Football returns to the Hilltop as a familiar foe comes to Ford Stadium to take on the Mustangs. Former SWC member Baylor Bears are coming to Dallas for the first time since 1995. Both teams are coming off 3-8 seasons in which they went with young rosters who improved dramatically over the latter part of the year. Both teams are hoping that the time some of their youngsters received on the field last year will pay off this year in some more wins. SMU is hoping to set the tone with a victory to kick off the new move to Conference USA.
The most important match of the day will be SMU’s ability to gain confidence in itself. The Ponies return 22 starters, the most in the nation, who are long on experience but short on wins in their careers. If SMU can set the tone early and the team feels good about itself, the feeling could carry for much of the year. Losses early in the season could bring a “here we go again” mentality that could leave the team shaken for quite some time. Call it the Clippers corollary, but when a team loses for a while it tends to expect to lose. The Mustangs are physically talented enough to be very good this year, but the question is whether they are mentally ready to take the next step.
SMU lost a lot more than a game last season when it played the TCU Horned Frogs. D.D. Lee suffered an elbow injury that cost him the entire season after coming off a 2003 season in which he lead the Mustangs in tackles with a 100. Lee’s leadership was also missed in a lineup that saw many freshmen see time as injuries decimated the Mustangs.
Lee returns this season to man his linebacker position, but most opposing coaches won’t forget him. One preseason publication named him All-Conference USA even though he hasn’t played for nearly a year. Just two years back, CollegeFootballNews.com named Lee the 20th best player in the entire Western Athletic Conference.
SMU returns both its leading rusher and its leading passer from last year’s team, something that only a handful of teams in America can say. In fact, SMU is the only one that can say its two separate quarterbacks will return as those leaders. Jerad Romo is known for his wheels as he led the Ponies with 434 yards on five yards a carry. Tony Eckert was the starter in all three victories last season and can make any throw on the field. Regardless of who receives the starter position, Bennett has stated time and again that both players will see time to open the year.
The Bears’ Guy Morriss is 15-31 overall as a head coach. At Baylor his record is an even worse 6-17. At the schools Morriss has coached at these records qualify as an unquestioned success. Morriss, who left Kentucky to take on the challenge of rebuilding the Bears, has the fans in Waco excited about football again.
Last year’s team may have only won three games, but it gave the faithful hope for this season with a 35-34 win over the then-16th ranked Texas A&M. Morriss knows that his team plays in the toughest division in college football, the Big 12 South, which makes it even more important to get off to a good start of the year. The Bears set up their schedule for a hot start by taking on patsies Samford and Navy following Saturday’s game. Morriss hopes he takes his group to College Station, Texas with a 3-0 record.
This is the 79th meeting between the Bears and Mustangs with the Mustangs leading the series 36-34-7. Lately, the Bears have controlled the series, winning eight straight games, including five straight games in Dallas. The Mustangs hope get the season started with a win when the game kicks off from Ford Stadium at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
