Ponies seek third win at Ford
SMU finishes up the home portion of their schedule as the NevadaWolf Pack comes to Dallas. Nevada (5-4, 3-2 WAC) comes in with athree game winning streak after beating San Jose State 42-24 lastweek. The Mustangs (2-7, 2-4 WAC) played a barnburner against theTulsa Golden Hurricane as it took overtime to capture the 41-35victory last Saturday.
Head Coach Phil Bennett said his team fought through some toughtimes to get the second victory of the season.
“For us to play our best we have to play as a team,”Bennett said. “And we fought through adversity to get a bigwin.”
Key Match-Up
Nevada’s Chance Kretschmer vs. SMU Rush Defense
Only twice has a freshman led the nation in rushing (although itlooks like this year there will be a third), and the other guy,Marshall Faulk, turned into a pretty good pro player.
In 2001, it was the calf roper turned tailback Kretschmer thatled the nation in rushing despite not receiving a scholarship untilthe middle of that season.
Since that fantastic debut, Kretschmer has battled a blown kneeand inconsistent line play, as his numbers have been slightlydown.
This season has been the full return of the player America sawas a freshman. Kretschmer is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and hasfound the end zone seven times despite splitting time in thebackfield with two other runners.
Bennett attributes the ground attack to a throwback system offootball. “They run a wing-T package which you justdon’t see at the college level anymore, as well as a lot ofI-formation,” Bennett said.
To combat this, SMU needs a similar performance from their frontfour as they had against Tulsa. Sophomore defensive end JustinRogers not only had two and a half of SMU’s four sacks, buthe led a group that did a great job against the run.
Tulsa ran for over 200 yards in each of their last three games,but SMU’s defensive line got penetration all day and held theGolden Hurricane under the century mark at 98 yards rushing a statthat made Coach Bennett very happy.
“Our defensive line was a huge factor,” Bennettsaid, “And to hold them to under 100 yards was a greateffort.”
Bennett signaled out sophomore defensive tackle Desmond Jonesfor a particularly good game that included a blocked fieldgoal.
If SMU can get the same kind of effort up front and holdKrestchmer to less than 100 yards Mustang fans will have somethingto celebrate.
X-Factors
SMU’s Jamey Harper
Big time players make big time plays in big time games andjunior defensive back Jamey Harper’s interception on the goalline in overtime was key in what amounted to a huge win for theMustangs against Tulsa.
Harper had nine tackles to lead the team and the interception inovertime, a play that Bennett attributes to Harper’s pre-snapread.
“Jamey said that when he saw they were in 3-1 [receiverformation] he knew they were coming on a crossing route,”Bennett said, “And he baited the quarterback into throwingthat ball.”
The Atlanta, Tex. has been huge all season as he leads the teamin tackles with 65 and his big hits have changed momentum manytimes. Look for Harper to be in on a ton of plays and if he cancome up with another turnover it could be the key to success forSMU.
Nevada’s Nichiren Flowers
Flowers is the go-to-guy for the Wolf Pack as he leads the teamwith 66 receptions for 867 yards on the year. The 6-foot-3-inch,210-pound speedster is in his third year starting for Wolf Pack andposes a matchup for the Mustangs much like Reggie Harrell at TCUdid with similar size and speed.
Flowers is a flat out athletic marvel who was also an All-Leagueselection in basketball at Tulare (CA) High School. If the Mustangslet Flowers run wild it will be a long day on the Hilltop.
Inside the Wolf Pack
Second Coming
It’s not very often that a school like Nevada can hire acoach that is already in the College Football Hall of Fame.It’s even less likely that they find that person alreadyworking for the school.
Chris Ault returned to the sidelines this season after servingsolely as Nevada’s athletic director for the last nine years.He brings with him a career record of 168-67 that makes him thewinningest coach in school and Big Sky Conference history (whenNevada was still Division I-AA).
What it has meant for the Wolf Pack program has been impressive.Last season’s team under Chris Tormey was plagued byinconsistency and off the field problems.
Ault has instilled a higher level of discipline while stillkeeping things fun for his players. There have been no arrests andplayers that skip class have been suspended immediately, butpractices have been shortened and spirits are up.
His innovative offensive scheme is starting to click with hisplayers as they have run off three victories in a row. Ault hasalso reinvigorated the base in Reno as attendance has risen by 20%with the only name opponent visiting Reno yet to come in, old rivalBoise St.
Inside the Mustangs
Gaining Ground
SMU had one of its best days of the year on the ground againstthe Golden Hurricane, rumbling for 189 yards on the ground on 45carries.
Coach Bennett said that one of the keys was the defense’searly play that allowed SMU to jump out to an early lead.
“We have to keep the game in the balance ondefense,” Bennett said, “So [offensive coordinator]Rusty [Burns] doesn’t have to go out on a limb to make uppoints.”
Obviously it’s easier to stick with the run game if upearly and not having to call as many passes, but it wasn’tthe only reason for SMU’s increased output on the ground.
Senior running back Foy Munlin ran hard all day and fought forhis 60 yards. Junior quarterback Jerad Romo came in and ran for 32yards on a series of quarterback runs and option looks thatfeatured both quarterbacks on the field. Freshman running backCedrick Dorsey was the big difference though as he came off thebench and exploded for 94 yards on only 10 carries.
Dorsey also provided the game-winning touchdown in overtime ason the first offensive play for the Mustangs he took it 25 yards tothe house.
If the Mustangs can get the same kind of output from its runningattack, it should open up play-action passing downfield and allowSMU to put up the same kind of points as it did last weekend ingetting 41 against Tulsa.
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye…Well, NotReally
This is SMU’s final scheduled test against Nevada, as theWolf Pack will remain in the WAC as the Mustangs gallop off toConference USA.
SMU isn’t sad about this turn of events as Nevada has wonthree straight, including a 12-9 win last season, to take a 3-1series lead. SMU tries to reverse the current trend with the WolfPack and get its first winning streak of the year at 5 p.m.,Saturday in Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
