The fall season has already arrived in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  The temperatures are leveling out around 65 degrees and the dark clouds filling the sky love producing rain on football Saturdays.

Here at SMU the weather is a completely different story.  Blue sky, humidity and the acceptance of sweat on the Boulevard make for one of the best game day experiences.

This week SMU has a great opportunity to show their improvements as Washington State (from that rainy and cloudy North West) travels south trying to spring an upset.

The Cougars of Washington State are hoping to come out of here surviving the climate change with a win under their belts.  Two years ago the Cougars got the best of SMU, but much has changed since then.  Playing a big-time PAC-10 program at home is exactly what the Mustangs need right now.

Washington State is an opportunity — an opportunity for fans to show their continued support by packing Gerald J. Ford stadium; an opportunity for recruits to see the talent that SMU is beginning to accumulate, and then jump on the bandwagon; an opportunity for spirit and passion to continually be brewed inside us.

Washington State is more than “the game before TCU comes to town.” Rather, it is a turning point of the season.  Yes, families will start arriving into town over the next week, but we are not to next week yet. 

The importance of this Washington State game cannot be expressed enough.  At one win and one loss right now, the Mustangs are on the verge of something special once again. 

Of course there are, and always will be, those doubters that cannot get over the fact that SMU was great in the early 1980s and will never return to that level. 

Win, and you prove all the doubters wrong once more. After the win, yes I know I am speaking optimistically here, the Mustangs will move to 2-1 and have a winning record once again.

Winning is slowly becoming the norm around here again.  SMU is 6-2 in their last eight games, and 6-1 in their last seven home games.  Now is the time to grab your friends, neighbors and even that bandwagon fan on the side of the road and bring them to the game.

I traveled to Texas Tech two weekends ago to cheer SMU on in the first contest of the season.  Wearing a blue shirt with 85 other passionate Mustang fans and holding a sign that read “Life After Death” made for a great afternoon. 

When I got home, a die-hard SMU fan who could not make the trip asked me about the sign. We talked about the horrible past and came to the conclusion that maybe we need to begin writing a new story for football at SMU. 

Always make sure to remember the greats that have played previously at SMU, and boy have we had some good ones, but try to move out of that shadow cast onto SMU by the death penalty. I think Washington State provides the Mustangs with exactly that.

Enjoy the Boulevard because it is truly a special event.  The sun is out and the grills are on, but remember to walk, run or parade on down to the stadium in time for kickoff. 

Winning is the ultimate cure for a sunburn and the perfect way to cap off a great Saturday.

And besides, we all know what to look forward to after a dominating performance over Washington State – bring on those Horned Frogs!

Pony Up!

Austin Prentice is vice president of the student body. He can be reached for comments at [email protected]