The Mustangs once again return home after suffering a tough road loss. The Mustangs did it after losing to Texas Tech and North Texas with impressive victories against Sam Houston State and Arkansas State. They did it again, after falling to University of Texas-El Paso SMU came back home and defeated Marshall. The Mustangs hope this trend will continue after losing to East Carolina.

If the Mustangs win, it will come at the hands of the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The UAB team remembers last year as well as SMU does. The game that appeared to be over with 23 seconds on the clock and a 27-22 lead for the Blazers. It was an 80-yard 23-second drive that was capped off with a 31-yard touchdown pass from then quarterback Jerad Romo to Bobby Chase.

And as much as the Mustangs remember the victory, they are sure the Blazers remember too. It was in Birmingham and it was UAB’s homecoming.

For the Mustangs to rebound from their loss at ECU, the defense will have to rebound too. The SMU defense gave up more than 400 total offense yards for the first time since the first week against Texas Tech when they gave up 501 to the Red Raiders. The 438 yards for East Carolina did it almost entirely through the air with 402 passing yards.

The rush defense has been strong, but will have to step up against the UAB team that has averaged 250 passing yards in the past two games. The defense will also have to deal with seeing three different running backs. Marculus Elliot is the only running back who carried the ball against Marshall in the Blazers’ last game. Elliot said, UAB has “the best running back combination in the league. There are some real good backs out there but [we] all bring a little something different.”

Playing on Tuesday will be a different experience for the Mustangs. Head coach, Phil Bennett has “never experienced it.” Bennett spoke about preparation last week saying, “you get a little bit more time to prepare, and maybe that’s good, but sometimes when you have too much time, you do too much, and that’s what we have to be careful of.”

The hope is that the extra time will allow for some Mustang healing. Cory Muse, DeMyron Martin, Jessie Henderson and Bobby Chase have all had injuries that have been looked at. Bennett said that he expects all four of them to be back for play against UAB.

The Mustangs still lead in the turnover category, but were unable to force a turnover for the first time this season against ECU. The Mustangs are a plus one in turnovers, while the Blazers are a minus three. SMU will have to hold onto the football and take it away from UAB to keep the drive for a bowl game going.

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders continues to catch passes and find the end zone. With his two touchdown receptions at ECU, he has seven on the season to lead the team and six consecutive games with a touchdown catch, which is an SMU record.

This is a game the Mustangs need to win and a game the Mustangs must win to move closer to a post-season appearance.