Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus. Devon Lowery leads the Mustangs with 165 yards, catching eight passes.

The Mustangs have had problems winning on the road over the past few seasons. Last year SMU was 1-5, 2-5 in 2005 and 0-6 in 2004. That is a trend that will have to change for the Mustangs if they want to have any success this season.

The first road trip for the Mustangs isn’t any easier than last years. A season ago SMU opened the season in Lubbock against Texas Tech and then was upset by North Texas in Denton.

This year shows a similar trend. The Mustangs will face n underrated Sun Belt Conference team in Arkansas State followed by a Top 25 team in TCU. The difference is this year much more is expected from the Mustangs.

Arkansas State has taken a different path to the third week of college football than the Mustangs have.

For the Indians, it was an opening day surprise as ASU lost to No. 4 Texas by just eight points, and last week’s matchup against Memphis was not played because of storms in the Jonesboro area.

The Mustangs, on the other hand, played Texas Tech and North Texas just five days apart. That means the Indians have had two weeks without a game, and SMU will enter their third game in about two weeks.

All of that aside, the Mustangs must come out and not only win, but also look better doing it.

Head coach Phil Bennett explained after the win against North Texas that for the defense it wasn’t about yards, it was finding a way to win. They won, but gave up 601 yards through the air.

The Mustangs have to prove that the defense can control an opposing offense and not allow the other team to throw at will against the secondary.

In just two games, SMU has given up over 1,000 passing yards and 80 points.

The secondary isn’t the only section having problems. The defensive line has been unable to get pressure on the quarterback through the first two games. Senior and only returning starter Cory Muse has been slowed down by a knee injury that has limited his playing time and the rest of the unit has had problems getting into the backfield.

But the Mustangs’ defense did come up big, at times, against North Texas.

Following two turnovers by the offense, the defense turned around and got the ball right back. And at the end of the game, Bryce Hudman returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown to seal the win.

The defense shows sparks of greatness: Jonathan Lindley’s interception in the end zone, Wilton McCray’s hit that knocked UNT quarterback Daniel Meager’s helmet off and Muse’s sack. They just need to stay consistent and stop giving up long passing plays, something the offense needs to start doing.

This should be a high-powered offense, threatening deep balls to any number of speedy receivers, plus a lightning-and-thunder rushing attack from DeMyron Martin and James Mapps all along with a good performance from multi-talented quarterback Justin Willis.

However, through two games Martin has carried the ball only 19 times and hasn’t even reached the 100-yard mark, and Willis has only one completion longer than 30 yards.

The Mustangs did enough to score 45 points, but against tougher teams that might not be the result. SMU needs to be a team of big plays on Saturday against Arkansas State. If the offense can’t get in a rhythm early and keep it going, it could turn into a long night for the defense.

The other thing causing problems for the Mustangs on both sides of the ball are third downs. The offense can’t convert them, and the defense can’t stop them. The Mustangs have only converted on 35 percent while opponents have converted 59 percent of the time. That means less time on the field for the offense and more time on the field for the defense. That does not lead to much success.

The Mustangs need to utilize every weapon they have. That means use Emmanuel Sanders’ speed, Vincent Chase’s size and Martin’s power, along with every other weapon the team holds.

The Mustangs haven’t had success on the road, and need to this season in order to reach a bowl game and compete for a conference championship.

The road test begins Saturday night at 6 p.m., and the Mustangs need to prove that this year’s team can play just as well away from Ford Stadium as they can inside it.

Photo by Stuart Palley, The Daily Campus. Linebackers Wilton McCray (5) and Will Bonilla (27) will have to have another big game for the Mustangs if the defense wants to improve lackluster statistics so far this season.