Last Ride of the Pony Express (a BBCF Dynasty)

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While FOF2k7 continues to satisfy my appetite for football in the pro ranks, I've gotten heavily back into BBCF when it comes to the college level. So much so that I've decided to tackle something I've been wanting to do for some time now...bringing respectability to my alma mater. This will be a chronicle of that effort, using BBCF version 1.52. Hopefully it doesn't get cut short by an untimely firing...

Southern Methodist University Mustangs
Rival:              Texas Christian University
Alumni Funding:     below average*
Athletic Director:  Alan White
         School Fundraising: poor*
         School Academics: average

* Maybe if we can turn things around with some winning records, some wallets will loosen up a bit.

Dynasty Set-Up
The postseason will consist of bowl games.
Bowl game stats will not count towards records or milestones.
Underclassmen can declare for the pro draft.
Academic suspensions are enabled.
The Head Coach can be fired.
All staff delegation sliders are set to "No" to begin the 2008 season.

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Team prestige for Conference USA going into the 2008 season:

    West                  East
   Houston  40              East Carolina    45
   Tulsa    40              Marshall         45 
   SMU      35              Memphis          40
   Tulane   35              Southern Miss    40
   UTEP     35              Central Florida  35
   Rice     30              UAB              35

* As a point of reference, the top teams in the nation (Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and USC) carry
a prestige of 80 to start things off.


Our 2008 Schedule:

Week     Opponent
  1      Florida International
  2      @ #1 LSU
  3 
  4      Tulsa
  5      @ Houston
  6      Marshall
  7      @ Tulane
  8      @ UAB
  9      Rice
 10 
 11      @ UTEP
 12      Central Florida
 13      Buffalo
 14 
 15      @ TCU

* I managed to work in the 120th-ranked (in terms of prestige) FIU Golden Panthers as our Week 1 opponent, feeling that it was important to give our guys the best opportunity to kick off the 2008 campaign with a win. We'll follow that up seven days later by taking on the preseason #1 team in the land, LSU, at their place. I figure that both programs will get what they want: we get to experience what it's like to face top-flight competition, and they get a creampuff to soften the blow of six Top 25 teams on their schedule. Interestingly enough, TCU and East Carolina booked slots into LSU's schedule the week after we agreed to terms. Our third and final out-of-conference game will be the front-end of a home-and-away against Buffalo in Week 13.


Board Expectations for 2008
The Board expects us to be somewhat competitive in Conference USA and to also keep it close against TCU...both very reasonable demands.

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Budget for 2008:

Scouting Service
National Prep  $75k
 
Staff
Medical Training Staff     $55k / ($100k max)
Strength and Cond.         $40k / ($100k max)
Academic Tutors            $55k / ($100k max)
Offensive Coordinator      $300k
Defensive Coordinator      $325k
Special Teams Coach        $150k
 
College Scouting
College Offenses           $60k / ($100k max)
College Defenses           $60k / ($100k max)
Advance Scouting           $75k / ($75k max)
 
Recruiting Regions
All regions                $45k / ($45k max)
 
Recruiting Positions
Special Teams              $10k / ($50k max)
All others                 $50k / ($50k max)

* Working with $1.79 million this year, we couldn't max out on everything. I chose to put an emphasis on scouting and recruiting and hold back somewhat on funding for staff. The priorities will of course change as time goes on and the talent level of our players improves, but we first have to get the players to come here. We're also going with National Prep for our scouting service, the middle-of-the-road service focusing on the Great Plains region.


Our staff heading into 2008
Offensive Coordinator (James Steen -- 45 y.o. w/ 19 years exp, Texas A&M alum, $300k salary)
Steen's prefers the West Coast offense. He rates as below average in both motivation and offensive gameplanning. While he does rate as good in QB scouting, he is poor at scouting every other offensive position and poor across the board when it comes to development. Given that his offensive philosophy is the polar opposite of mine and that his skills are lacking, his days at SMU are numbered. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with him until the end of this first season.

Defensive Coordinator (Willie Thomas -- 39 y.o. w/ 13 years exp, Florida Int'l alum, $325k salary)
Thomas prefers the 4-3 scheme. He's actually rated as good in both motivation and defensive gameplanning, so I'll probably try to hold onto him until someone better comes along. He is average at DL scouting and poor in all other scouting areas. Accordingly, his development skills are average when it comes to defensive linemen but poor for all other positions.

Special Teams Coach (Spencer Fournier -- 41 y.o. w/ 15 years exp, Syracuse alum, $150k salary)
Fournier is below average in motivation and poor in scouting and development. I'll have to replace him as soon as the 2008 season ends.

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2008 SMU Offense
With the lack of anything truly spectacular on this side of the ball, I'm going to have to go with the West Coast offense this season since that seems to be what our team (and offensive coordinator) are already most familiar with. My ultimate goal is to transition the team more towards a smashmouth type of offense, however.



Redshirt sophomore Francisco Dobbins will take the majority of the snaps to start the season. With George Crow available as the primary backup, I'll likely redshirt Fred Blanchard in the hopes that he eventually reaches his full potential.



We do have some depth thanks to our upperclassmen. Dennis Ball is probably our biggest offensive weapon, but we do appear to have some serviceable rushers in Norman Mills, Michael Brown, and Michael Compton. Brown and Compton appear to have some difficulties academically though, so our depth may not be as great by the end of the season as it is right now. I'll have to get our tutors on the job right away. We only have two underclassmen on the roster, and they are both lacking in the talent department, so this is going to be a huge focus in our recruiting efforts for years to come.



The receiving corps pretty much begins and ends with redshirt sophomore Raymond Shaw. Beyond him, the next best option is our starting tight end David Rodriguez. Everyone else is completely unspectacular.


Redshirt junior OG Jimmie Fonseca will be the lynchpin in our offensive line this year, a guy that will hopefully be able to impart some wisdom to Joshua Fischer who seems to have the most potential for growth out of the whole bunch. Our tackles and centers are raw across the board. Looking at the big picture, I know we're going to have a ton of trouble moving the ball consistently this year. A major tool in the revamping of the Mustangs will be the complete overhaul of the O-Line from the ground up, so starting with a nearly blank slate is probably for the best.

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2008 SMU Defense
We will go with the 4-3 in 2008. It's what our current personnel are familiar with, and I have no compelling reason to go against the grain yet.



Ugh! We aren't going to stop many people with our D-Line this year. Sophomore Angel Bacon has some potential, but it's totally up in the air as to whether that potential will be realized. The further I get into analyzing our limited strengths, the more areas I see that need massive change.



We have a few more options in our linebacker corps, with James Dykes, Stanley Lee, and Charles Galloway. Miguel Graves also looks to have some potential to be an impact player down the road.



Sadly, there's nothing much to see here either.

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2008 SMU Special Teams


Given the overall sorry shape of our offense, I expect Brian Cameron to be a very busy man this season. He actually should do well as long as he can get those grades under control. Note to self: make sure that all future recruits can handle themselves academically. I'm curious to see how our field goal kicking stacks up this year. Special teams is one area where I think we can make a quick turnaround.

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Week 1 (2008 Season)
My coaches inform me that we have three high school student-athletes interested in visiting our game against Florida International this weekend.

First is Michael Martinez, a 3-star rated QB from Eaton H.S. in Colorado who is ranked as the 38th best QB nationally and 115th best player overall in the Great Plains region (No. 584 in the nation).

Then we have Manuel Powell, a 3-star rated FB from Highland Park, Texas who is the 12th best fullback nationally and the 129th best player overall in the Great Plains region (No. 682 nationally).

Finally, there's David Bannister, a 3-star rated receiver from Arlington Heights in Texas who is the 98th best WR nationally and the 131st best player overall in the Great Plains region. He's No. 692 nationally.

With Dobbins and Shaw in their sophomore years, I have to go with Powell this week and instruct my staff to extend him the invitation. He literally lives two blocks from campus so we don't have to spring any money for the trip. Hopefully we don't fall flat on our face against FIU.


Injuries
We have no injuries to start the year.


2008 Transfer Report
We have no transfer risks this season. So, I decide to redshirt the following five players, all freshmen:

QB Fred Blanchard
OT Jerry Walker
OG Andrew Alonso
ILB Danny Hart
FS Alvin Goforth


Week 1 Factoid
The season started with ten SEC teams in the Media Top 25 poll. The two unranked teams, Arkansas and South Carolina, earned 39 votes and 37 votes, respectively.

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Week 1 (2008 Season) Matchup
Florida International (0-0) at SMU (0-0)

Going into the game, we are 14 point favorites. The media in attendance feel that the key matchup will pit WR Raymond Shaw against the FIU secondary. We shall see. The Golden Panthers' best players seem to be a pair of wideouts, Oliver Reedy and Jesse Webb. Beyond that, the FIU roster looks eerily similar to our own.



Victory! Statistically, we were owned in every sense of the word, but it's the scoreboard that matters in the end. Francisco Dobbins led the way for us with a solid four touchdown performance, completing 19 out of his 31 passing attempts for 288 yards. Player of the Game honors went to Raymond Shaw who caught six passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. In all, six Mustangs caught at least one pass. On the ground, Dennis Ball racked up 77 yards on 22 carries, also catching two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown. We did end up fumbling the ball twice, losing possession both times.

Defensively, there was good news and there was bad news. We managed to force 7 fumbles (recovering 5) and one interception. But, we ended up giving away almost 500 yards of total offense, over 400 of those coming through the air. Unless we find a way to tighten things up in the secondary, we are going to be torched regularly. Standout performances were given by James Dykes (10 tackles, 1 forced fumble), Stanley Lee (10 tackles), and Larry Story (3 forced fumbles).

For some really bad news, Stanley Lee left the game with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. After the game, my head athletic trainer informed me of the extent of his injury. A dislocated clavicle. It's too early to tell, but he looks to be Doubtful for 3-5 weeks. Brilliant.

Top performers for FIU included QB Peter Brown (20-of-38 passing for 408 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT), WR Oliver Reedy (7 catches for 176 yards and a TD), and WR Jesse Webb (6 catches for 115 yards).


The Week Around Conference USA

• (#4)Texas 61 UAB 0
• (#13)Tennessee 28 Memphis 12
• Houston 17 (#16)Ole Miss 13
• (#21)Nebraska 27 Marshall 5
• South Carolina 37 Rice 10
• New Mexico State 26 UTEP 19
• Arizona State 19 Southern Miss 13
• Oregon State 27 Tulsa 3

* C-USA teams went 2-7 in Week 1. Awesome.

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Week 2 (2008 Season)
Manuel Powell's parents and coach say that he was quite impressed with what he saw in our game against FIU. His interest in coming here remains high. In fact, a number of mid-level prospects are showing at least a passing interest in the Mustangs. Whether that interest persists as the season wears on is another story though.

Injuries
OLB Stanley Lee is listed as Doubtful with a dislocated clavicle. He's expected to be out for anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks.

Academics Report
Ten players currently carry a sub-2.0 GPA, including our starting punter Brian Cameron and starting DT Freddie Reeves. I give the okay to allot each of them some extra study hall time, along with second-string backs Michael Compton and Michael Brown. The first probation list of the season comes out next week, so we'll get a feel fairly soon for how bad things are likely to get.

Week 2 Factoid
Our very own Raymond Shaw led the nation in receiving yards in Week 1 with 189. FIU's Oliver Reedy happened to be No. 2 with 176 yards.

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Week 2 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (1-0) at #1 LSU (1-0)

We're 21 point underdogs against LSU this week. The Tigers are coming in fresh off of a 34-13 victory over TCU in Week 1. As you'd expect from any national title contender, they have very few weaknesses and a variety of strengths. One strength which I expect us to have trouble with is senior RB Louis Foley, who torched the Horned Frogs for 225 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. I'm under no delusions that we'll upset LSU or that we'll even be competitive. I'm just hoping to show some ability to move the ball, put up a few points on the scoreboard, and maybe catch the eye of some potential high school recruits.

The media feel that the key matchup of the game is between SMU's Dennis Ball and the Tigers' front seven, which allowed just 45 rushing yards against TCU in their season opener.



We actually led this game for a whopping eighty seconds, thanks to a missed PAT by LSU's kicker James Poole. And I'm thrilled that our guys kept the Tigers' lead in single digits until early in the fourth quarter. Truth be told, we never truly hit our rhythm and the point spread should have been much higher than what it ended up being. We were outgained by over 200 yards.

RB Dennis Ball (25 carries for 86 yards and 1 TD) and WR Raymond Shaw (7 receptions for 74 yards) were our bright spots on offense. But holding onto the ball proved to be difficult as our quarterbacks combined for six picks. Francisco Dobbins was atrocious enough (completing only 10-of-27 passes for 115 yards and 3 INT) that I pulled him out in favor of senior George Crow midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, he didn't do any better...completing 4-of-10 to his teammates and 3-of-10 to the opposition.

With Stanley Lee out nursing a dislocated clavicle, LB James Dykes bettered his ten-tackle performance from last week with a twelve-tackle gem this time, sacking Heisman hopeful Christian O'Neal three times and recovering a fumble.

Louis Foley and James Poole led the Tiger rushing attack with 103 yards and 72 yards, respectively. Meanwhile, Christian O'Neal did enough to keep his squad comfortably ahead through most of the afternoon, completing 19-of-29 for 305 yards while throwing 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His primary target for the afternoon was sophomore Willie Morris who he connected with seven times for 108 yards.

As we left a stadium packed with cheering Tiger fans, I couldn't help but be impressed with how competitive we kept this game. We just went into the home of the top-ranked team in the nation and lost by only two touchdowns.


The Week Around Conference USA

• (#4)Georgia 24 Southern Miss 17
• East Carolina 27 (#8)Florida 3
• (#11)Mississippi State 44 Memphis 10
• (#15)Ole Miss 39 Tulane 10
• Rice 9 Army 6
• Northwestern 55 Houston 20
• Kansas State 37 UAB 20
• Troy 31 Central Florida 17
• Marshall 20 Louisiana-Monroe 0
• Tulsa 41 Toledo 16
• UTEP 26 Western Michigan 0

Top 25 Tidbits For Week 2
Three ranked Big Ten teams lost (Wisconsin to USC, Michigan to Arizona, and Penn State to Virginia Tech). Only one other Top 25 team fell, Florida which likely just had its national championship hopes ruined by Conference USA member East Carolina.

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Week 3 (2008 Season)
There isn't much to say this week. It's nice having a week off before starting conference play. We pretty much dissected every play from our first two games and pulled several all-nighters revamping our playbooks. The guys bitched and moaned a little at first about the sweeping changes, but they will eventually come to realize that it's a necessary process. What I've seen out of the other teams in the conference hasn't really impressed me all that much. I think if we put enough effort into it and enough breaks go our way, we may very well shock everyone this year. East Carolina worries me the most since they effectively dominated Florida, but I think we can compete with anyone else in C-USA.

Through two weeks of play, Raymond Shaw continues to surprise as he is in a three-way tie for fourth in the nation with 263 yards. LB James Dykes is in a six-way tie for 11th in number of tackles, eight behind Illinois' Max Beckett.


Injuries
Senior safety Jose Perez sustained a hand laceration against LSU and is listed as Questionable for the next 4-6 weeks.

Meanwhile, LB Stanley Lee continues to nurse his recently dislocated clavicle. The trainers say it will be at least two more weeks before he can return, possibly as many as four weeks.


Academics Report
Three of our players failed to avoid being put on academic probation: TE Gabriel Hinton, DT Freddie Reeves, and RB Jeffrey Ng. Only Reeves has seen any action so far this year, but I decide to allot some study hall time to all three. We're not leaving any student-athlete behind on my watch.


Week 3 Factoid
It looks like Florida International is still experiencing the video game effect from playing against our defense...their two top receivers (Oliver Reedy and Jesse Webb) rank first and thirteenth in the nation in terms of yardage.


The Week Around Conference USA
I won't go into the gory details, but C-USA went an atrocious 0-for-11 this week. This is not helping our prestige, although ECU did give LSU a good game and looked quite respectable for the second straight week (falling 34-21).

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Week 4 (2008 Season)
It looks like Michael Martinez and David Bannister are still interested in making a visit to one of our games. Added to the mix is OT James Hargrove, a 3-star rated player from Missouri who is ranked as the 43rd best OT in the nation. He's the overall 135th best player in the Great Plains region and the 700th best in the nation. We have little in the pipeline at that position, so the choice is clear as we extend an invitation to Hargrove to witness us take on Tulsa.


Injuries
The bye week gave us a week without any new injuries. OLB Stanley Lee is Doubtful for the next 1-3 weeks, and SS Jose Perez is Questionable for the next 3-5 weeks.


Week 4 Factoid
Style points matter. Back-to-back lackluster performances by LSU against C-USA competition was apparently not enough to prevent Ohio State from jumping them in both the Media and Coaches polls. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 123-13 so far this year.

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Week 4 (2008 Season) Matchup
Tulsa (1-2, 0-0) at SMU (1-1, 0-0)

We're hosting the Golden Hurricane this week, but we're two-point underdogs. The media point to the key matchup being between Tulsa's RB Patrick Sheehan (43 rushes for 129 yards and 1 TD) and our front seven. Normally I would have to disagree, but in this case I believe they're spot on. With Tulsa's quarterback John Dick nursing an elbow subluxation, Sheehan is pretty much their one remaining offensive weapon.



As expected, it was the rushing game that proved to be pivotal. But it was our own Dennis Ball and not Tulsa's Patrick Sheehan that ruled the day. Ball carried us to victory on the strength of 36 carries for 148 yards and 2 receptions for 31 yards, scoring two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving).

The injury bug bit again in a big way as Francisco Dobbins went down with 6:34 to go in the second quarter. It was bad. He kept clutching his foot even as they carted him down into the tunnel. Up to that point, Dobbins had been unremarkable but he was doing enough to get the job done, completing 10-of-14 pass attempts for 85 yards while throwing for one TD and one INT. George Crow had to come in at that point to defend a four-point lead, which he managed to do. But, man...it was ugly. Crow completed 6-of-14 for 63 yards, throwing two interceptions. If Dobbins' injury is as bad as it looks, we're in deep trouble.

Defensively, it was all James Dykes again as he led the way with 9 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 sack. The guy has been a certified beast through the first third of the season.

For Tulsa, Patrick Sheehan did lead the way as best he could, carrying the ball 10 times for 83 yards, but he just didn't have enough help. Backup QB Frank Houser threw three picks which simply killed any chance that the Golden Hurricane could build up some momentum.


The Week Around Conference USA
C-USA went 2-0 in out-of-conference action for the week as Tulane rallied past Army 23-16 and Marshall kept Navy in the ranks of the 0-fers (winning 27-24 in OT). In conference play, it was UAB over Central Florida 35-3, Memphis over Rice 38-13, UTEP over Southern Miss 22-19, and East Carolina over Houston 20-9. As of now, only SMU and ECU are above .500.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 4
With the BCS poll coming out for the first time next week, it will be interesting to see if it is LSU or Ohio State which comes out on top. The Tigers barely escaped South Carolina 24-21, so I'd have to predict that the Buckeyes will own the #1 spot.

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Week 5 (2008 Season)
James Hargrove left campus saying that he was impressed with what he saw. Indeed, we've been very fortunate to have won on both of the weekends we've hosted potential recruits. The mood around campus was generally somber, however. There hasn't been a season around here that has started so auspiciously for quite some time, and Dobbins going down has the potential to wreck that. It'll be a test of this team's mettle to see how they come out against Houston.


Injuries
Starting QB Francisco Dobbins has a fractured ankle and will miss anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks. He says he's willing to give it a go this week, but that's just crazy talk. I told him that we'll just have to manage without him for now but that he'd better bust his ass to get back for the end of the season.

OLB Stanley Lee is still Questionable but could see some limited action this week, and SS Jose Perez is Questionable for the next 2-4 weeks.


Week 5 Factoid
The BCS ratings have come out, and I turned out to be right.

1   Ohio State     .944
2   LSU            .942
3   Texas          .934
4   Oklahoma       .798
5   USC            .724
6   Iowa           .718
7   Alabama        .673
8   Tennessee      .673
9   Florida        .635
10  Texas Tech     .592

As usual, the SEC and Big 12 are represented well.

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Week 5 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (2-1, 1-0) at Houston (1-3, 0-1)

Since upsetting Mississippi in Week 1, the Cougars have fallen on hard times. They lost by five touchdowns to Northwestern, then followed that up with halfhearted efforts against Kentucky and East Carolina. They have a handful of injuries but nothing too terribly serious. Their biggest offensive threat is senior RB Thomas Baker who is merely serviceable. Baker has carried the ball 62 times for 142 yards this year, scoring one touchdown. I'd like to say that we should win this game, but with Francisco Dobbins out...



Well, I guess I called this one. Leave it to us to make a team like Houston look like national title contenders. Our ground attack just couldn't get going as we were held to only 60 rushing yards.

Dennis Ball tried to shoulder the load himself, gaining 55 yards on 17 rushes and catching 7 passes for another 74 yards. His seven-yard scamper midway through the third quarter actually gave us a lead for awhile, but two quick Gary Mathis touchdown strikes were enough to turn the tide. QB George Crow managed to do a decent job, completing 22 of his 42 pass attempts for 215 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. The numbers weren't spectacular, but they definitely gave us a chance to win the game.

The injury gods decided to strike down James Dykes who went out with an ankle injury just two minutes into the game. OLB Stanley Lee made his return and came up with a huge fumble recovery at the Cougar 23 with 3:09 to go in the game and the Mustangs down by four. Unfortunately, we couldn't pick up a first down and ended up handing the ball back over on downs.

RB Thomas Baker doubled his season rushing total against us, carrying the ball 29 times for 154 yards. Gary Mathis completed 13-of-25 pass attempts for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns, throwing one pick as well.


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina (3-1, 2-0) continues its winning ways, putting up 21 fourth-quarter points en route to a 24-10 victory over UAB. Elsewhere, it was Memphis over Tulsa 43-14, Southern Miss over Tulane 31-7, Marshall over Central Florida 15-14, and UTEP over Rice 27-3.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 5
#3 Texas edged out #4 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout 22-20. Everyone else in the Top 10 won.

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Week 6 (2008 Season)
Michael Martinez and David Bannister continue to express a desire to make a visit to our program, and we have a slot open this week as we take on Marshall. Another player has made his interest known to us as well though. Allan Ward is a running back from Missouri, a 3-star rated athlete who is the 62nd best RB in the nation and the overall 709th best player in the country. I feel a twinge of guilt for giving the cold shoulder to Martinez and Bannister for the better part of two months, but I instruct my staff to extend the invitation to Ward.


Injuries
SS Jose Perez has made great strides in his rehab and is Probable for our game this week against Marshall. QB Francisco Dobbins has not made any progress though and is still out for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Luckily, ILB James Dykes just sprained his ankle and will be back in action this week.


Academics Report
TE Gabriel Hinton has come off of suspension, but RB Jeffrey Ng and DT Freddie Reeves are still mired in academic difficulties. They are now joined by starting CB Jonathan Johnson (17 tackles and 1 TD in four games played). As usual, extra study hall time is allocated to all three.


Week 6 Factoid
Another team leapfrogs LSU in the BCS standings. This time it's Tennessee, winner over Auburn 33-19 the week before. In the realm of standout individual performances, Ohio State's Nathaniel Finney ran for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 66-17 thumping of Idaho.

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Week 6 (2008 Season) Matchup
Marshall (3-2, 1-0) at SMU (2-2, 1-1)

We're four point underdogs as we host the Thundering Herd this week. The media point to the matchup between WR Raymond Shaw and the Marshall secondary as being key. Indeed, the Thundering Herd defense ranks 13th nationally against the pass. Considering Dobbins is still out, it will be up to RB Dennis Ball to keep us in this game offensively. Marshall has some good talent across the board, but it's senior RB Reginald Gibson (118 rushes for 362 yards and 1 TD) who stands out. He's fumbled the ball six times this year, so turning up the pressure on him may be the way to slow their offense down. That being said, QB Timothy Alston and his receiving corps are more talented than what we're putting on the field today, so stopping Gibson may still not be enough.



Well, we lost for the first time at home this year. It was actually tight until a devastatingly bad fourth quarter. A 65-yard touchdown strike from Timothy Alston to William Boyd and a 76-yard interception returned for a touchdown were just too much to overcome.

Once again, we had difficulty moving the ball consistently. Dennis Ball rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries, but the remainder of our team combined for negative-2 yards. With our running game difficulties, George Crow couldn't break out of his funk either, completing only 20 out of 42 passing attempts for 177 yards and one interception.

Defensively, Stanley Lee and James Dykes came through with solid performances. Lee accounted for 9 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception. Dykes made 10 tackles.

We weren't able to stop either Reginald Gibson or Timothy Alston. Gibson piled up 98 yards of rushing to go with 67 receiving yards, and Alston threw for 2 touchdowns while going 15-of-32 for 246 yards. Eight different receivers made at least one reception for Marshall.


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina is proving itself to be the cream of the C-USA crop, rolling to a 32-19 win over Southern Miss. Meanwhile, it was UTEP over Memphis 10-5, Tulsa over Tulane 21-7, Houston over UAB 24-14, and Rice keeping Central Florida winless 23-13.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 6
Texas looks solid as it scored its second shutout of the season in which it put up more than 60 points, absolutely destroying Iowa State 67-0. On the other end of the spectrum, eleven of the Top 25 teams were defeated . There's going to be a major shakeup in the polls next week.

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Week 7 (2008 Season)
The season hangs in the balance. After consecutive losses to Houston and Marshall, we're now at a crucial stretch of games against Tulane, UAB, and Rice. These are teams I feel we should beat, but given the whole Francisco Dobbins situation, I'd be happy taking just two of the three.

We received a bit of good news on the recruiting front. FB Manuel Powell and RB Allan Ward were impressed enough during their campus visits that their interest in coming to our program have increased from High to Very High. OT James Hargrove, the other player to make a visit remains with a High interest level. Taking a closer look at Powell, he's rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown at Highland Park H.S. Meanwhile, Ward is intriguing as a double-threat; he's rushed for 413 yards and 4 touchdowns while also playing on the defensive side of the ball, accumulating 19 tackles and 2 sacks.


Injuries
SS Jose Perez is still bothered somewhat by his hand laceration but should play this weekend. QB Francisco Dobbins is finally making some progress with his ankle but remains out. We didn't pick up any new injuries against Marshall.


Week 7 Factoid
There was more movement in the BCS standings. Texas now claims the top spot, followed by Tennessee, Ohio State, LSU, and then USC. One team rocketing up the standings is Maryland (6-0), jumping ten positions to claim the 15th spot.

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Week 7 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (2-3, 1-2) at Tulane (1-4, 0-2)

We are favored by 7 points as we travel to take on Tulane. A key matchup will pit the Green Wave's RB Herbert Palma (82 carries for 452 yards and 1 TD) against our front seven. Tulane's defense is very unimpressive, ranking 118th in passing defense (giving up 315 ypg) and 104th in rushing defense (giving up 167 ypg). While I think George Crow can have some success against their personnel, I'm keeping the ball on the ground as much as possible this week.



It was ugly, but we stuck to our gameplan and came away with our first road win of the year. We almost found a way to give the game away, however, blowing a fourteen point lead in the third quarter. Dennis Ball shouldered the load, carrying the ball 34 times for 95 yards and a touchdown. But we also got some much needed help from FB Norman Mills (14 carries for 88 yards) who more than doubled his output from the first five games combined. George Crow completed 3 of his 6 pass attempts for 63 yards, throwing one pick in the process. He did show some rushing ability though, scrambling four times for 56 yards.

SS Billy Brown led our defense with 10 tackles, followed by James Dykes and FS David Cowan with 9 tackles apiece. The injury bug bit yet again, this time taking out OLB Stanley Lee (again!) and senior CB Jonathan Johnson on back-to-back plays early in the second quarter, and senior WR Frank Pearce in the fourth quarter.

We completely shut down Tulane's Herbert Palma, allowing him only four touches for no yards. Instead, it was frosh Danny Frazier who hurt us with his 22 carries for 134 yards. QB Andrew Velazquez (30-of-48 for 273 yards and a touchdown) also put up a solid performance. Nine different players caught at least one pass for the Green Wave.


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina improved to 5-1, defeating Rice 33-16. Elsewhere, Memphis blitzed Marshall 36-3, Southern Miss exploded for a 37-16 victory over UAB, Central Florida picked up its first win over Tulsa 22-3, and Houston took care of UTEP 31-13. ECU now leads the East Division with a 4-0 mark, one game better than Memphis. Houston and UTEP are now tied atop the West Division at 3-1, one game ahead of our 2-2 conference record.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 7
#2 Tennessee fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing 28-21 to #14 Kentucky. Meanwhile, a severely overrated Georgia (#10 in the BCS) lost for the third time this season, 31-26 at Auburn.

[fpres]

Week 8 (2008 Season)
Our victory over Tulane put us back at .500 for the season, with an outside shot at contending for the top spot in the West Division of C-USA. But in order to keep the ball rolling, we're going to have to lean heavily on our ground game over the next couple of weeks. Dennis Ball has been showing some signs that the pressure might be getting to him, so I tried to reassure both him and FB Norman Mills that they have my full support and that of the coaching staff. Mills seems to be more upbeat in practice since his role has increased in recent weeks...I'm going to have to make sure that he continues to get more touches.


Injuries
Francisco Dobbins remains out with his ankle injury although the trainers are hinting that he may be ready to go when we return from our bye in Week 10. OLB Stanley Lee tore a tendon in his thumb and is Questionable (2-4 weeks). CB Jonathan Johnson suffered a strained ACL and is Questionable as well (2-4 weeks). Finally, WR Frank Pearce fractured his ankle and is out for up to 3 weeks.


Week 8 Factoid
It's a glorious day for Conference USA. East Carolina earned eight votes in the Coaches Top 25 poll and five votes in the Media Top 25 poll. There are seven undefeated teams in the BCS Top 25: #1 Ohio State (7-0), #2 LSU (6-0), #3 Texas (7-0), #4 USC (6-0), #15 Maryland (7-0), #16 Arizona (6-0), and #21 Kansas (6-0).

[fpres]

Week 8 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (3-3, 2-2) at UAB (1-6, 1-3)

We're six-point favorites at Alabama-Birmingham this week. The Blazers rank 34th against the pass nationally, so I think our best bet is to once again keep the ball on the ground in the hands of Ball and Mills. UAB has been hit hard with injuries to eleven players including injuries to their starting quarterback, Jessie Ambrose, and two of their starting receivers. Although Ambrose still sports a stress fracture in his foot, it's rumored that he's going to give it a go against us this week. A gutsy move indeed. He does give UAB its best shot for victory even though his stats have been lackluster this year (1,035 yards, 46.8% comp percentage, 6 TD, 10 INT).



It was ugly and the outcome was in doubt until the fourth quarter, but we stuck with our gameplan and it worked. Keeping the ball on the ground, we were able to dominate the time of possession by nearly a two-to-one margin. We used a two-pronged attack featuring FB Norman Mills (28 rushes for 144 yards and 1 TD) and RB Dennis Ball (29 rushes for 107 yards, 2 receptions for 88 yards, 1 receiving TD). Eric Bailey was also instrumental in the win, knocking in four of his five field goal attempts.

George Crow threw a spectacular 81-yard touchdown strike to Ball with 40 seconds to go in the first half, but it was mostly another forgettable outing for him. Crow finished with 113 yards on 4-of-10 passing, tossing two interceptions to go with his touchdown. He did scramble five times, picking up 51 yards in the process.

UAB's offense never really had a chance to get going thanks to our ball control efforts. Jessie Ambrose finished the afternoon completing only 7 of 20 passing attempts for 128 yards and one interception. Vincent Rivers was their leading rusher with 50 yards on 8 carries, and Gregg Sheppard was their leading receiver with 2 catches for 60 yards.

Nobody stood out on defense for us statistically. It truly was a team effort, something I'll take every game if I can get it.


The Week Around Conference USA
It was a quiet week with some byes to go around. East Carolina picked up its fifth straight win and sixth overall, handling Tulsa with ease 37-8. Marshall put down UTEP 31-6, and Tulane beat Rice 17-3.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 8
#1 Ohio State put up 73 points in the process of embarrassing Indiana. And in a battle between Pac 10 unbeatens, USC outlasted Arizona 24-17.

[fpres]

Week 9 (2008 Season)
There's definitely a buzz around the lockerroom. With two consecutive victories, we're poised to secure at least a .500 season with wins in just two of our final five games. This is probably just the type of environment and energy we want on display as we invite another potential recruit to make a visit this week.

QB Michael Martinez and WR David Bannister are still hooked, and now they're joined by CB Edward Bennett who's a 3-star rated player from Wink, Texas. Bennett is the 73rd best CB in the nation and the 695th ranked player overall. It's a tough call but I decide to go with Martinez this week.


Injuries
Our win at UAB came at a high cost. Our top receiver Raymond Shaw broke his tibia and will be out for at least 6-8 weeks, which likely equates to the remainder of our season. Also, TE David Rodriguez hyperextended his ankle and is Questionable for this week's game.

Regarding our old injuries... Francisco Dobbins continues to convalesce and may possibly be allowed to take the helm for a series or two this week. WR Frank Pearce remains Questionable with his fractured ankle. OLB Stanley Lee remains Questionable with a torn tendon in his thumb. And, CB Jonathan Johnson is undergoing rehab for an ACL strain.


Academics Report
Of the three players we had on academic suspension, Freddie Reeves and Jeffrey Ng got their acts together and are now off the list. Jonathan Johnson couldn't get his grades high enough though, so he remains in the doghouse. An ACL injury and academic suspension certainly make for a rough year.

Five more players are in danger of getting put onto the suspended list: starting strong safety Billy Brown, RB Michael Brown, P Kenneth Kent, TE Gabriel Hinton, and DE William Reyes. All five are immediately scheduled for additional tutoring alongside Jonathan Johnson.


Week 9 Factoids
There are only five undefeated teams remaining in the land...#1 Ohio State, #2 LSU, #3 Texas, #4 USC, and #8 Maryland. QB Brian Thomas of West Virginia went wild against Navy, completing 33 of his 52 pass attempts for 546 yards.

[fpres]

Week 9 (2008 Season) Matchup
Rice (2-6, 1-4) at SMU (4-3, 3-2)

We are favored by 8 points against the Owls this week. They have few offensive weapons and are ranked 116th nationwide in overall offense. Consequently, the key matchup in this game pits our own RB Dennis Ball against the Rice front seven. With Mills backing up Ball, I'm going to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible today and attempt to control the clock just as we did against UAB.



It was all about ball control again as we held possession for nearly forty minutes for the second consecutive week. Emphasizing the ground game worked well, but we have to find a way to get better at putting the freakin' ball in the endzone. Luckily, six Eric Bailey field goals proved to be enough to hold off the Owls.

The Rice defense had fits all day as we torched them for 410 yards on 84 rushing plays. Norman Mills (32 rushes for 173 yards), Michael Brown (27 rushes for 132 yards), and George Crow (15 rushes for 106 yards) were all instrumental in our success running the ball. Passing the ball was another story as Crow went 0-for-4, all of his attempts coming in a frantic series as we tried to put together a scoring drive in the closing seconds of the first half. If you noticed that Dennis Ball's name was missing from that list...no, it wasn't an oversight. Ball went out 3:42 into the game with a broken thumb.

Defensively, FS David Cowen led us in tackles with eight. Stanley Lee and James Dykes were held to just five apiece. While playing the clock control game is putting us back in the win column, it's certainly wreaking havoc with our defensive guys' statistics. They're simply not getting the same number of plays they were accustomed to.

For Rice, QB Jose McDonald led the way while completing 11 of 21 pass attempts for 197 yards, one touchdown, and one pick. Standout performances were also given by SS Eric Johnston (12 tackles) and ILB Derek Thayer (11 tackles).


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina improved to 6-0 in conference play and 7-1 overall with a 27-18 win over Central Florida. West Division leader Houston bested Tulsa 29-7. In the other games, it was Memphis over Southern Miss 18-7, UAB upsetting Marshall 23-14, and UTEP edging out Tulane 17-14.


Top 25 Tidbits For Week 9
Maryland fell to N.C. State, which leaves just four unbeatens atop the BCS standings (Ohio State, LSU, Texas, and USC). LSU probably has the best chance of slipping up next week as they take on #10 Ole Miss.

[fpres]

Week 10 (2008 Season)
Well, the good news is that the Mustangs are 5-3 and just one game away from bowl eligibility. The bad news is that the combined record of the teams we've beaten this season is a dismal 9-33. The teams that have beaten us, on the other hand, are a combined 17-7. While I'm thrilled that we're winning against those we should win against, I'm holding out hope that the conference as a whole improves so that we have the competition necessary to become nationally recognized. After all, national champions don't build their resume by mowing down a lineup of two-win teams.

Our final four opponents for the year are UTEP (5-4), Central Florida (1-6), Buffalo (3-5), and TCU (4-4).


Injuries
We should rent a hospital wing...

QB  Francisco Dobbins  Probable       0-2 weeks   Ankle Fracture
RB  Dennis Ball        Probable       0-2 weeks   Broken Thumb
WR  Raymond Shaw       Out            5-7 weeks   Broken Tibia
WR  Frank Pearce       Probable       0-2 weeks   Ankle Fracture
WR  Willie Otto        Questionable   5-7 weeks   Torn Groin
TE  David Rodriguez    Probable       0-2 weeks   Ankle Hyperextension
OLB Stanley Lee        Questionable   0-2 weeks   Torn Tendon (thumb)

With the bye week upon us, we could potentially have five of these guys back on the field in time for the UTEP game. It looks like Shaw and Otto are done until next season.


Week 10 Factoid
The offensive player of the week had to be Henry Grubbs, quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes, who went 33-of-39 for 519 passing yards in a win over Purdue.


The National Picture As of Week 10
It's still the same four teams vying for a BCS Championship Game birth: #1 Ohio State (10-0), #2 LSU (8-0), #3 Texas (9-0), and #4 USC (9-0). The Buckeyes probably have the easiest road ahead of them with only contests against Purdue and Michigan remaining. USC also has a reasonably easy schedule the rest of the way consisting of games against Oregon, Stanford, and UCLA. The Longhorns still must travel to #9 Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and then play in the Big 12 Championship Game. LSU must take on Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and #8 Mississippi State before appearing in the SEC Championship Game.


The Week Around Conference USA
The showdown between East Carolina and Marshall quickly turned into a lopsided affair as the Pirates poured it on 35-3. They're now 8-1 overall and a lock for the top spot in the East Division of C-USA.

In other games, UAB beat Memphis 19-11, Southern Miss held off Central Florida 16-14, Tulane upset Houston 17-10, and Rice routed Tulsa 31-3. With the Cougars losing, there's now a three-way tie for the top spot in the West Division...between Houston, UTEP, and us.

[Izulde]

Great work you're doing at SMU. That matchup against UTEP could decide your season.

[fpres]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Great work you're doing at SMU. That matchup against UTEP could decide your season.

Thanks. I'm definitely benefitting from a down year for the conference.

[fpres]

Week 11 (2008 Season)
Who would've guessed it? We enter the final third of the season with a legitimate shot at capturing the West Division title. This is probably the best thing that could've happened to the program. There's a renewed energy on campus, and we're actually getting a bit of airplay on the local sports radio shows. Most of the pundits feel our success has been artificial, a side effect of playing against weak competition. But, at least there's a conversation now.

There hasn't been much movement in the interest levels of those who've visited us. Michael Martinez, David Bannister, and Allan Ward are showing High interest. Meanwhile, James Hargrove is at a Very High interest level now. I'm hoping to get at least one more potential recruit in before our last game of the season.


Injuries
Dobbins, Ball, Pearce, Rodriguez, and Lee have all completed their rehab and will see action this week against UTEP.

WR Willie Otto has made some impressive strides in his recovery from a groin pull and may actually end up back on the field by our last game of the season. WR Raymond Shaw is done for the year.


The National Picture As of Week 11
With all of the focus on the four unbeatens, it's easy to overlook some of the other interesting Top 25 developments. First and foremost, East Carolina busted its way into the BCS ratings at #24 despite falling just outside of the Top 25 in both the Media and Coaches polls. The SEC remains the class of the national scene, with eight teams in the Top 25. The Big 12 is close behind with six teams.

[fpres]

Week 11 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (5-3, 4-2) at UTEP (5-4, 4-2)
Rightfully so, we're three point underdogs in El Paso. The Miners sport a solid defense, giving up just 314 ypg (14th nationally) and 19.3 ppg (40th nationally). So, the most intriguing matchup will pit the UTEP secondary against QB Francisco Dobbins, who will make his first appearance in two months. Two key starters for the Miners are nursing injuries, so that may give us the edge we need to pull this one out. QB Dan Barnett (1846 passing yards, 8 TD, 9 INT) remains Questionable for the next 1-3 weeks due to a broken hand, and RB Walter Thompson (457 rushing yards, 99 receiving yards, 3 TD) is listed as Probable with an elbow subluxation.



Dammit! Dobbins went out with a little over three minutes to go in the third quarter. The details are sketchy at this point, but it looks like it's his elbow. Quarterback just shot up to the top of the list of priorities for this season's recruiting.

The Miner defense proved to be as good as advertised, but our own stepped up in a big way to help secure the win. The lone touchdown of the game came from DE Larry Story's first quarter interception which he returned 21 yards for the score. Story added 3 sacks and 4 tackles to along with the pick six. James Dykes and Stanley Lee accounted for 9 tackles apiece and combined for another 3 sacks.

Francisco Dobbins was shaky in his return outing, completing just 7 of 21 passing attempts for 67 yards and throwing an interception, while scrambling out of the pocket three times for four yards. Dennis Ball turned in another solid performance, rushing 25 times for 93 yards and catching 3 balls for 25 more yards. Michael Brown added another 60 yards on 6 carries.

For UTEP, RB Walter Thompson returned in a big way, carrying the ball 23 times for 109 yards. Backup QB Charlie Freeman just couldn't get it done though, throwing three interceptions on 13-of-30 passing and 144 yards.

Since UTEP's defense was probably the strongest we've faced this year outside of LSU, it's worth mentioning some noteworthy performances. FS Lloyd Brown won player-of-the-game honors with 14 tackles, 2 stuffs, and an interception. Outside linebackers Michael Stevens and Steven Reed racked up 10 tackles and 9 tackles, respectively.


The Week Around Conference USA
Only six other C-USA teams were in action this week. Tulane handed Marshall its third straight loss, beating them 27-21 thanks to a three-touchdown fourth quarter. Southern Miss annihilated Houston 37-10. And, Central Florida edged out Memphis 17-14.


Week 11 Factoids
The Michigan-Wisconsin game was undoubtedly the most entertaining of the week. Trailing 38-17 after three quarters, #24 Wisconsin launched a furious offensive assault to knot the score at 41 points and force overtime. The Wolverines and Badgers then needed three overtimes to decide things. Final score: Michigan 62 Wisconsin 60. The two teams combined for 1103 yards of total offense.

[fpres]

Week 12 (2008 Season)
This is the most important week of my young career as a football coach. We sit atop the West Division of C-USA, masters of our own destiny and needing to just win one more game against a 2-7 Central Florida team. The obstacles in our way? Injuries and suspensions to key players and two decades of bad mojo.

The guys can't afford to see their coach dour though. I keep the mood upbeat throughout our week of practice. Everybody knows the challenges standing in our way. There's no point restating the obvious. Instead, I choose to drive home a simple message...on paper, we're better than UCF. All we have to do is go out there and take care of business like we've been doing for the past month. Dennis Ball seems to have a cool demeanor about him these days. I think he realizes that this may the biggest game of his college career, his chance to carry the team to division title, a possible conference title, and an even more unlikely bowl birth. It all comes down to sixty minutes of play.


Injuries
Receivers Willie Otto and Raymond Shaw remain out although Otto has maybe a 50-50 shot at playing in our annual battle against TCU.

We took a big hit on defense as three defensive ends went down against UTEP. Peter Jackson is the most serious as he suffered a major eye injury and will be out for 13-15 weeks. James Pinto is Questionable for 4-6 weeks with turf toe. And the star of the UTEP game, Larry Story, banged up his hand and may miss up to 3 weeks although he's listed as Probable.

The real story is Dobbins. He's out again. This time the trainers are saying it'll probably keep him out for 5-7 weeks. It's a shame really. Dobbins has the talent to do something special over the next two years, but I just can't count on him being healthy enough to do it.


Academics Report
CB Jonathan Johnson came off academic suspension this week, but RB Michael Brown and TE Gabriel Hinton went on. DT Freddie Reeves and OG Andrew Alonso are also in danger of suspension so all four players are given additional tutoring time.

Great...with Dobbins and Shaw out with injuries and Brown suspended, we pretty much have just RB Dennis Ball as our main offensive weapon against Central Florida. FB Norman Mills has managed to put together a few good games, so we're going to need him to come up huge for us this week.


The National Picture As of Week 12
Here's the BCS Top 10 going into Week 12:

 1   Ohio State         11-0   .988
 2   LSU                 9-0   .941
 3   Texas               9-0   .920
 4   USC                10-0   .875
 5   Oklahoma            8-1   .799
 6   Iowa                9-1   .779
 7   Maryland            9-1   .768
 8   Mississippi State   7-2   .709
 9   Texas Tech          8-2   .590
10   Kentucky            7-2   .547

Despite not playing last week, East Carolina moved up two more spots to #22. They have yet to crack the Top 25 in either the Coaches or Media poll, however. There's some obvious SEC love going on in the Coaches Top 25, with Georgia at #22 and Florida at #25, even though both teams sport a 5-4 record.

[fpres]

Week 12 (2008 Season) Matchup
Central Florida (2-7, 2-5) at SMU (6-3, 5-2)

We're favored by 10 against the Knights. The key to this game is simple: RB Dennis Ball versus the UCF front seven. While UCF ranks 21st nationally in passing defense (208.9 ypg), they are 76th in rushing defense (142.6 ypg). That's where we can and must exploit them. The Knights have average talent across the board offensively but are probably best at tight end thanks to senior James Morse (13 receptions for 211 yards and 2 TD). QB William Woods has thrown for 1,716 yards, 4 TD, and 6 INT. Their leading rusher is James Murphy (579 rushing yards, 69 receiving yards, 2 TD).



Hot damn! We're the 2008 Conference USA West Division champs!

I felt my stomach ulcer start to act up when UCF's William Woods connected with Owen Harris for an 80-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the game, but things quickly settled down as we held the Knights to just eight more yards through the rest of the first half. Things heated up again as Central Florida drove down the field to score a potential game-tying touchdown with nine seconds to go. Fortunately, OLB Stanley Lee dropped Woods at the one-yard line on the two-point conversion attempt.

Dennis Ball hoisted us onto his shoulders and led the way with 37 carries for 150 yards while Norman Mills contributed 88 yards on 20 rushes. George Crow turned in another "George Crow performance," showing flashes of brilliance at times and making me want to rip my hair out at others. Crow completed 3 of his 6 passing attempts for 45 yards while throwing one pick, and he scrambled 11 times for 74 yards. He's now thrown 12 picks for the year with just 2 touchdowns.

William Woods led the UCF attack with 10-of-38 passing and 195 yards, throwing one TD and one INT. The real story for them came on the defensive side of the ball though. ILB Frank Hudson made 15 tackles and intercepted one pass. FS Thomas Frazier and ILB Eric Neal picked up 11 tackles and 10 tackles, respectively.


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina continued to roll along, surviving a scare from Memphis 23-16. Meanwhile, Southern Miss handed Marshall its fourth straight loss 31-3. Elsewhere, UAB rallied past Tulane 24-22, and Tulsa knocked off UTEP 21-14. As of now, only two C-USA teams are above .500...ECU at 9-1 and us at 7-3.


Week 12 Factoids
#3 Texas proved that it's for real this year, obliterating #6 Texas Tech in Lubbock 50-6. Not to be outdone, #4 USC pasted Stanford 62-13. Both teams will take next week off before wrapping up their regular seasons in Week 14.

[fpres]

Week 13 (2008 Season)
With the pandemonium across campus, you would think we just won the national title. It's been over two decades since SMU has tasted any measure of football success, so the West Division title is a huge step in the right direction. While continuing to ride our momentum against Buffalo and TCU is important, I'm already beginning the gameplanning for our showdown against East Carolina in the conference title game a few weeks away.

We have the opportunity to invite another potential recruit this week. Once again, WR David Bannister and CB Edward Bennett are interested. They're now joined by CB Christopher Hodge, a 3-star rated player from Somerville H.S. in Texas. Hodge is the 75th best CB in the nation and the 717th best player overall. He has made 52 tackles and 3 interceptions this year while also picking up 494 rushing yards on the other side of the ball. I'm torn over whether to go with Hodge or Bennett, so I decide to go with the guy who expressed his interest first. Bennett gets the invitation.


Injuries
We sustained just one new injury in our contest against Central Florida. OLB Tom Green suffered a concussion and will miss the Buffalo game.

Francisco Dobbins has begun rehabilitation for his elbow injury. We'll just have to see if he's an option for either of the games against TCU or East Carolina.

Nothing has changed as far as receivers Willie Otto and Raymond Shaw are concerned. Shaw is out for the foreseeable future, and Otto has an outside shot of returning for the TCU game.

Defensive ends Peter Jackson and James Pinto will sit out this week, but Larry Story has made enough progress in rehab to give it a go against Buffalo.


The National Picture As of Week 13
Here's the BCS Top 10 going into Week 13:

 1   Ohio State         11-0   .993
 2   LSU                10-0   .945
 3   Texas              10-0   .926
 4   USC                11-0   .878
 5   Oklahoma            9-1   .834
 6   Maryland            9-2   .644
 7   Kentucky            8-2   .636
 8   Arizona             9-1   .622
 9   Tennessee           9-2   .618
10   Iowa                9-2   .610

It looks like USC is going to need some serious help in order to get into the BCS Championship Game. East Carolina inched up another spot to #21.

[fpres]

Week 13 (2008 Season) Matchup
Buffalo (5-6, 4-4) at SMU (7-3, 6-2)

We're 11 point favorites at home this week. The media thinks the key matchup will pit the Bulls' RB Ralph Thorpe (240 rushes for 859 yards and 5 TD) against our front seven. I personally think they're overlooking a bigger offensive threat in QB Olin Lane (2,460 passing yards, 11 TD, 13 INT). We shall see... With a conference title game birth locked up and Dennis Ball being worked to death in getting us there, I'm going to open the game up a little more to give him a bit of a breather (we're definitely going to need him as rested as possible against ECU).



It looks like Olin Lane really was the greater of Buffalo's two threats on this afternoon at least. Lane torched us for 301 yards on 14-of-29 passing, throwing 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The daggers came in the form of a 71-yard TD pass to Timothy Smith in the second quarter and a 69-yard strike to Joe Beyer which put the Bulls up for good early in the fourth quarter. Ralph Thorpe (20 rushes for 71 yards) did put up a solid outing though.

For us, it was all Dennis Ball again. He carried the ball 33 times for 182 yards and a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter, adding 5 receptions for 45 yards to his totals for the day. George Crow (17-of-31 passing for 147 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) did enough to keep us in the game but killed two crucial drives by throwing picks in the endzone. Frank Pearce caught his second touchdown pass of the season, which gave the Mustangs a four-point halftime lead.

Stanley Lee led the way for our defense, accounting for 10 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception. James Dykes picked up 8 tackles. Meanwhile, CB Jonathan Johnson had his second consecutive game with an interception. It seems he's done a complete 180 since coming off of academic suspension.


The Week Around Conference USA
Things are winding down at this point of the season. Our game was the only C-USA contest slated for Week 13.


Week 13 Factoids
TCU (5-6) has looked mediocre most of the year, but it looks like they're starting to get things into gear at just the wrong time for us. The Horned Frogs upended BYU (8-2) by a score of 24-22.

Utah State also earned its first victory of the season, defeating Idaho (5-6) in a close one 30-24. There are now only two teams which have failed to win at least one game: Connecticut (0-11) and Arkansas (0-10).

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by fpres

and Arkansas (0-10).

[fpres]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I was surprised when I first saw that too. At first I thought it might be a case of having too many injuries, but it seems like it was a matter of having tough competition in the SEC (they're 3rd nationally in strength of schedule and played 7 straight ranked opponents).

[fpres]

Week 14 (2008 Season)
We're just one week away from the annual Battle for the Iron Skillet. Although the all-time series record is as close as it can get (TCU leading 40 wins to SMU's 39, with 7 ties), the Horned Frogs have been dominant ever since the Death Penalty came down on the Mustangs. TCU has taken the Iron Skillet 14 of the last 19 years.

Rumors are beginning to swirl around campus about a possible shakeup in some key personnel. As much as I like James Steen, Willie Thomas, and Spencer Fournier and respect what they've accomplished, I was brought into this program to turn things around and bring the Mustangs to national prominence. That means finding and hiring the best. To not do so is doing a disservice to the student-athletes that I convince to give our program a chance. All three coordinators are definitely out the door at season's end.


Injuries
The more things change, the more they stay the same...

QB  Francisco Dobbins  Questionable   4-6 weeks   Elbow Dislocation
WR  Raymond Shaw       Doubtful       2-4 weeks   Broken Tibia
WR  Willie Otto        Probable       2-4 weeks   Torn Groin
DE  Larry Story        Probable       0-2 weeks   Fractured Hand
DE  Peter Jackson      Out          11-13 weeks   Orbital Fracture
DE  James Pinto        Probable       3-5 weeks   Turf Toe
OLB Tom Green          Questionable   3-5 weeks   Concussion
SS  Billy Brown        Probable       1-3 weeks   Corneal Abrasion

I'm expecting Story and Brown to be back for the TCU game. It would be nice to get another one or two of the guys back for the conference title game, but we'll have to wait and see.


Week 14 Factoid
LSU running back Louis Foley ran circles around and through the Arkansas defense, putting up 253 yards of rushing on 28 carries and reaching the endzone twice. He has an outside shot at winning the Heisman, having rushed for 1,459 yards and 9 touchdowns while racking up 234 receiving yards.


The National Picture As of Week 14
It's do or die time for the last four unbeatens in the nation. #1 Ohio State held off a surprisingly tough Michigan squad 31-28. #2 LSU dominated Arkansas 59-24, exiling the Razorbacks to a humiliating 0-11 season. #3 Texas put down the Aggies of Texas A&M 16-3. And, #4 USC defeated UCLA 38-28.

It remains to be seen if anyone did enough to cause a shift in the BCS standings. Somehow, I doubt there will be any change when the Week 15 ratings come out. It will come down to what LSU does in the SEC Championship Game and what Texas does in the Big 12 Championship Game.


The Week Around Conference USA
Houston erased a 17-point fourth quarter deficit, rallying to defeat the Rice Owls 28-24 and salvaging a winning season in the process. The Cougars finish the year at 6-5 while the Owls drop to 3-8. Only three more C-USA teams have a game left on their Week 15 schedule before the regular season draws to a close.

[fpres]

Week 15 (2008 Season)
RB Michael Brown came by my office this week wanting to talk. He's been in a bad mood lately, so I can't say that I was entirely surprised. Apparently, he's feeling frustation having to play second fiddle to Dennis Ball. I understand Brown wanting to get the chance to prove himself, but I can't afford to sugarcoat it...Ball is more talented and he's gotten it done on the field under multiple pressure situations. Brown, on the other hand, has only gotten himself put onto the academic suspension list. Now, if he wants to show that he can turn things around, I'll give him that chance next year. I guess my offer wasn't good enough...he left my office saying that he needed time to consider whether the Mustangs are the right fit for him.

Speaking of right fits, we received word from all of the student-athletes who visited our program this season. They all reiterated that they are highly interested in coming to play for SMU. With fifteen seniors graduating this year, that is definitely good news.


Injuries

QB  Francisco Dobbins  Questionable   3-5 weeks   Elbow Dislocation
WR  Raymond Shaw       Doubtful       2-4 weeks   Broken Tibia
WR  Willie Otto        Probable       1-3 weeks   Torn Groin
DE  Larry Story        Probable       0-2 weeks   Fractured Hand
DE  Peter Jackson      Out          10-12 weeks   Orbital Fracture
DE  James Pinto        Probable       2-4 weeks   Turf Toe
OLB Tom Green          Probable       2-4 weeks   Concussion
SS  Billy Brown        Probable       0-2 weeks   Corneal Abrasion

My trainers are advising that Otto, Story, and Brown be allowed to return to action this week. I'll heed that advice, but their usage will be limited. All bets are off where the other five guys are concerned. It would be a miracle to see Shaw or Dobbins back in time for East Carolina, but one can dream...


The National Picture As of Week 15
Here's the BCS Top 10 going into Week 15:

 1   Ohio State         12-0   .992
 2   LSU                11-0   .956
 3   Texas              11-0   .919
 4   USC                12-0   .880
 5   Arizona            10-1   .840
 6   Maryland            9-2   .758
 7   N.C. State          9-2   .657
 8   Kentucky            8-2   .630
 9   Oklahoma            9-2   .624
10   Tennessee           9-2   .603

The scenarios are limited at this point as far as the national championship is concerned. Ohio State is in. Beyond them, it's a contest between LSU, Texas, and USC. The Tigers will face either Kentucky or Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns will face either Kansas, K-State, or Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game. USC must sit and hope that both LSU and Texas falter.

[fpres]

Week 15 (2008 Season) Matchup
SMU (7-4, 6-2) at TCU (5-6, 5-3)

We're 12-point underdogs against the Horned Frogs, but predictions oftentimes fly out the window where rivalry games are concerned. TCU features a potent offense led by QB Michael Jones who has thrown for 2,239 yards, 14 TD, and 9 INT while maintaining a 57% passing completion rate. Freshman RB William Powell drives the TCU ground game, carrying the ball for 1,149 yards and 9 touchdowns this season. With talented fullbacks Jerry Collins and Brian Howard to go along with Powell, our defense will have its hands full all day against the Horned Frog rushers. As always, our chances for victory begin and end with Dennis Ball. If Coach Jackson finds a way to shut Ball down, we're in trouble.



Things didn't look good for us early. Already short our starting quarterback and top receiver, things went from bad to worse when George Crow went down with a leg injury at the 3:05 mark in the first quarter and the Mustangs trailing 3-0. TCU didn't make it any easier for us as they picked up huge chunks of yardage through their first three series of the game. Down by ten early in the second quarter though, our defense stiffened up big time and effectively took over the game...forcing a fumble and two interceptions while clogging up the passing lanes. The Horned Frogs never made it into Mustang territory in the second half.

With Crow going out early, we once again relied heavily on our running game. Norman Mills led the way with 29 carries for 126 yards, and Dennis Ball rushed 26 times for 110 yards. Third-stringer QB Robin Mitchell was picture perfect in managing the game for us, completing all three of his pass attempts for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns (a 36-yarder to Leonard Williams and a 14-yarder to Willie Otto).

Defensively, OLB Stanley Lee, FS David Cowen, and ILB Charles Galloway picked up 7 tackles apiece.

For TCU, William Powell (22 rushes for 138 yards) was as good as I had expected. Fortunately, we were able to shut down QB Michael Jones (12-of-30 passing for 175 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT) after some early success. That proved to be the difference in the game. OLB Bobby Werner was the Horned Frogs' defensive player of the game with 13 tackles, 4 stuffs, and a forced fumble.

Our win gave us the Iron Skillet and bragging rights in Big D for the first time since 2005 and only the second time since the turn of the century. Now, it's time to focus on winning our first conference title since SMU was a member of the now-defunct Southwest Conference.


The Week Around Conference USA
East Carolina wrapped up its regular season with a 25-10 victory at Wake Forest. They finish with an impressive 10-1 record, their only loss coming at the hands of unbeaten LSU. In the only other game to feature a C-USA team, Central Florida gave South Florida a good fight but fell just short 41-31.


Week 15 Factoids
In a week with limited competition, it's worth noting that our very own Norman Mills and Dennis Ball were the 7th and 8th leading rushers in the nation, respectively.