Senior wide receiver Cole Beasley runs unopposed into the endzone during play against the University of Central Florida last Saturday inside Ford Stadium. The Mustangs take on the University of Southern Mississippi Saturday evening in Hattiesburg. (Michael Danser/The Daily Campus)
The SMU Mustang football team will be heading to Hattiesburg, Miss. this weekend to take on the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Saturday.
On Oct. 15 the Mustangs defeated the defending Conference USA champions, the UCF Knights, 38-17. The win set SMU’s overall record to 5-1 and the C-USA record to 3-0, making it the most successful start to the season the Mustangs have had since 1986.
Due to a bye weekend, the Southern Miss football team has not had any action since their win against Navy on Oct. 8. The Golden Eagles defeated Navy on their home field in Annapolis, Md. 63-35. It was the most points the Navy’s football team has allowed since a 65-19 home loss to N.C. State in 2002.
The Golden Eagles are also off to a 5-1 start to the season, averaging 48 points a game during their winning streak. Some of the Eagles previous opponents have been Rice, Louisiana Tech and Marshall. Marshall has been the only team to defeat Southern Miss this season with a score of 26-20 on their home field in Huntington, W.Va.
Coming off wins over UCF and No. 20 TCU, the Mustangs are 12-3 in their last 15 home games, dating back to the start of the 2009 season. SMU has scored a minimum of 28 points during the past five straight games, and three of those were 40 points or above.
After the victory against TCU, SMU football put 11 members on Phil Steele’s Midseason All-Conference C-USA Team.
During the UCF game, SMU accumulated 358 passing yards and 440 total yards. SMU quarterback J.J. McDermott threw the longest touchdown pass of 72 yards to Der’ick Thompson since Kyle Padron’s pass to Aldrick Robinson at Tulane Oct. 30, 2010. Senior cornerback Richard Crawford also put big numbers on the board against UCF. Crawford returned a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown early on in the second quarter, his second punt return for over 40 yards in the first half.
As a result of the Mustangs continuing success, the stampede is now ranked at No. 29 on the 2011 NCAA AP College Football Poll for week eight. SMU is one in only a handful of teams that has received votes for a top 25 ranking with 19.
Southern Miss is currently ranked No. 32 on the AP College Football Poll.
According to CBSSports.com, SMU has been contacted by Big East commissioner John Marinatto in regards to further expansion.
Fellow Conference-USA member, the University of Houston, was also contacted by Marinatto regarding Big East expansion. However, Joe Schad, ESPN’s National College Football Reporter, announced that there have been no formal invitations to the conference released at this time.
When it comes to conference realignment, SMU head coach June Jones is not concerned with traveling to different time zones for games. During his interview on ESPN’s College Football Live Wednesday, Jones expressed his thoughts on changing conferences.
“I know that because of our location here in Dallas we’re attractive,” Jones said. However, Jones said he’s not concerned about the re-alignment and he doesn’t want to focus on it until “something is final.”
SMU will take on the Golden Eagles Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports.
