Red tops Blue in spring game, 26-14 (Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus)
The annual SMU Red & Blue Game is the football game where, no matter what, you can bet SMU will win. But on the other hand, no matter what, you can bet on SMU losing too.
Saturday’s annual Spring Football Red and Blue game is the culmination of the Spring Training season, which in addition to conditioning included 12 practices in full pads. In the end, the SMU Red Team edged out the SMU Blue Team (appearing in white uniforms) 26-14.
“The offensive line has made big improvements, according to SMU Head Coach Phil Bennett. He also thought the offense “threw and caught the ball well.” Specifically, the coach said Justin Rodgers, Richuel Massey and Don Stansbury all had a good spring. “We will be a much improved team,” he said.
Bennett was also impressed with the second string players. “The biggest difference is that our twos are better. Our backups are better than they have ever been.”
In the quarterback department, fans saw action from all five of the Mustang QBs. Of the three quarterbacks who played the most, it appeared that Tony Eckert had made the most improvement and will be the starter next fall. His arm was potent, and he moved well when the ball was in his hand. He completed 13 of his 19 passes for a total of 87 yards.
He said that his biggest place he improved was in consistency. “I threw one pick all spring, and that’s twelve practices, so I think that that’s saying something,” the senior junior college transfer said.
Returning to the field Saturday was Chris Phillips. The sophomore was injured early in the 2004 season and had just been cleared for play at the beginning of the spring. His arm was strong, but he was slow moving in the pocket. He completed 15 out of 19 passes, for a total of 129 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Hawkins.
Senior Jerad Romo, who saw a lot of playing time after Philip’s injury, looked like he was ready to pick up where he left off last season. Romo led Mustang rushing and on Saturday was the fastest quarterback on the field. Romo completed 10 of his 16 passes for 75 yards. Romo said that he felt the team was more comfortable with their assignments, and he personally had improved on knowing the offense “inside and out.”
Each quarterback seems to excel at a different part of the quarterback job, and barring any injuries; the Mustangs should have a potent mixture of passing and rushing to give opponents a run for their money.
SMU’s running game was impressive. Cedrick Dorsey contributed 16 carries for a total of 76 yards, which also included one touchdown. Fred Turner was very fast, running and finding holes for 50 yards in 12 carries. Richuel Massey broke through the defensive lines seven times, obtaining 87 yards. Also, Jessie Henderson scored once and ran 53 yards over six carries.
The defense saw the return of D.D. Lee. Lee was injured last season, but was back on the field on Saturday. The defense was not allowed to blitz, but still managed to reach the team’s sack total for last season, 11, in one game. Bennett had instructed the defense not to tackle the quarterbacks, and a sack was awarded to the defense if a player got two hands on the quarterback, similar to a game a flag football.
The Mustangs seem optimistic about next fall’s season-opener at home against Baylor. Bennett said: “We’re comparable going in,” (against Baylor) and categorized SMU (and Baylor) as “two teams trying to get an identity.”
Other players echoed Bennett’s sentiment, but one Mustang had loftier goals. “I’m looking forward to a bowl game,” said quarterback Chris Phillips, “we know we can do it.”
Ford Stadium got a small facelift for Saturday’s game. In preparation to SMU’s move to Conference USA, the CUSA logo has been painted on the field. Also, the switch to C-USA will not affect the football team’s equipment deal with athletic supplier Nike, according to Assistant Athletic Director of Media Relations Brad Sutton.
Sutton also said that it has yet to be determined whether or not the team will have their names on their jerseys. In the 2004 season, names were not on the uniforms, and he said that they would decide in the summer whether or not they will appear this year.
The 2005 Mustang Football season will kick off on Saturday, September 3, 2005 at 7 p.m. against Baylor at Ford Stadium.
