SMU Mustangs vs. UCF Knights Football Preview

Mustangs still seek that elusive 2nd victory of the season

Date: Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007, 2 p.m. Central

Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000); Dallas

No Television

Season Records: SMU 1-9, 0-6 C- USA / UCF 7-3, 5-1 C- USA

The Series: 0-0

Injuries/personnel report

SMU:

- offensive guard Tommy Poynter (ankle) – out for season

- safety David Haynes (knee) – out for season

- defensive end Cory Muse (leg) – out

- defensive tackle Charlie Berry (shoulder) - out

- safety Bryce Hudman (unknown) – questionable

- safety De’Von Bailey (unknown) - questionable

- running back Cedrick Dorsey (uknown) - unknown

- running back James Mapps (unknown) – unknown

UCF:

- no info

SMU vs. UCF Overview

Here’s how close SMU came to winning this time: The clock showed 0:00 in the fourth quarter with the Mustangs up, 42-40. SMU players and coaches jubilantly stormed the field.

But quicker than you can say “Terry Bowden,” officials ordered one second back on the clock. That’s right, one stinkin’ second - with the Owls sitting on SMU’s 14-yard-line.

Ball game, right? … Hell, yes, it’s ball game!

Rice's game-winning field goal heads toward the uprights as time expires, sealing SMU's eighth straight loss.

For SMU fans who dared to watch, there was one last twist of the knife coming. On the 31-yard kick, the ball barely eased through the uprights, inches from the left post.

Afterward, SMU head coach Phil Bennett, who disputed that the Owls got a timeout called in time, called the whole episode “brutal.”

Four of SMU’s six conference losses have been decided in overtime or during the final minute of regulation. The Mustangs had double-digit leads in all four.

A couple years ago at a media gathering, I asked former Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Blackistone what it was going to take for SMU to win again. “An exorcism,” he said.

Geez. Could it be? How the heck would we market that?

Next up for SMU is a mighty tall order: the East-leading UCF Golden Knights, who are riding a four-game win streak and have their sights set on hosting a second conference championship game in three years.

“We’ve got a big challenge coming up,” Bennett said Tuesday. “We’ve got quite a few guys that won’t be able to finish the season and we’re getting ready to face a very good UCF team.”

The Knights’ three losses have come against then-No. 6 Texas, 35-32, at then-No. 5 USF, 64-12, and at ECU, 52-38.

Playing FBS-level (Division I-A) for only 12 years, UCF has found success, going to the Hawaii Bowl in ’05 and becoming bowl-eligible again this year. (Oh, yeah? Try it with a satanic demon inside you.)

Head coach George O’Leary has a 19-27 record in his fourth year at UCF, and his overall head coaching mark is 71-60.

Prior to UCF, O’Leary was a Minnesota Vikings assistant and prior to that - Notre Dame’s head coach for one week in December of ‘01. He was fired after resume discrepancies about his education and playing experience surfaced.

O’Leary was hired at UCF in 2004 by current SMU AD Steve Orsini, who, ironically, is now searching for a new SMU coach. Will Orsini’s man have “fallen-from-grace” baggage? Will SMU allow it?

Now - back to the game!

UCF Offense vs. SMU Defense

Advantage: UCF

SMU’s injury-depleted defense needs to see UCF running back Kevin Smith right now like I need to post up Dirk Nowitzki. Smith (6-1, 211) has stormed for 1,768 yards and 22 touchdowns this season and comes off a school-record 320-yard effort at UAB.

Linebacker Will Bonilla leads SMU with 68 stops on the year.

SMU Offense vs. UCF Defense

Advantage: UCF

First, the good news: SMU’s running game showed spark last week, rolling for 320 yards. DeMyron Martin rambled for 137 yards, including 115 in the first quarter. It was his biggest output this year and the second highest mark of his career. (Martin stung the Owls for 171 yards in 2005.)

DeMyron Martin rushed for 137 yards against the Owls, his biggest day since his career-high mark of 171 yards against Rice in 2005.

Freshman Chris Butler, in for injured James Mapps, looked good on six carries for 64 yards, including his first career touchdown, a tough, one-yard push that gave SMU a 42-27 lead.

Justin Willis’ four touchdown passes upped his school-record mark to 47, as he finished 13-31 for 165 yards. (Willis had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, though one tipped off the receiver’s hands.)

Wideout Zack Sledge followed up his two-TD performance at Houston with three scoring catches against Rice. Emmanuel Sanders 15 th career touchdown pass tied him with Ron Morris (1983-86) for fourth place all-time at SMU.

Now, some bad: UCF’s D will be day-and-night from Rice’s outfit.

The Knights have the third best rushing defense in the league (141.6 ypg) and its scoring defense is second (29.7). (SMU’s offense in eighth in scoring, at 26.8). UCF’s pass D is fifth (232.1 ypg).

Safety Sha’reff Rashad leads the Knights with 73 tackles. Corner Joe Burnett’s nine career interceptions is tops in UCF’s FBS era.

SMU vs. UCF Special Teams

Advantage: UCF

Morstead missed field goals of 49 and 46 yards against Rice. (One hit the left upright, the same post Rice’s game-winner cleared by inches. Hmmm … Get the priest.)

On the year, Morstead is 10-17, including 2-3 from 50+ yards and 0-3 from 40-49 yards.

UCF senior kicker Michael Torres’ mark is 13-15 and he’s second in the league with 1.44 field goals per game. Torres has a current PAT streak of 60. (Morstead’s school-record PAT streak is now at 68.)

Morstead’s 44.2 yards per punt still leads C-USA. UCF freshman punter Blake Clingan averages 40.8 yards per attempt.

SMU kick returner Jessie Henderson averages 20 yards per return and UCF’s Curtis Francis’ average is 28.9.

Burnett, UCF’s all-time leading punt returner with 721 yards, averages 13 yards per return. Sanders’ 33-yard punt return for SMU last week was his career long. He averages 9.83 yards per try.

Intangibles

Advantage: UCF

Though it’s the final home game for SMU’s seniors, and for Bennett, the Mustangs are still beat up, and UCF appears focused on hosting the conference championship again.

SMU vs. UCF Prediction

Though the valiant Mustangs give another fine effort, the Knights are the toughest team - after Texas Tech - on SMU’s schedule.

UCF 41 - SMU 20

Quotable Bennett

• On his last home game: “I don’t have time to be sentimental. I’m pretty black and white. The decision has been and we’ve just got to go out and play. We want to do more than compete. We want to win.”

SMU Football - Did you know?

• SMU is the most penalized team in C-USA, averaging 72.8 yards per game. The Mustangs were flagged 13 times for 129 yards against Rice.

• SMU has won its last three home finales: Nevada in ’04, UTEP in ’05, and Tulsa in ’06.

• Linebacker Wilton McCray is SMU’s leading active career tackler with 267 stops, (146 solo.)

• The Rice-SMU game was the highest combined scoring game in Ford Stadium’s eight-year history, (85 points).