pony in NC
New Member
Looking forward to watching a good game on saturday. My idiot friend is getting married that evening, and my groomsman duties will unfortunately not allow me to fly down to see it. But I should be good and drunk by 3:30 to watch it on tv. My first Iron Skillet game was in 1997, when your lowly, winless frogs destroyed my ponies and our hopes for a bowl game. Throughout both undergrad and law school at SMU, I never missed a game.
A little bit of info on our season so far that you may already know-
QB - Padron was taken out of the A&M game after throwing 2 picks on his first four attempts, and was replaced by Senior JJ McDermott (JJMcD). He is a transfer from NMSt., recommended to June Jones by Hal Mumme. JJMcD doesn't have the arm strength or mobility of Padron, but he makes better decisions in the pocket and seems to have a calmer demeanor. If you ask most fans, they prefer Padron. The TCU game is a big test and it should be interesting to see how this shakes out as JJMcD hasn't really played against a top rated defense. Wins against Memphis, UTEP and NW ST. aren't really a measuring stick. I think a few HS teams could give Memphis a tough game. Might see Padron come in early if JJMcD struggles.
RB - Two words that inspire fear in any defense...Zach Line. Kid is an absolute beast at 6'2", 240. Good enough speed, shifty feet and brings the wood. If you can stretch him out, you have a better chance at stopping him. When he gets vertical, he's a load. June Jones only has a few running plays - a simple draw (which you will see most of the time) and a pistol formation. But it works. Line is also a great pass blocker, which Jones usually prefers over smaller, quicker rbs. Line has a seperated shoulder, but still has 11 tds so far and will be wearing kevlar to protect himself. Backups are untested.
WRs- Our top WR, Cole Beasley, will be out for this game with a sprained MCL. He is JJMcD's safety blanket, so the loss is big. Darius Johnson plays slot and has great hands. Terrance Wilkerson is a senior who's back this year after academic issues. Provides leadership but already has 2 lost fumbles and more than his share of drops. Younger guys will have to step up for this game, namely Der'rick Thompson and Jeremy Johnson. We haven't hit on the big pass plays yet this year, so expect lots of check downs and bubble screens.
O-Line - 5 returning starters have most starts as a group in the country. If we were ever going to be able to handle a GP defense, this would seem to be the year. Kelvin Beachum had an injury during the Memphis game, but should be good to go for TCU.
Defense - Sitting at #10 in the country right now, but our last 3 games were against horrible offenses. We've had trouble generating turnovers, but expect a heavy dose of blitzes with LB's JaGared Davis and Taylor Reed. Our front 3 will rotate Taylor Thompson (he will play on sundays), Torlan Pittman, Marquis Frazier and Margus Hunt. Secondary really misses Sterling Moore (NFL), but Richard Crawford has stepped up as the top corner. Safety Banjo is good runstuffer but can get beat deep on long pass.
ST - If you saw our attempted onside kick against A&M, you know everything you need to know about our special teams. Hunt is always a factor on FGs or extra points, so expect a possible blocked kick. But our kicker is untested, and our kickoff/punt coverage is atrocious as you remember from last year when Kerley killed our comeback hopes. SMU can't afford any ST miscues against TCU.
Hoping for a good game with no injuries...wish I could be there. Congrats on the new stadium. I know realignment talk is controlling the message boards these days, but it is nice to be able to talk about a meaningful game. Did have one Q for you guys -- If Big East loses any combination of Louisville, Cincy, WVU, Rutgers, any chance Big East takes a look at raiding CUSA and taking UCF, ECU, UH and SMU? Seems to be a better fit than just adding the academies. I think BYU, Boise, Louisville get added to Big 12, but that's just speculation.
Pony Up
A little bit of info on our season so far that you may already know-
QB - Padron was taken out of the A&M game after throwing 2 picks on his first four attempts, and was replaced by Senior JJ McDermott (JJMcD). He is a transfer from NMSt., recommended to June Jones by Hal Mumme. JJMcD doesn't have the arm strength or mobility of Padron, but he makes better decisions in the pocket and seems to have a calmer demeanor. If you ask most fans, they prefer Padron. The TCU game is a big test and it should be interesting to see how this shakes out as JJMcD hasn't really played against a top rated defense. Wins against Memphis, UTEP and NW ST. aren't really a measuring stick. I think a few HS teams could give Memphis a tough game. Might see Padron come in early if JJMcD struggles.
RB - Two words that inspire fear in any defense...Zach Line. Kid is an absolute beast at 6'2", 240. Good enough speed, shifty feet and brings the wood. If you can stretch him out, you have a better chance at stopping him. When he gets vertical, he's a load. June Jones only has a few running plays - a simple draw (which you will see most of the time) and a pistol formation. But it works. Line is also a great pass blocker, which Jones usually prefers over smaller, quicker rbs. Line has a seperated shoulder, but still has 11 tds so far and will be wearing kevlar to protect himself. Backups are untested.
WRs- Our top WR, Cole Beasley, will be out for this game with a sprained MCL. He is JJMcD's safety blanket, so the loss is big. Darius Johnson plays slot and has great hands. Terrance Wilkerson is a senior who's back this year after academic issues. Provides leadership but already has 2 lost fumbles and more than his share of drops. Younger guys will have to step up for this game, namely Der'rick Thompson and Jeremy Johnson. We haven't hit on the big pass plays yet this year, so expect lots of check downs and bubble screens.
O-Line - 5 returning starters have most starts as a group in the country. If we were ever going to be able to handle a GP defense, this would seem to be the year. Kelvin Beachum had an injury during the Memphis game, but should be good to go for TCU.
Defense - Sitting at #10 in the country right now, but our last 3 games were against horrible offenses. We've had trouble generating turnovers, but expect a heavy dose of blitzes with LB's JaGared Davis and Taylor Reed. Our front 3 will rotate Taylor Thompson (he will play on sundays), Torlan Pittman, Marquis Frazier and Margus Hunt. Secondary really misses Sterling Moore (NFL), but Richard Crawford has stepped up as the top corner. Safety Banjo is good runstuffer but can get beat deep on long pass.
ST - If you saw our attempted onside kick against A&M, you know everything you need to know about our special teams. Hunt is always a factor on FGs or extra points, so expect a possible blocked kick. But our kicker is untested, and our kickoff/punt coverage is atrocious as you remember from last year when Kerley killed our comeback hopes. SMU can't afford any ST miscues against TCU.
Hoping for a good game with no injuries...wish I could be there. Congrats on the new stadium. I know realignment talk is controlling the message boards these days, but it is nice to be able to talk about a meaningful game. Did have one Q for you guys -- If Big East loses any combination of Louisville, Cincy, WVU, Rutgers, any chance Big East takes a look at raiding CUSA and taking UCF, ECU, UH and SMU? Seems to be a better fit than just adding the academies. I think BYU, Boise, Louisville get added to Big 12, but that's just speculation.
Pony Up
