The old Southwest Conference tour is over and the Mustangs went 0-3. The inclement weather conditions this past Saturday made the Iron Skillet game somewhat close. TCU came out on top 24-16. That being said the Mustangs simply do not have the mojo that they possessed the past few seasons or maybe it’s a lack of talent compared to the other schools they’ve faced. Their lone win this season came against Stephen F. Austin. Perhaps entering conference play will allow them to regain their focus and become a born again football team. June Jones is a great coach and he’ll need to dig deep to help this team out.
QB Garrett Gilbert who transferred in fromTexashasn’t lived up to expectations. His receivers didn’t do him any favors against TCU as they dropped at least six passes. That doesn’t erase his six turnovers that he had for the game. By the end of the game Gilbert had gone 15 for 40 for 190 yards, a TD and five interceptions. RB Zach Line had 15 carries for 44 yards and a TD (a 21-yard run). WR Jeremy Johnson led the team with four catches for 62 yards. In other words the offense was pretty pathetic and if they perform the same this week against UTEP expect another loss. The defense fared a tad better by recovering two fumbles and didn’t allow TCU to convert on its four fourth down attempts.
This week UTEP hosts the Mustangs. They were competitive against OU, Ole Miss and and Wisconsin as well as in their game against conference foeEast Carolina. They are led by QB Nick Lamaison who is a senior. His experience at QB could be the difference maker in this one. He is by no means a running quarterback preferring to stand in the pocket. His favorite target is Michael Edwards who has 3 TDs and 455 yards for the season. The ground game is typically handled by Nathan Jeffery but he’s questionable for Saturday. If he doesn’t go then Jordan Leslie will take the carries. The defense has given up at least 24 points in every game this season. Expect SMU to pound Line to open up the passing lanes for Gilbert. SMU should win this one but it will be ugly.
Game Info:
SMU vs UTEP
SAT. OCT. 6 – 7PM
SUN BOWL