SMU’s Youri Yenga puts pressure on Texas State’s quarterback Clint Toon in a 47-36 win Saturday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Stuart Palley)
Saturday night’s defensive performance against Texas State may be indicative of what head coach June Jones can expect from the SMU defensive unit this season.
The Mustangs’ first four series on defense could not have gone any better for them or any worse for the Bobcats. The Mustangs forced a turnover on all of the drives.
The four turnovers resulted in 14 points and were partly responsible for SMU’s 21-0 lead just after the start of the second quarter. The big plays early in the game showed the potential and promise of the defense.
At this point, the defense seemed ready to cast off its problems on third down against Rice a week ago and turn the page from the 2007 season’s dysfunction.
Then the defensive problems that SMU encountered at Rice began to resurface. However, the difference in this game was that the defense had already made enough big plays to put SMU in position to win the game.
On the subject of turnovers, Jones was clear about how important winning the turnover battle was to the Mustangs’ success. “The one thing that was the difference in the game was the turnovers,” Jones said.
The Mustangs’ 14 points off turnovers were undoubtedly the difference in a game that ended up being decided by only 11 points. In that respect, the defense was key to the Mustangs victory.
In spite of the big plays on defense, the Mustangs once again showed an uglier side. Against Rice, the Mustangs allowed the Owls to convert on 10 of their 16 third down opportunities. Against Texas State, the Mustangs only managed to stop three of 15 third down plays.
On top of this, one of the third down stops was eventually converted on fourth down. When asked about where his defense could improve, Jones said, “The biggest thing that I see is those third down situations. They are not getting them off of the field. It is one thing to give up a lot of yards…If you get them off of the field, it gives our offense a chance to score.”
In the end, the defense gave up 465 yards, one less than it did against Rice’s duo of Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard, and 36 points. This was enough to beat the Bobcats, but may not be enough against Texas Tech, TCU or conference teams.
The intensity and awareness on defense at the start of the game was a step in the right direction. It showed that this defense could perform and help the offense score points by getting the ball.
The test will be if the defense can become consistent by sustaining its play through four quarters and creating turnovers late in the game. Given the youth on the defense, the Texas State game can be taken as a microcosm of what the Mustangs can expect from the defense this season.
