ZACH LINE talks injury, offensive consistency

[PonyPride]

Senior running back Zach Line endured a bad ending to a bad day Saturday. On his last play in the Mustangs' loss to Texas A&M, Line fell to the ground with the end of the football pointed in to his ribcage, and an Aggie defensive lineman fell on top of him. Line acknowledged that it hurt, but said there was no notable damage done.

"It kind of scrunched my ribs, gave me a little bit of a contusion, but that's it," Line said. "I had an X-ray done, and there's no tear, no break or anything."

The Mustangs have no game this weekend, giving them two weeks to prepare for next week's home game against TCU. With his knowledge of the offense, Line has sat out the first two days of practice, staying involved through "mental reps" - a practice he has perfected while sitting out the team's spring workouts while recovering from various injuries every year he has been at SMU.

"It seems to work," he said. "It helps me to stay focused, and then I watch a lot of film of myself running."

The preseason Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, whose back-to-back C-USA rushing titles have him eyeing some of the most prestigious individual records in SMU football history, has run for more than 100 yards against Baylor and TCU (moving him in to sole possession of second place on the list of Mustangs with the most games rushing for 100 or more yards, trailing only Eric Dickerson). He has had to earn those yards against big, athletic defenses from Baylor and Texas A&M, and said the running will get no easier Sept. 29 against TCU, which is ranked No. 16 in the current USA Today poll and No. 17 in the Associated Press Poll (heading into TCU's home game this Saturday against the University of Virginia).

"They're a great defense," Line said of TCU. "Every year when we play TCU, all bets are off. They play at a higher level, and we play at a higher level. It's a big game. We always take TCU very seriously. I'm sure they didn't like us winning at their place last year, and you know they want the (Iron) Skillet back, so we're going to need a really good game against them."

Line said he and his teammates understand the perception many have about the Ponies' 2012 offense. In SMU's losses to Baylor and Texas A&M (each of which received top-25 votes in this week's polls), the Mustangs have averaged 13.5 points, while piling up 52 in the win over Stephen F. Austin. Yes, there is a marked difference in the level of competition and the teams' defensive depth, but Line echoed the comments of head coach June Jones and several teammates about the inconsistency of the offense through three games.

"It's frustrating," he said. "You have to be consistent to win games, on offense and defense. Everybody knows we haven't played our football on offense yet, even in the SFA game - we have left plays on the field. You look at the Baylor and A&M games, and for a while, they were up for grabs. At Baylor, we were driving for a touchdown that could have made it a four-point game before halftime, but then we make a turnover and they score right away. Against A&M, it was tied, 0-0, halfway through the second quarter, and then it got away from us because we weren't consistent. When you have turnovers in the red zone and penalties - and I've missed some assignments - when you have those things, it's hard to produce points. We have to be a more mature team. But we are, and we'll be fine. We just have to play through this.

"It seems like on every one of those plays, there's a mental breakdown that screws up the whole play, like a penalty or when I missed a read. That's unacceptable, and it hurts when you get in the film room, because you see big plays that could have been there if we just do our assignments right in the deciding stages of games. But we're going to get this right. This is a smart team that knows what we need to do. We know the offense and believe in the system, and the coaches and players believe in each other. We'll get this sorted out, and when it does, those plays will turn in to points."

[ponyboy]

Classy dude to take part of the blame for the offense to this point. His words make me hopeful that this thing will be turned around.

[Charleston Pony]

that's how team leaders behave

[jimhagle]

Why he was in the game in the 4th quarter is beyond me.

[ponyscott]

Why he was in the game in the 4th quarter is beyond me.

Totally agree on Zach....are you kidding me?.....no offense, but this is what could happen with 2 Star recruits unfortunately....mistakes everywhere, and do you think that coaching techniques are in play here?

[Junior]

Why he was in the game in the 4th quarter is beyond me.

yards for records

[PonySnob]

Why he was in the game in the 4th quarter is beyond me.

yards for records

Zack is a very good back, but he's no Eric Dickerson.....and he certainly hasn't played the same level of competition that Eric did or split carries with another running back like Eric did.

[42sparty]

Two amazing stats:

1. Zach Line is averaging more yards per carry at this point in his career than did Eric Dickerson in his SMU career (5.7 vs. 5.6 ypc respectively)

2. Eric Dickerson in 1980 and 1981, his junior and senior years, had more attempts than Zach had in the last two years (487 attempts for ED vs. 452 for ZL)

So Zach's carrying the ball less than Eric and averaging more yards per carry.


Plus ED was not asked be a blocking back...

[Rebel10]

Sounds like 42sparty is saying Zach is better than ED.

[42sparty]

Love them both...they played and play for the same team...go SMU

[ponyboy]

Sounds like 42sparty is saying Zach is better than ED.

No, Zach's probably not one of the top 10 running backs of all time like Dickerson. But still amazing that Zach's numbers are so strong. Wonder if he gets the chance to run at the next level, rather than just being a blocking back.

[expony18]

considering ED was one of the, if not the top recruit in the nation, its impressive what line has done. as for the competition argument, im pretty sure ed's oline, wr's qb, and cj were better then what line is working with.

[Rebel10]

ED and CJ were also going against better defenses that were keyed in on stopping them because they really did not have a passing game. Shawnbrey McNeal averaged 5 yards yer carry and got over 1000 yards splitting time in this offense.

[Big Hoss]

What's the point of comparing them. Different eras, different competition, different offenses, different players. Let's just appreciate the hell out of Zach Line because he has been the sole bright spot in an otherwise bleak offense this season.

[RyanSMU98]

What's the point of comparing them. Different eras, different competition, different offenses, different players. Let's just appreciate the hell out of Zach Line because he has been the sole bright spot in an otherwise bleak offense this season.

+1