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I think 5-7 wins would be a reasonable expectation due to increased difficulty of schedule. It also depends on who returns and if we get any juco help.

Maybe Sonny can accomplish something our last 2 offensive gurus couldnΓÇÖt do in over a decade...recruit QBs.

LetΓÇÖs hope Ben stays healthy.

I don't see anything wrong with the hire. He was pretty good at La Tech. Its hard for me to hold his time at Cal too much against him when that athletic department is such a mess.

lollaperuna wrote:Meant Sonny not Spike, but in reality it is Spike's offense and Spike was one of the originators of the spread offense.

???

Spike NEVER ran spread at Tech. He mostly ran traditional I formation. They didn't go spread until Leach came in.

footballdad wrote:

Rebel10 wrote:ThatΓÇÖs not saying they were awesome. Just that he did the best he could with the situation that he was in at the time.

His word was 'incredible', accompanied by his standard qualifying excuse that you apparently can't recruit well until you reach a 6-7 win threshold.

QB returns, 2 of the best AAC receivers, A stable of the best backs in the AAC, OLine with more experience and a bunch of highly rated recruits. Only question is the D, which can't really get any worse. Get rid of Van and it automatically becomes better, regardless of the players.

Must be a really bad hire if the expectation is the new coach and his system is going to be responsible for the team going backwards from 7 wins, to somewhere around 2-6?

Wow

Pay attention and compare this year's schedule to next. All of this year's wins against lower level AAC teams at Ford are going to be road games next year and these guys haven't shown they are good enough to beat much of anyone on the road. UNT improved tremendously as the season went on and we go to Denton next year. This board will be in full meltdown mode if we lose to UNT next year, but it can absolutely happen. I still think Chad saw the potential for a back slide and was desperate to get out while the getting was good!

For what it's worth... My daughter was an athlete at Cal and I just talked to a trusted friend in the athletic department who told me that Sonny is a good man and will do a good job - but as we all know, he needs a good defensive coordinator...

Either way with Sonny or with Chad we need a good defensive coordinator.

SoCal_Pony wrote:Maybe Sonny can accomplish something our last 2 offensive gurus couldnΓÇÖt do in over a decade...recruit QBs.

LetΓÇÖs hope Ben stays healthy.

Well, this QB recruit beats Hell out of any passing QB SMU has put on the field in decades .........


Jared Goff

Statistics
Season Passing[23]
Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg
2013 320 530 60.4 3,508 6.6 18 10 123.2
2014 316 509 62.1 3,973 7.8 35 7 147.6
2015 341 529 64.5 4,714 8.9 43 13 161.2
Totals[24] 977 1,568 62.3 12,195 7.8 96 30 144.0

SoCal_Pony wrote:Maybe Sonny can accomplish something our last 2 offensive gurus couldnΓÇÖt do in over a decade...recruit QBs.

LetΓÇÖs hope Ben stays healthy.

I wonder if Ben will be his guy with a new offense. He has no loayalty to any QB on the roster, so if Peavey sticks around could be some competition. I would image Gillins is not a ΓÇ£modified air raidΓÇ¥ q.b. Also have the RS Freshman QB from La Porte.

Wonder if he will offer the HP QB, John Stephen Jones. Saw Tech and Arkansas offered. If Tech offered, I assume he will fit SonnyΓÇÖs offense too.

Wasn't most of our first choices, but I gotta support him until he proves that he isn't cut out for the job. Probably can't hold Cal against him too much, but his defenses have been awful. I will be much more supportive if he can put together a good staff including a D coordinator that compliments working with an offense that doesn't hold onto the ball long....not sure who that would really be off of the top of my head.

I donΓÇÖt post on here a lot, read all the time. But I will say this (preemptive apology for being long-winded)...

I know SonnyΓÇÖs family well, not him, but I knew his dad & I know his sister. They are really good people. & what I got from texts w/his relative I know best, he WANTS the gig.

What a novel idea, get a guy who KNOWS the situation & WANTS to be here.

I think, well, letΓÇÖs say ΓÇ£confidently hopeΓÇ¥ that he wonΓÇÖt be shocked by the lack of butts in seats & understands that @ SMU you canΓÇÖt rely on student turnout alone. 100% student body turnout would only fill ONE section @ Betty Ford Stadium.

* I would actually bet we get close to the same % student and LOCAL alum turnout as everyone else. But we have a TINY student body & many alums, like myself, live over 1,000 miles away.*

What you gotta do in Dallas is get DALLAS fired up. You do that by playing an exciting brand of ball (which Sonny does) & beating teams non-SMU people have heard of (which I feel like he knows).

I went back for a Temple game once, it was a shootout, tight game, etc...but most I talked to @ the game thought ΓÇ£TempleΓÇ¥ was a JuCo squad from outside Waco.

All they know is we beat bad teams sometimes & routinely get smoked by our former SWC mates. If youΓÇÖre not invested like us, why spend your Saturday on that???

Morris & JJΓÇÖs fatal flaw was ego. They thought they were these geniuses & were shocked when squeaking out 6 or 7 wΓÇÖs against bad teams the locals had never heard of or really bad teams they had, didnΓÇÖt have the gates over flowing with fans.

That simply does not work in Big D. (IΓÇÖm reminded of buying $10 upper deck tickets to see my Spurs v Mavs before Dirk & sitting 10th row center.)

Do I think Sonny is as big a ΓÇ£splashΓÇ¥ as June (pre-quit while still on the job) or Chad (Mission accomplished - when it totally is not)? No, but that might be a good thing.

A GOOD man, that KNOWS what heΓÇÖs getting into, with TEXAS ties, not looking to jump in 6 months (he probably would be tempted by TTech, but coach Bro still has a lot of local support & their fans are delusional. They will be clamoring for Sabanesque hires, not Sonny)...

We just need to make sure we give him enough $$ for a top notch staff. Esp. Defense & Special teams. (& why not a HC in waiting, like Jank?)

& we must give him the support any Mustang deserves.

Finally, & I was thinking about making another thread just about this to get a feel from those still in town:

When are we gonna take care of the REAL problem? Gerald R Turner. HeΓÇÖs been there way too long, he doesnΓÇÖt tell the truth, heΓÇÖs just plain weak & heΓÇÖs awful for athletics...I fear nothing will get markedly better until he is gone.

How can we make THAT a reality?

...told you I was long winded!

Welcome , Sonny ! We are glad you're here ! Pony up !

Mr Horsepower wrote:I donΓÇÖt post on here a lot, read all the time. But I will say this (preemptive apology for being long-winded)...

I know SonnyΓÇÖs family well, not him, but I knew his dad & I know his sister. They are really good people. & what I got from texts w/his relative I know best, he WANTS the gig.

What a novel idea, get a guy who KNOWS the situation & WANTS to be here.

I think, well, letΓÇÖs say ΓÇ£confidently hopeΓÇ¥ that he wonΓÇÖt be shocked by the lack of butts in seats & understands that @ SMU you canΓÇÖt rely on student turnout alone. 100% student body turnout would only fill ONE section @ Betty Ford Stadium.

* I would actually bet we get close to the same % student and LOCAL alum turnout as everyone else. But we have a TINY student body & many alums, like myself, live over 1,000 miles away.*

What you gotta do in Dallas is get DALLAS fired up. You do that by playing an exciting brand of ball (which Sonny does) & beating teams non-SMU people have heard of (which I feel like he knows).

I went back for a Temple game once, it was a shootout, tight game, etc...but most I talked to @ the game thought ΓÇ£TempleΓÇ¥ was a JuCo squad from outside Waco.

All they know is we beat bad teams sometimes & routinely get smoked by our former SWC mates. If youΓÇÖre not invested like us, why spend your Saturday on that???

Morris & JJΓÇÖs fatal flaw was ego. They thought they were these geniuses & were shocked when squeaking out 6 or 7 wΓÇÖs against bad teams the locals had never heard of or really bad teams they had, didnΓÇÖt have the gates over flowing with fans.

That simply does not work in Big D. (IΓÇÖm reminded of buying $10 upper deck tickets to see my Spurs v Mavs before Dirk & sitting 10th row center.)

Do I think Sonny is as big a ΓÇ£splashΓÇ¥ as June (pre-quit while still on the job) or Chad (Mission accomplished - when it totally is not)? No, but that might be a good thing.

A GOOD man, that KNOWS what heΓÇÖs getting into, with TEXAS ties, not looking to jump in 6 months (he probably would be tempted by TTech, but coach Bro still has a lot of local support & their fans are delusional. They will be clamoring for Sabanesque hires, not Sonny)...

We just need to make sure we give him enough $$ for a top notch staff. Esp. Defense & Special teams. (& why not a HC in waiting, like Jank?)

& we must give him the support any Mustang deserves.

Finally, & I was thinking about making another thread just about this to get a feel from those still in town:

When are we gonna take care of the REAL problem? Gerald R Turner. HeΓÇÖs been there way too long, he doesnΓÇÖt tell the truth, heΓÇÖs just plain weak & heΓÇÖs awful for athletics...I fear nothing will get markedly better until he is gone.

How can we make THAT a reality?

...told you I was long winded!

Thanks for the insight.

fired up for Dallas Ball from a thousand miles away that works.

Rebel10 wrote:I donΓÇÖt see where Stallion said awesome recruiting but he did not leave the school in shambles like a June did. Got to give the team a year to get accustomed to the new system. 4 to 6 wins would be good next year.

Has Dykes been named head coach?

If he wins 4 games next year he should be fired immediately and Rick Hart along with him. I pray that doesn't happen, but with the talent on the roster, a 3rd year starting QB, 2 outstanding WR's, and a stable of 3 good RB"s, if you only win 4 games, that's your ceiling.

It's a lazy and uninspired hire to begin with, and while I hope I am proven wrong, I'm not holding my breath. He wan't even an on field coach last year. That to me is pretty telling.