Southern Miss 28, GGSM{SMU} 12

It looks like it will be a long off-season on the SMU campus.

After giving up an early touchdown, the Mustangs held it close, trailing only 7-6 at halftime, but Southern Miss broke it open with three touchdowns at the end of the third quarter and the first play of the fourth quarter.

SMU QB Bo Levi Mitchell was 26-49 for 253 yards, giving him 2865 yards for the season, 21st in the nation. Not too shabby for a true freshman. Of course he threw two more interceptions to bring his nation leading total to 23. And only 13 QBs were sacked more often than his 26. On the bright side, his numbers on the season are not too dissimilar from Minnesota's Adam Weber's freshman season last year. His Gophers were also 1-11, but then this season he led them to a 7-1 (before losing their last 4, but I'll ignore that for now).

June Jones didn't beat a Division I-A team this year in his first season at SMU. Quite a fall from his 12-1 Hawai`i team last season, but considering that he was building on an SMU team that also finished 1-11. Hm, although now that I look more closely, Jones's passing attack only increased the Mustang's from 252.1 passing yards per game to 272.9. However, the more dramatic chase was in the lack of the running game. In 2007, the Mustangs rushed for 170.4 yards per game, led by QB Justin Willis, who carried 180 times for 699 yards and three touchdowns. In 2008, the entire team rushed only 217 teams for 497 yards and three touchdowns. Their 41.4 yards per game were last of the 120 teams in the country and less than half of the 117th team.

There was one bright spot for the Mustangs in this last game of the season. Senior Jessie Henderson returned four kickoffs for a total of 64 yards. This gave him 2,945 career kickoff return yards which established a new NCAA record.

And one more bright spot, an SMU freshman defensive back got his first career interception. I mention it because of his name: Chris Banjo.

Oh, on a nonshameful side note, Southern Miss's punter/kicker has a wonderful name for a kicker: Britt Barefoot.

The 2008 season ends with the SMU losing 21 straight to non-Division I-A teams and 10 straight games overall. But there's something about them that prevents me from trying to pile on. Or at least makes me feel bad about it. Here's to a excellent spring practice, SMU!

UTEP 36, GGSM{SMU} 10

Another not-so-fun night for SMU. The Mustangs did get a 40-yard return of the opening kickoff and 19 yards on their first drive, SMU punted giving UTEP the ball on the 15. Not so bad. But then UTEP's QB Trevor Vittatoe threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Kris Adams on their first play. The Miners didn't look back. Vittatoe finished 21-31 for 410 yards and three touchdowns, all three of those went to Adams. They should have thrown to him more often as he only caught 5 passes for 145 yards. These were the only three touchdowns UTEP had, but Jose Martinez did kick five field goals.

SMU's passing game was not firing on all cylinders. Bo Levi Mitchell was only 9 of 24 for 85 yards and threw two interceptions. His replacement, Logan Turner actually did worse in this respects going 4 of 12 for 42 yards, also with two interceptions, but he did throw a 27-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. SMU also fumbled twice for a total of six turnovers. Mitchell's 23 interceptions this season are the most in the nation.

SMU has one last chance to get June Jones his first win over a I-A team this season in two weeks when Southern Miss comes to town.

Middle Tennessee State 21, OSM{Western Kentucky} 10

All in all, it seems from the box score, this was a pretty even game. MTSU had 18 first downs, WKU had 17. Each team committed two turnovers. Each team attempted 30 passes, MTSU completed 19, WKU 18, but WKU had 213 yards to MTSU's 212. MTSU did run the ball 8 more times than the Hilltoppers, but they only averaged 2.5 yards per carry compared to WKU's 2.1. Is it possible that the field position game won by the MTSU punter David DeFatta 6 times for 46.7 yards per punt compared to WKU's Jeremy Moore's 34.6 yards per punt on 5 punts? I don't know.

Western Kentucky now has two weeks off before they travel to Miami to face Shame Mask favorite Florida International. FIU however is 4-5 so far this season.

Memphis 31, GGSM{SMU} 26

Another tough loss for SMU. True freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell had a career high 5 yards rushing, but that one rush carried quite a price. He injured his shoulder on their second quarter field goal drive, knocking him out of the game. He finished 5-7 for 83, including a 53-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders. Backup QB Logan Turner, also a freshman, played well, completing 19-31 for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

Although the Mustangs never led in the game, they trailed by only one at halftime 14-13, and at the end of the third quarter 21-20. However, Memphis was able to score a quick touchdown and then run down the clock on a key 10-play, 77-yard field goal drive to get some insurance points in the fourth quarter. Logan Turneer did rally SMU on a quick touchdown drive with 44 seconds left, but they were unable to recover the onside kick and were forced to watch Memphis run out the clock.

SMU tries to end their 19-game I-A losing streak next week at UTEP.

Troy 17, OSM{Western Kentucky} 7

Not much fun for Western Kentucky on their trip to Troy. Troy got a 58-yard TD pass 40 seconds into the game, but Western Kentucky stood strong and never let the game get out of hand, though.

The most interesting thing to me was that in a game in which the team threw for only 95 yards, four different Hilltoppers completed at least one pass. Starting QB David Wolke was only 3-8 and injured his back in the first quarter. Backup Brandon Smith was 10-22, but the highlight was his 20 yard TD run for WKU's only score. Running back Dexter Taylor threw twice, completing one of them for two yards, and even the punter Jeremy Moore got into the act, completing a 5-yard pass on 4th and 7.

Up next for the Hilltoppers, Middle Tennessee State comes up to Bowling Green.

OSM{North Texas} 51, Western Kentucky 40

It was a wild game at Western Kentucky, but the be-Shame-Masked North Texas managed to finally get rid of that dreaded mask with their first win of the season.

WKU drew first blood with a 5-yard TD run from QB David Wolke two minutes into the game. Wolke would lead the Hilltoppers with 178 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. I would throw for 190 yards and 2 TDs, but he did throw 3 INTs.

It took North Texas two minutes to respond with a 38 yard TD run from QB Giovanni Vizza. Vizza unfortunately totalled only 34 yards on his seven carries, but he did through four TD passes against only one interception.

But, WKU struck back 28 seconds later with a 62-yard TD pass. North Texas however scored two touchdowns in the span of a 1:42 to take a 21-14 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter.

However, in the third quarter, WKU scored three touchdowns, including two in the span of only 18 seconds, to take a 34-31 lead into the wild fourth quarter.

North Texas began the fourth with an 18-yard TD pass, but the PAT was blocked, and so their lead was only 37-34. Five minutes later, WKU's David Wolke scored his second rushing TD, but their PAT was also blocked, and North Texas managed to return it for a defensive two-point conversion so that WKU's lead was only 40-39. With two minutes remaining, North Texas scored a 27-yard TD pass to go up 45-40, and then in one final display of craziness, North Texas returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play.

This ends North Texas's 9 game losing streak, which was tied for the longest in the nation.

Western Kentucky, the newest I-A team, is still technically "reclassifying" and is only 2-7 this season with both wins over I-AA schools. This was their eleventh straight loss to a I-A opponent. They play at Troy next week.

Troy 45, OSM{North Texas} 17

Let's see, North Texas did participate in causing Troy to miss three PATs.

Okay, that's about it. Troy forced two turnovers and scored 15 points in the first quarter and never looked back.

And strangely, this is not the worst headlines to come out of Denton, TX, this week. "I don't think we have a problem with drugs, but I will say that it's every coach's prerogative to test his team," North Texas head coach Todd Dodge said. "It's a great tool to help players stay away from drugs and temptations. When I talked to my team about drug testing all of them, I told them that if there was one young man on our team who secretly needed help, if it saved one young man from getting in trouble or ending up dead, then it is worth it." This was according to the Denton Record-Chronicle article that said that of the 86 players tested earlier in the season, 15 failed.

The Mean Green next hits the field against Western Kentucky on Saturday.

Navy 34, GGSM{SMU} 7

Generally, in a football game, the plan goes like this. Score points to take the lead, and then run the ball to kill the clock and go home a winner. Navy did just this on Saturday about as well as a team can against SMU. In a driving rainstorm, the passing attack of SMU got bogged down with an interception on the third play. Three rushes later, Navy was in the end zone. After two more incomplete SMU passes and a rush for -1 yard, Navy got the ball back and started running again. Second string QB Jarrod Bryant had started the previous two games after starter Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was injured, but Bryant was on a 20-yard run on the second drive. Okay, send in third stringer sophomore Ricky Dobbs. Dobbs went on to carry the ball 42 times for 224 yards and 4 touchdowns. Not too shabby. In fact, under his direction, Navy's ground game was so solid, that he did not even attempt a pass. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo's Navy was the first I-A team in 11 years to not attempt a single pass in a game. Ten different Midshipmen rushed at least once, and together they amassed 404 yards on 77 carries. And they outrushed SMU by 417 yards because the team known in the 1980s as the "Pony Express" left Annapolis with thirteen fewer yards rushing than they came with. Navy won the time of possession battle 42:32 to 17:28.

SMU now has a week off before hosting Memphis on November 8.

Shame Mask Congratulations

Idaho won a game! Idaho won a game! Idaho won a game!

After taking a early lead thanks to Princeton McCarty's 54-yard TD run, the Idaho Vandals allowed New Mexico State two second quarter touchdown passes. However, this time, Idaho decided to rally. They tied the game just before halftime with a 3-yard TD pass from Nathan Enderle to Daniel Hardy. The low scoring second half saw only two field goals, but luckily for the Vandals, both came from the toe of Tino Amancio and thus Idaho beat their first I-A team since October 14, 2006, a span of 23 games. Congratulations!

By my count, this makes SMU's 18-game losing streak to I-A teams the current longest.

Houston 44, GGSM{SMU} 38

Argh! The Mustangs came agonizingly close to giving June Jones his first victory over a I-A team, only to let it slip away at the end. SMU jumped out to an early lead thanks to two TD drives led by freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell, who scored his first career rushing touchdown near the end of the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Mitchell had his best game in college, going 29-39 for 375 yards and 4 TDs against only two interceptions, and he added a carreer high 3 yards rushing.

Houston cut the lead in half, ending the second quarter trailing only 21-14. However, the could only manage a touchdown and field goal in the third quarter against two more TD passes from Mitchell, including a 70-yarder to Aldrick Robinson, the leading receiver in the nation, on the final play of the quarter. Thus, with fifteen minutes left, the Mustangs were up 35-23.

After trading punts to open the fourth, Houston's Casey Keenum started his rally. A quick Cougar touchdown was countered by an SMU field goal, but then Keenum led Houston quickly down the field, covering 60 yards in just five plays, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Bryce Beall with 2:34 left. SMU now lead just 38-36, but they were able to successfully stop the game tying two point conversion. Unfortunately, they could only run 12 seconds off the clock on their next drive, which left Keenum plenty of time to complete his second TD pass of the game with 24 seconds left. Keenum's 404 yards were a season high for the nation's second leading passer. He has thrown for at least 360 yards in all seven games this season.

Next up for SMU is a game of contrasting styles. SMU takes their second worst in the nation rushing attack into Annapolis where Navy boasts the fourth best. On the other hand, SMU is seventh in the nation in passing, whereas Navy is next-to-last. Could this be the breakthrough the Mustangs need? They've lost 17 straight against I-A opponents.

Louisiana-Monroe 35, OSM{North Texas} 23

North Texas started Saturday's game just about as well as possible, stuffing Louisiana-Monroe's 3rd and 1 to force a three-and-out followed by a 27-yard punt on the games initial drive. After getting a first down, the Mean Green also had to punt. Then the Louisiana Warhawks stepped on the gas. Their other three first quarter drives ended in a 54-yard TD run from QB Kinsmon Lancaster, a 69-yard TD pass from Lancaster to Luther Ambrose, and a 49-yard run from Rodney Lovett. Lancaster added a 5-yard TD run early in the second quarter. Lancaster finished 12-21 for 171 yards and the one TD and carried the ball 10 times for 95 yards and two TDs.

To the credit, North Texas after falling behind 28-0 early in the second quarter did not roll over. Far from it. QB Giovanni Vizza engineered several long drives, including a 17-play field goal drive following Lancaster's TD run. His final two drives resulted in touchdown passes to cut the lead to 35-23, making this the Mean Green's closest loss of the season. Vizza's 37 completions, 61 attempts, and 362 yards were all season highs.

This was North Texas's eighth straight loss, the longest such streak in the nation. Next week, they welcome Sun Belt co-leader Troy to Denton.