Everything SFA fans need to know about the SMU Mustangs
After months of talking, weeks of predicting, and lame Saturday afternoons of South Park re-runs, College Football has made its way back to our television sets.
On Saturday, Stephen F. Austin will enter the season has the heavy underdog at SMU (FCS-FBS games don't have betting odds, but if they did...) but shouldn't be totally counted out as they look to vault themselves into the playoff conversation.
It will take a flawless game and a few unlikely bounces, but the Lumberjacks are not looking at the Mustangs from Dallas as anything more than an opponent to beat. With only a single other non-conference game in the season, SFA cannot afford to waste at-large notches in their postseason resume.
If you plan to make the trip to Dallas or simply watch on your flatscreen at home, here's what SFA fans should know about the team from University Park before Clint Conque's squad returns to action in the year 2017:
SMU head coach Chad Morris is a really, really good offensive mind -
If you've paid any attention to college football over the past few years, this one almost goes without saying. The product of Texas A&M coached the offense at Clemson for three seasons before making a move to the hilltop to replace the curiously departed June Jones at SMU.
When he arrived in Clemson, Morris was tied with Auburn offensive coordinator (now head coach) Gus Malzahn as the highest paid assistant in college football. As it turned out, the Tigers did not overpay. Morris was vital in transforming the Clemson program and laying the foundation for their national championship run earlier this year. Heisman runner up and NFL Draft pick of the Houston Texans told USA Today that Morris was a big part of his collegiate success.
“Chad Morris has had a huge impact on my life,” Watson said. “I still talk to him to this day. He’s like a father figure for me and a coach."
Morris worked similar magic at Tulsa, where he took over a putrid unit and made them one of the nation's best. He was named the top offensive coordinator in the country by Rivals in 2011.
At SMU, he took over a one-win team, doubled that number to two in his first year, and raised it to five a year ago. Now, with the groundwork laid, fans on the hilltop are expecting a breakthrough season in 2017. Anything shy of a bowl game will be seen by some as a disappointment.
Quietly, some SMU fans will also spend the season rooting for Texas A&M. There are rumors that Morris would be a prime candidate for the job in College Station if Kevin Sumlin cannot hold onto the reigns.
Courtland Sutton might be one of the best college football players in the country -
A remnant of June Jones' legacy, the Mustangs wide receiver is poised to enjoy a monster season in 2017. He wasn't heavily recruited and the schools who did take a look at the 6-foot-4 product of Brenham, Texas saw him as a defensive back.
Oh, how Courtland Sutton has proved them wrong. Projected by Sports Illustrated as the potential 14th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Sutton terrorized defenses last year to the tune of 76 receptions for 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had an opportunity to go professional at the conclusion of last season but remains committed to playing for Chad Morris as a junior in 2017.
Sutton actually started his Mustangs career as a safety but was quickly moved to wide receiver as a needed body. He actually played a handful of games for SMU's basketball team too, showing off his versitile athleticsm, but since returning from an injury in his freshman season, Sutton has found a home on the offensive side of the ball.
Sutton is large, fast, has ridiculous hands, and will be the best player on the field on Saturday. Jeff Byrd and SFA's defense will have their biggest test of the season in their first game.
They aren't a great run-stopping team, but SMU's front can get to the quarterback -
SMU's defense was anything but consistent in 2016. It will be one of the big areas of improvement, Mustangs fans hope, in the most recent version of this program. Even over Chad Morris' first couple seasons, though, the defensive front was a pain in the rear for quarterbacks on the opposing team.
In 2016, SMU opponents were sacked 29 times. That number was good enough to rank 37th in the nation and will probably grow significantly with much of that talent returning. Justin Lawler and Mason Gentry lead the group as seniors amd could each be a nightmare for Jake Blumrick on Saturday.
There could also be other talented players to emerge for the first time. As a freshman in 2016, Demerick Gary brought down opposing quarterbacks four time. Some expect him to develop into one of the team's stars a year later.
Regardless of who it is leading the charge, SFA will probably need to counter with a series of draws, screens, and rollouts. If it's any consolation, Blumrick, SFA's redshirt sophomore quarterback who won the backup competition (and thus will start in the absense of Foster Sawyer on Saturday) was known as a dual threat in high school.
He'll need all the mobility he can muster up in Gerald Ford Stadium.
Pounding the ball has been a recipe for success against SMU -
The Mustangs were next-to-last in the American Athletic Conference a year ago in rushing defense, allowing over 200 yards per contest on the ground. The Lumberjacks may not have the offensive line of AAC caliber, but they'll have an opportunity to take advantage of a very aggressive SMU defensive unit.
As we mentioned, SMU likes to get to the quarterback. SMU likes to take the ball away. When teams live and die by the big play, there are always opportunities for misdirection. The Lumberjacks' running attack will look significantly different in 2017 without Loren Easly. That doesn't mean they'll be any worse.
Kijana Amous will likely get the start and the senior who debuted a year ago as a junior college transfer was more than capable. Josh McGowen, one of the big stories from the spring season, will get opportunities to break big plays, as will Arkansas transfer Juan Day.
For the Lumberjacks to win this game, they'll need some breakout plays on the ground. The high-risk, high-reward style of SMU's defense should yield at least a few opportunities for SFA to draw blood.
Offensive line isn't a strong position group for them either -
Until meaningful games are played, nobody ever really knows what an offensive line is going to look like. There's only so much "live action" in practice to guage the competency of either individual players or the entire unit.
So, when we say that SMU's offensive line is far from the strength of their team, there's a big asterisk that should accompany that statement. Like SFA, we'll have to wait and see a bit.
But in 2016, SMU was not particularly talented in the offensive trenches. The Mustangs allowed 26 sacks and quarterback Ben Hicks (then a freshman) saw frequent pressure from opposing pass rushes. Chad Morris' offense was mediocre at best on the ground and averaged 163 yards per game.
Individual players, though, have shined. Evan Brown, the senior center, has been the heart and soul of the group and saw little competition for his job this offseason. He has started all but one of his 35 games since arriving in University Park and will be a fun matchup to watch battle SFA's young pass rushers.
Although, ultimately, SMU will be widely expected to roll the Lumberjacks, SFA has no plan to lie down in their season opener. And fans? Neither should you. Show up in bunches, root for the road team, and you just might be surprised with the outcome. Now you know everything you need to thoroughly enjoy the first taste of Lumberjacks football in 2017.