If you had told most Mustangs fans that we would go into the TCU game with a record of 2-1, they would have been happy. If you had told them that the Mustang defense would have dramatically improved, they would have been happy. Nevertheless, Mustang fans seem ready to throw in the towel due to the injuries to Davis/Colbert and Hicks’ struggles with TO’s – particularly in the Red Zone.
Nevertheless, the stats suggest that hope is not unreasonable. ¼ of the way through the season, the stats (except turnovers and redzone scoring) suggest progress has been made.
1) SMU is ranked 3rd in the AAC and 28th in the FBS in total offense.
2) Despite Hicks’ struggles, total offense is virtually identical to 2015 (1,472 v. 1464)
3) Opposing offensive production is down by 473 yards (223 rushing + 250 passing).
4) Points scored against is down 20 ppg over our 2015 season average
5) Although our team defense ranking (83rd) leaves room for an improvement, it is up significantly from our 119th place ranking in 2015.
6) Despite Hicks’ INT’s, we are tied for 21st in the country in TO margin.
Bottom Line: We have to get Touchdowns in the Redzone and Hicks needs to play better. If we get better QB play, we’ll compete for 6 wins. Hopefully, Hicks (who has proven to be a tough competitor) will figure it out.
