2009 NCAA - Southern Methodist
It will be interesting to see how far and fast June Jones will progress things in Dallas this fall. The SMU coach is the highest paid coach in the league by far. He inherited a team that was just 1-11 but had several close losses in 2007 and a lot of players back. Instead, he decided to expedite his youth movement and played several of his own recruits and guys brought in to play in his "Red Gun". The result was fairly predictable - another 1-11 season with no wins over FBS teams. QB Bo Levi Mitchell was named the starter as a true freshman over a 4-year senior last fall in a controversial move by Jones. The Mustangs will again be young this fall, but most of the newcomers will be backups, as nearly everyone returns who started and took lumps in 2008.
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Southern Methodist
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On defense, the Mustangs gave up 226 yards rushing per game (4.9 ypc) and 254 yards passing per game. The net result was a defense that ranked second-to-worst in the country. Jones is switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 to utilize some of the speed he has recruited at linebacker. Still, the numbers don't lie. SMU yielded 33 touchdown passes and had just eight interceptions, and a poor pass rush (only 18 sacks) was as much to blame as the secondary. Both much improve immensely if the Mustangs want to compete with some of the elite attacks (TCU, East Carolina, Houston, Tulsa) they will see in October. |
ASK the bookie? - The schedule is fairly forgiving and SMU could easily be 2-0 before a trip to Washington State. Wily Jones will make this team better, and the Mustangs WILL upset at least one team this year that they will be a significant underdog to. Carefully watch Mitchell's progress - as he goes, so goes the SMU offense. In his second season, the game should slow down for him a lot more this fall.
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