
DALLAS - June Jones’ Run-and-Shoot offense Moseyed-and-Misfired a bit at Hattiesburg on Saturday. And Southern Miss’ Fast-and-Physical defense had a lot to do with that.
After averaging 37 points per game over the last five weeks, SMU’s offense ran into a defensive buzz saw that clipped its output to a lonesome trey.
Quarterback J.J. McDermott, in his first loss as a Mustang starter, was harried and rushed much of the game. Throwing for 172 yards, his lowest tally by far in six starts, McDermott hit on 16-of-32 attempts, with two interceptions. One was returned for a late touchdown.
They say it all starts up front, so we go to SMU offensive line coach Adrian Klemm for analysis.
"We didn’t play too hot," he said after Tuesday’s practice.
"[Southern Miss] is a physical group, quick up front," he said. "… We pride ourselves in being a physical group, we kind of impose our will as the game progresses. We wear teams down. We usually kind of have our way with teams in the second half."
"This game, we just had some breakdowns in our protection, obviously."
Though the Mustangs (5-2, 3-1) allowed just one sack, Klemm noted there were too many quarterback pressures. "It’s something we need to clean up," he said. "We’ll come out this week and we’ll go back to what we’ve been doing - and what we’re known for - just protect the quarterback better."
Tough Memory
Senior center Bryce Tennison said he’d tried to forget most of what transpired in Hattiesburg. "From what I remember, they were a very athletic team, well-coached. They had a bye week to prepare for us and that’s what they did. They capitalized on everything they did, kept us on our heels."
"We’ve got to be poised," he said. "We’re an older group."
McDermott termed the whole experience "pretty frustrating." He noted a missed field goal and his overthrow of an open Cole Beasley, both in the first half.
"I felt like we kind of beat ourselves there, most of the game," McDermott said. "I mean, you’ve got to give [Southern Miss] a lot of credit. They’re a good team. But we felt like we had some opportunities to put the ball in the end zone, and just didn’t make it happen. Eventually, it just comes back to us playing better."
What stood out most about the Golden Eagle D?
"Overall speed, I’d say," McDermott said. "They’re not the biggest guys up front, but they can move pretty good. We ran the ball well late in the game, but I think you ask anybody, we didn’t run it like we should have in the first half. We had a few that should’ve popped and didn’t."
"We just didn’t execute well - me, in particular. We’ve just got to get better. … We all know we can."
Said Klemm, "[Southern Miss] is by far the most athletic [team] we’ve faced. Going into the game somebody asked me about it, and they kind of looked at me crazy, but I said, ‘This is the most the most athletic group [we’ve faced this season,] with the combination of being athletic and physical.’"
"Texas A&M had two or three special guys," Klemm said. "I wouldn’t say that Southern Miss had a special guy, but as a whole, they are very solid."
"Those were a lot of quality guys across the ball, and we just had a little bit of an off game."
Late Chance
Even with the frustration, SMU still had a shot in the fourth quarter, trailing, 13-3, with a 3rd-and-goal from the Southern Miss five and nine minutes left.
But that’s when McDermott’s first pick occurred. His throw for Beasley in the end zone was high, tipped and intercepted.
"I just rushed the throw a little bit," McDermott said. "Beaz was open. If I make that pass like I’m supposed to, it probably changes the whole game."
SMU’s Zach Line, still C-USA’s top rusher, ran for 168 yards at Southern Miss, including jaunts of 31 and 46 yards on the same fourth-quarter drive.
Klemm said, overall, he was pleased with the running game. "There were two or three times they could have been a little bit cleaner, but we were blowing their guys off the ball a little bit."
"Sometimes, it happens," Klemm said of his charges. "… We’ve been pretty solid, and sometimes you have games that are letdowns. You just hope it doesn’t come on that type of stage. There’s a lot on the line: first in conference, potentially, hosting the Conference USA [championship] game, potential Top 20 votes."
"Times like that, that’s when man measures man. You’ve got to step up to the occasion and we just didn’t do it that day."
Klemm said the goal this week is to improve focus.
"It’s unacceptable to have the false starts that we had," he said. Klemm also noted "four serious missed assignments."
"That just all mental," he said. … "When you get tired you can’t get lax. You can’t lose focus."
Another Test
SMU’s defense played well enough to win at Southern Miss, collecting two turnovers and holding the Golden Eagles to 20 offensive points.
On Saturday, the unit gets a shot at another C-USA top-tier offense: Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane, C-USA’s third-ranked offense, puts up 432 yards and 30.7 points per game, just ahead of SMU in both categories.
Tulsa (4-3, 3-0) is coming off a 38-20 win at Rice, where it turned three first-quarter Owl turnovers into 17 points. Senior quarterback G.J. Kinne threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns, including a 64-yarder to his favorite target, Willie Carter.
Kinne trails only Houston’s Case Keenum in C-USA in passing efficiency.
Senior linebacker Curnelius Arnick is the ‘Cane’s leading tackler (86). His interception last week on Rice’s first play from scrimmage led to a Tulsa touchdown.
Both SMU and Tulsa are stout against the run, with a statistical edge to the Mustangs, 103 to 132 yards per game. Something that should put a spring in McDermott’s step this week: Tulsa’s pass defense is ranked 11th in C-USA, coughing up nearly 300 yards per game, better than only 2-6 Memphis.
For now, at SMU, it’s all about the future.
"We still have a number of games ahead of us," Klemm said, "and if things fall right we could still host the conference championship here. … We win out the rest of the season, we could still get ranked, all those type of things. There’s still a lot on the line. You can’t harp on [the past.] You’ve got to move on."
"We’re not going to change much," Tennison said of plans for Tulsa. "June’s gonna prepare us this week, just like he does every week. Like I said, we’re a senior group. We know what it takes and we’ll make sure it gets done."
Prediction: Tulsa is hungry, having lost the past two to SMU. But the Mustangs rebound after being Southern-fried last week. Call it, SMU 31-27 - - and it won’t be easy. … Last week, missed badly: picked the Mustangs, 24-20.
Notes:
*SMU is 12-6 all-time versus Tulsa and holds a 5-3 advantage in games at Tulsa. The Mustangs won last year at Dallas, 21-18, and 27-13 at Tulsa in ’09.
*Linebacker Ja’Gared Davis’ second-quarter interception at Southern Miss was SMU’s second of the season. Linebacker Randall Joyner’s fumble recovery later that quarter was his second on the year.
Quotable June Jones
On Tulsa Defensive Coordinator Brent Guy: "Brent Guy was at Utah State when I played against him in Hawaii for three years. I went back and looked, he’s kind of is a zone team, like they’re playing right now, but against us he brings everything but the house. So we’re going to practice against everything. And I’m sure we’ll get a little dose of what is not our thing."
Quarterback J.J. McDermott takes questions after Tuesday's practice
