The Opposition: SMU vs Houston

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Cougar asked The Daily Campus’ sports editor Brian O’Donnell to write about the matchup against Houston. Here’s what he had to say.

Tonight’s matchup between Houston and Southern Methodist University is an important game for both teams. Houston is coming off of a 38-24 conference win against Tulsa while the Mustangs are looking to recover from a 49-23 conference loss to East Carolina.

Late last season, the Cougars defeated SMU 35-9 in route to an 8-5 record and a bowl win.  For SMU, last year’s loss came as no surprise to a team that started the season 0-11 and barely got a win in the final game.

Houston has started this year strong with wins over Tennessee Tech, Louisville, Texas State and Tulsa.  The Cougars enter this week with a 4-0 record, having received votes for the top 25 rankings.  They rank No. 4 in total offense in the nation, racking up 6.97 yards per play and No. 8 in rushing defense, giving up only 2.45 yards per attempt.

Houston’s coach Tom Herman highlighted the game’s importance.

“For us, this is a really big game because we run into these guys in just about everything we do from exposure, to media market, to you name it,” Herman said. “We want to make sure we have bragging rights for the entire year in the great state of Texas.”

SMU did not begin the season the way it would have liked and has just as much at stake.  After losses to two top 5 teams and a win over North Texas in between, the Mustangs were where they were expected to be.

There was excitement around the program after giving TCU a scare and playing Baylor tightly in the first half, scoring 58 points just one year after being shut out by both teams.  However, a last minute loss to FCS opponent James Madison ruined the mood on the Hilltop.  Last week’s blown 23-7 lead only added to the disappointment.

The team is led by junior Matt Davis.  He is a dual-threat quarterback but head coach Chad Morris has tried to protect him from injury by using him less in the run game.

He remains SMU’s leading rusher and has accounted for six touchdowns on the ground to go along with eight through the air. The offense is much improved under Morris’ direction, scoring more points this season than all of last year.

The defense remains the team’s weakest link.  It has given up nearly 600 yards per game, including more than 700 yards three times.  The rush defense has been manhandled at times and the secondary is prone to giving up deep passing plays in the middle of the field.

The Mustangs (1-4) seem dangerously close to a tipping point.  Though they have looked better than last season, the losses are piling up.  They will need an unlikely win over Houston to get their season back on track and revive some hope of progress.

Houston needs to take care of business if they hope to break into the top 25.

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