The change is happening right before your eyes.

Every Saturday at Ford Stadium, the Mustangs are transforming into a real winning football team, not just a team that is winning games.

There is a big difference, a team that can win games has a surplus of talent. Stars carry the team on athletic ability alone, not these Mustangs, there is much more.

Many of the teams we are better on paper and, the last two weeks on the field as well, but SMU has walked away victorious. The reason: they are turning into winners.

Winners can be outplayed by their opponent and find a way to win, and that is exactly what the Mustangs have done the last two weeks.

Homecoming weekend the Mustangs found themselves matched up against a winless Rice opponent. When the Owls started a comeback late in the game, Mustang teams of past would have crumpled, this year the team held strong for a win.

Last weekend the UTEP Miners had the ball, driving to win at the end of the game. On a crucial fourth down play from the Mustang’s 14 yard line with the game on the line, Taylor Thompson stepped up and made a key sack to seal the game.

Far too often with past Mustang teams I have seen that situation, and almost as if it were a replay year after year, the defense would fall apart and lose the game. Not this year. This year the team has learned how to be winners.

In the UTEP game the SMU defense seeming could not stop the Miners as they secured first down after first down. The Miners out gained the Mustangs 627 total yards to 437 for SMU. But the Mustangs still found a way to win.

When SMU gave up the lead with about eight minutes to go in the game, past Mustang teams would have absolutely buckled under the pressure. On Saturday a composed freshman quarterback Kyle Padron coolly led the Mustangs down the field ending with an diving 37 yard catch by Emmanuel Sanders in the end zone to regain the lead.

Even in games earlier this season you could see the signs. Rock Dennis’s interception return over reigning conference champion ECU, and the Mustang’s winning on the road at UAB. Change is here.

The transformation is happening. The players are believing. The wins are coming.

You could sense it from the players last Saturday when at the end, nothing but sheer will won that game. And the crowd new it too. For the first time since the death penalty it seems Mustang Nation is awakening, and coming back with force.

On Saturday it almost seemed as if the crowd knew the Mustangs would win, expected it, something I have never witnessed.

I saw people holding back tears of joy when the students were enjoying the victorious moment on the field. Unheard of in SMU football.

The real test will come this next Saturday when the Mustangs hit the road going to Huntington West Virginia to take on Marshall. If the Mustangs can win in that environment you know the transformation is here to stay. The next stop will be the conference championship, and the first bowl in 25 years.

A hard earned, well deserved bowl. Now is the time to start believing if you haven’t already, because you are literally witnessing the miracle turn around every Saturday.