SMU wide receiver Devin Lowery (left) slips past UTEP defensive back Cornelius Brown (right) during the Sept. 29 game. (John Schreiber)

Five games into the season, the Mustangs are not where they wanted to be or where people expected them to be.

Last week the Mustangs had a much needed bye week coming off the 45-48 overtime loss to UTEP to start the conference schedule. SMU had a lead through most of the game but was unable to hold onto it at the end.

The Mustangs, who had been exploited through the air through the first four games, could not stop the Miners’ running game. SMU showed an inability to tackle and get big stops when they needed them. The Mustangs have made changes in the defense to remedy the problem.

The first change is that senior linebacker Damon Hurst will start the game at middle linebacker. The position has been a weak point for the Mustangs this season.

The offense that was explosive in the first three quarters of the game also seemed to falter toward the end of the game.

The offense has consisted mostly of quarterback Justin Willis who leads the team in passing and in rushing. But for the season, the Mustangs have been out-rushed and out-passed for a total of 455 yards.

The Golden Eagles are having some problems of their own though.

Coming into the season favored to win the East division and the conference, Southern Miss has hit a roadblock.

The Golden Eagles are having injury problems at the quarterback position. The Southern Miss starter Jeremy Young was injured in the Golden Eagle’s game against Boise State, and the back-up quarterback was forced to play injured against Rice when the third string quarterback broke his fibula.

The Golden Eagles lost that game and their hold over the East division.

The Mustangs experienced special teams problems for the second week in a row against UTEP.

After having a punt blocked against TCU three weeks ago, the Mustangs missed a field goal and had a bad snap on another field goal attempt two weeks ago.

That cost the Mustangs six points and the game.

This week, SMU has to go out and play a solid game in all three phases. They have to put up points like the offense is built to do, the defense has to make key stops and the special teams has to go out and do the fundamentals.

The fact of the matter is the Mustangs need a win. Yes, the game is on the road, yes, it is against one of the top teams in the conference, but they need to win the big game, and here it is.