Bowl-Eligible SMU Faces Desperate Navy On Saturday
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com
http://cusa-fans.com/
DALLAS - OK, so SMU thrashes Tulane last week and earns bowl eligibility for a third straight year. Non-conference foe Navy is up next. SMU’s shot at the Conference USA title is all but gone.
The 6-3 Mustangs, like veteran actors, might ask, "What’s my motivation?"
But they don’t.
SMU players will tell you they have plenty reason to get up for this one. Four straight losses to the Midshipmen come to mind, including a 2009 overtime gut-punch at home; the 1-7 series record of late; and a blown 14-0 halftime lead last year at Annapolis.
But more than all that, some special hardware is involved: The Gansz Trophy, established in 2009, in honor of SMU special teams coach Frank Gansz, who died that year before his second season with the Mustangs.
Gansz, a linebacker and center at Navy (1957-59), coached in the NFL for 24 years and is considered by many to be the best special teams coach in NFL history.
The Mustangs have yet to bring Gansz’ trophy home.
"That trophy means a lot to us, especially if you were here with Frank Gansz," said senior offensive guard Josh LeRibeus. "We just want to kick these guys’ [deleted]. I know they’re good guys, but it hasn’t been good the last three years and we just want to destroy them."
"We’re really hungry to get [the trophy]," said senior safety Chris Banjo. "That’s one of our biggest goals is to get it for, not only the seniors, but Coach Gansz, himself. Every week has been Coach Gansz Week. … We’re still talking the language, we’re still walking the walk, and everything he’s coached us since he’s been here."
Said sophomore wideout Keenan Holman, "We’ve been waiting to play these guys since last year, since they came back and beat us. … So we’ve got something out for them. We just have to go out there, execute, play hard and will. We will win. We just have to make sure we stay in it a full game. This is a team that’s going to fight hard."
SMU head coach June Jones would probably also like to get back to beating the service academies. Counting last year’s bowl loss to Army, Jones is 0-4 against the military since coming to SMU in 2008.
In nine seasons at Hawaii, Jones’ service academy mark was 3-0. There, he defeated Navy, Air Force and Army once each, all at Aloha Stadium.
Navy (3-6) will certainly be motivated on Saturday, needing to win-out to earn a ninth-straight bowl invite. If the Mids can get past SMU, San Jose State and Army, they’ll dock at the Military Bowl on December 28th in Washington, D.C.
Navy stopped a six-game losing skid last week, pounding Troy, 42-14, at Annapolis. Four of the Mids’ six losses - South Carolina, Air Force, Rutgers and East Carolina - are by a combined eight points.
"Navy never quits," said Banjo. "They’re always going to keep their foot on the gas pedal. Whether they’re up a hundred or down a hundred, they’re going to play 100-percent to the end of the game."
What has LeRibeus learned from playing Navy?
"Just finish," he said. "Finish every play. These guys are not going to stop. Every game we’ve played them, fourth quarter, overtime, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to keep bringing it. And you know they’ve got the stamina to do it."
Navy boasts the nation’s third-best rushing attack, averaging 318 yards per game. SMU’s rush defense is 18th nationally, allowing 106.4 yards per game.
The Mids rank 13th in turnover margin, +0.8, while SMU is 117th, -1.2.
SMU’s passing offense is 15th in the country, averaging 296.3 yards per game. Quarterback J.J. McDermott rebounded last week from two tough outings to pass for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Navy’s 65th-ranked pass defense allows 238 per game.
SMU’s Zach Line continues to roll, rushing for 143 yards against Tulane, and topping the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Navy senior slotback Aaron Santiago, back from a broken arm, rushed for 80 yards on six carries against Troy. Navy is 3-0 with Santiago in the line-up and 0-6 without him.
Mids senior quarterback Kriss Proctor, also back from injury, rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another in one half of play. Navy piled up 390 yards rushing on the day.
The key to stopping the Mids’ triple-option ground game?
"A lot of people try to make it a lot more difficult than it is," Banjo said. "What it all comes down to is you have to play assignment football. Do your assignment, every single snap. The one play somebody may mess up is the play they may gash you for. All eleven guys have to play fundamentally sound and do their assignments."
High winds are forecast for Saturday’s game - and at Tulsa, Jones said winds affected SMU’s play-calling early on.
Said Holman, "With wind, … you have to really get [the ball] and squeeze it. … The wind kind of pushes it, so once you get your hands on it, you’ve got to make sure you squeeze it. But I feel like the wind shouldn’t affect us if we go out there and do what we’re capable of doing."
Desperation versus Revenge. Which motivates more? We’ll find out soon. Cheers!
Prediction: SMU, by the hair of Peruna IX’s chinny chin chin - 28-26. (Hint: Navy has missed one or more field goals/ PATs in seven games this year.) Last week, predicted SMU over Tulane, 30-12. Final score: 45-24.
Notes:
*SMU’s 6-3 start is its best since 1986.
*For the first time, SMU has scored 38 or more points five times in a season.
*Navy has 20 Texans on its roster. That’s tied with Florida for the most Midshipmen this season.
*SMU ‘80s great and NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson was on the sidelines for the Mustangs’ win over Tulane. SMU players noticed. "It’s pretty cool," LeRibeus said. "It means we’re doing good enough to get his attention again. It’s nice. It’s great seeing a legend like that on the sidelines." Added Holman, "I even talked to him in the locker room. Nice guy. The first thing I did, I ran out of the locker room and called my dad. ‘Guess who I was just talking too? I was talking to a Hall of Famer.’ It’s a big privilege."
Quotable June Jones
On the firing of Penn State coach Joe Paterno: "A very, very tough situation. I’m disappointed to see that happen. Just really unfortunate. I do have some thoughts on it, but I’m going to keep them to myself."
On the ramifications of the scandal for college football: "When I think of what happened, I don’t generalize it to college football. I’m thinking about Joe Paterno and Penn State. I don’t know if other people are doing that but I certainly am. … This is going to be just a bad deal for [Paterno] for however many years he has left."
On the effect on Penn State: "Everybody, it sounds like, was involved, so they’re making some really hard decisions and they’ll get it corrected, I’m sure."
Eric Dickerson
