The proverbial crystal ball continues to get cloudier for theSMU football team.
Immediately after the Boise State Broncos stampeded the Mustangs45-3 on Saturday at Ford Stadium, head coach Phil Bennett met withsophomore quarterbacks Richard Bartel and Tate Wallis. Afterwards,Bartel made the decision to leave the team and Wallis decided tostay on as a backup.
So what does Bennett see in the crystal ball? Somewhere insidethat plume of smoke is the picture of true freshman, ChrisPhillips. Phillips will get his first ever start on Saturday forthe Mustangs (0-7, 0-4) when they take on Tulsa (3-4, 1-2).
All the cards are stacked against Phillips and the Mustangs forSaturday’s matchup against Tulsa.
SMU’s offense averages 9.7 points a game, and its defensesurrenders 32.7 points. Tulsa has three more victories than SMUthis season and has defeated a respectable opponent in Hawaii.Tulsa has the nation’s 24th best passing defense.
But the pressure isn’t solely on the offense. Thisweekend, the Mustangs will need a huge turnaround from theirdefense.
To beat Tulsa, the Mustang secondary will need to shut down twovery large men. The Hurricane’s two big receivers, RombyBryant at 6-feet-2-inches, 180 pounds, and Richard McQuillar at6-feet-3 inches, 200 pounds, are huge targets with blazing speed.The Mustang defensive backs will need to hold them from the deepball and take advantage of any bad throws by Hurricane quarterbackJames Kilian.
“Even though they’ve lost two games in a row, Ithink Tulsa is a vastly improved team, ” Bennett said.”They’ve found a quarterback that doesn’t make alot of mistakes.”
Tulsa head coach Steve Kragthorpe is also maintaining arespectful attitude.
“I think SMU has some excellent athletes,”Kragthorpe said. “Keylon Kincade is one of the premierrunning backs, not only in the WAC, but in the country. He’splaying good football right now.”
Kincade has been a consistent rusher for the Mustangs thisseason. He’s had four 100-yard outings this season, totaling13 on his career. If the offensive line can control the line ofscrimmage, Kincade could once again put up big numbers. Not onlywould that help the Mustangs pace the game, but it would help toopen up play-action passes. Phillips is said to have a strong andaccurate arm, so should the offensive coaches decide to call deeproutes, Phillips might see some open receivers.
The crystal ball has been polished. The cards have been shuffledand dealt. The palms are face up and prepared to be read. What willBennett’s role as a fortune-teller do for the game onSaturday?
“If you watch the games, I think it’s very obviousthat it’s some of our younger kids that are making the plays,and I want to give Chris an opportunity to be a part of that.I’m playing him because I think he gives us the best chanceto win now,” Bennett said.
Kickoff against the Golden Hurricane is at 2 p.m. on Saturday atSkelly Stadium in Tulsa.