Photo Courtesy: Dominic Ceraldi
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
The Mustangs are 2-0
The Mustangs have moved into the newest edition of the ACC Conference. The Mustangs have played two out of conference teams and pocked wins over Nevada by 5 points top open the season and last week’s win over HCU by 52. Look for SMU’s defense to really step up and create turnovers in this game. The defense played huge last week. This week will be a test for the secondary at home.
What’s the game plan this week
Running the ball to start the game will be job one. Starting running back Brashard Smith has already carried the ball 20 times this season for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns. He’s averaging 8.8 yards a carry. Keep an eye on him getting at least 15-20 touches this game. Running back LJ Johnson Jr. will get plenty of playing time as well. He has 17 carries for 69 yards with a touchdown on his stats this year and he averages 4.1 yards a carry.
Game Info
BYU Cougars vs SMU Mustangs
Friday – August 6 – 6:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Gerald J. Ford, Stadium, Dallas, TX
SMU Mustangs (2-0)
Last week SMU torched Houston Christian by 52 points. Backup quarterback Kevin Jennings played lights out passing for 202 yards and 1 touchdown. He also recorded 54 rushing yards on 5 carries scoring a rushing touchdown as well. The Mustangs offense racked up 595 total yards on offense with 1 turnover. The defense played stingy the whole game giving up 7 points. In order for this Mustang team to make any type of noise in the new conference they need to play this way week end and week out! Key for a victory: Play solid defense from the first to the fourth quarter.
BYU Cougars (1-0)
The BYU Cougars are coming to Dallas to douse the red-hot Mustangs Friday night. BYU is led by Junior Jake Retzlaff. Retzlaff has a rocket launcher for an arm. Last week he passed for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns in a win against SIU. Keep an eye on running back LJ Martin. He can run between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield. The Cougars defense has plenty of young talented kids that can get after the quarterback. The Cougars are solid on defense and will be a test for the Mustangs at home.
Prediction
ESPN has the Mustangs with a 78.9% chance of winning at home this week. The team that controls the clock will be the victor! I’m taking SMU and the points (-11.5) the over/under is 56.5 so take the over!
Final Score
Mustangs – 35
Cougars – 21
