SMU won the Conference USA West division in 2010 with a mark of 6-2. Nevertheless they'd go on to be defeated by Central Florida in the championship game and were beaten by Army in the Armed Forces Bowl to finish the year with 7-7 overall. Not surprisingly, they couldn't to protect their division championship as they ended up just 3rd with a 5-3 conference mark and 8-5 overall.
Head coach June Jones has to feel unhappy with how poorly his squad played against top competition. Things look desperate moving forward as they only have 10 starters coming back. They've still got some important parts coming back to get back on top of the West, but a lot of things have to go right in order to do it.
Offense:
The Mustangs lose starting QB J.J. McDermott, who won the job from Kyle Patron in the early part of the year. McDermott threw for 3,421 yards and 17 TDs, but the 16 picks actually forced the offense to struggle at times. Texas transfer Garrett Gilbert is anticipated to start right away, and he's got the opportunity to stand out in the much weaker conference.
Gilbert will have no issues adapting to his new school, as he has got a top running back in 1st Team All-C USA Zack Line to pass to. Line led the league with 1,224 yards and 17 scores. He also averaged a powerful 5.9 yards/carry on 208 carries.
The return of senior wide receiver Darius Johnson will also benefit Gilbert as he led the team with 1,118 yards and 8 scores on 79 receptions. He was certainly one of the best wide outs in the league last season. They lose Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson, but they are thrilled to see what sophomore Der'rikk Thompson can do in a larger role.
Their largest concern on offense is at the offensive line where they have to replace 5 starters. Their only legit starter is senior Blake McJunkin, who was compelled to utilize a medical redshirt due to a season ending injury in the 1st game. This unit is so inexperienced that they only have 34 career starts returning, matched against the NCAA-best 158 they had last season.
Defense:
Last year the team had debatably the best defensive line in the conference, as they held their C-USA enemies to just 98 yards/game on the ground. With the loss of 1st Team All-C-USA defensive end Taylor Thompson and 2nd Team All-C-USA defensive tackle Marquis Frazier, it is possible that they'll struggle to match those rushing stats this season. They have senior nose tackle Torlan Pittman returning, but the player to truly keep a watch on is senior defensive end Margus Hunt. He has truly come on to his very own after first grabbing the pigskin and playing organised football in 2009.
While the Mustangs lose two key pieces up front on the defensive line, they're completely stacked at linebacker. Southern Methodist returns a pair of 2nd Team All-C-USA linebackers in Taylor Reed and Ja'Gared Davis, they also get back starting strong-side linebacker Stephon Sanders and BUCK linebacker Cameron Rogers.
The Mustangs lose two-time 1st Team C-USA corner Richard Crawford and gifted free safety Chris Banjo. They do get back strong safety Ryan Smith and corner Kenneth Acker. They also are anticipated to start junior college transfer Daniel Roundtree at free safety. They still have the opportunity to post up better numbers this year as they have all 4 starters returning at linebacker.
Conference USA Prophecy - 3rd West Division
Southern Methodist is in a delicate situation as they are projected to complete 3rd due to how robust the West is at the top. Tulsa and Houston are a little before the Mustangs in the projected rankings, and that's because they lack experience on the offensive line. The schedule appears to favor Houston and Tulsa also , because they draw only one of the top 3 groups in the East, while SMU is forced to play both Central Florida and Southern Miss.
Head coach June Jones has to feel unhappy with how poorly his squad played against top competition. Things look desperate moving forward as they only have 10 starters coming back. They've still got some important parts coming back to get back on top of the West, but a lot of things have to go right in order to do it.
Offense:
The Mustangs lose starting QB J.J. McDermott, who won the job from Kyle Patron in the early part of the year. McDermott threw for 3,421 yards and 17 TDs, but the 16 picks actually forced the offense to struggle at times. Texas transfer Garrett Gilbert is anticipated to start right away, and he's got the opportunity to stand out in the much weaker conference.
Gilbert will have no issues adapting to his new school, as he has got a top running back in 1st Team All-C USA Zack Line to pass to. Line led the league with 1,224 yards and 17 scores. He also averaged a powerful 5.9 yards/carry on 208 carries.
The return of senior wide receiver Darius Johnson will also benefit Gilbert as he led the team with 1,118 yards and 8 scores on 79 receptions. He was certainly one of the best wide outs in the league last season. They lose Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson, but they are thrilled to see what sophomore Der'rikk Thompson can do in a larger role.
Their largest concern on offense is at the offensive line where they have to replace 5 starters. Their only legit starter is senior Blake McJunkin, who was compelled to utilize a medical redshirt due to a season ending injury in the 1st game. This unit is so inexperienced that they only have 34 career starts returning, matched against the NCAA-best 158 they had last season.
Defense:
Last year the team had debatably the best defensive line in the conference, as they held their C-USA enemies to just 98 yards/game on the ground. With the loss of 1st Team All-C-USA defensive end Taylor Thompson and 2nd Team All-C-USA defensive tackle Marquis Frazier, it is possible that they'll struggle to match those rushing stats this season. They have senior nose tackle Torlan Pittman returning, but the player to truly keep a watch on is senior defensive end Margus Hunt. He has truly come on to his very own after first grabbing the pigskin and playing organised football in 2009.
While the Mustangs lose two key pieces up front on the defensive line, they're completely stacked at linebacker. Southern Methodist returns a pair of 2nd Team All-C-USA linebackers in Taylor Reed and Ja'Gared Davis, they also get back starting strong-side linebacker Stephon Sanders and BUCK linebacker Cameron Rogers.
The Mustangs lose two-time 1st Team C-USA corner Richard Crawford and gifted free safety Chris Banjo. They do get back strong safety Ryan Smith and corner Kenneth Acker. They also are anticipated to start junior college transfer Daniel Roundtree at free safety. They still have the opportunity to post up better numbers this year as they have all 4 starters returning at linebacker.
Conference USA Prophecy - 3rd West Division
Southern Methodist is in a delicate situation as they are projected to complete 3rd due to how robust the West is at the top. Tulsa and Houston are a little before the Mustangs in the projected rankings, and that's because they lack experience on the offensive line. The schedule appears to favor Houston and Tulsa also , because they draw only one of the top 3 groups in the East, while SMU is forced to play both Central Florida and Southern Miss.