Southern Methodist Mustangs
Conference USA
It took a great effort from the defense on a goal-line stand for SMU to reach six wins and become bowl eligible. That was a huge win for the Mustangs against Tulsa during their final game of the season. Yet, do not be misled by the fact that SMU was battling for bowl eligibility on the last day of the year. This is not a bad team. When the schedule includes teams like Baylor, Texas A&M and TCU, any team in Conference USA would start off a bit slow.
2012 Record: 6-6, 5-3
Coach: June Jones
Coach Bowl Record: 6-3
Big Wins: 10/18 Houston (72-42), 11/24 Tulsa (35-27)
Bad Losses: 10/13 at Tulane (26-27), 11/3 at UCF (17-42)
Strengths:
Coach June Jones is not exactly known for his defensive teams, but the Mustangs do boost a very good run defense. With linebackers like Randall Joyner leading the way, the opposition has had plenty of trouble running against SMU this season. And most teams have trouble stopping running back Zach Line. Line is a bruiser of a back who rushed for 1,207 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012. The offense can be extremely explosive and it goes well beyond Line. This is a group that dropped 72 points on Houston. Darius Johnson is one of the best receivers around and Jeremy Johnson has had a great season. With Johnson & Johnson, quarterback Garrett Gilbert can put up some big numbers.
Weaknesses:
He can, but that does not mean he always does. Gilbert has been inconsistent at best. The offensive line rarely gives him the time to do much of anything. He has completed just 53.1 percent of his passes and thrown for 13 interceptions and 14 touchdowns. When the opposing pass rush is stymied, Gilbert has the talent to pick apart any secondary. There is only so much he can do without time though. Speaking of time to throw the ball, that is what the SMU defense will give their competition. Outside of defensive end Margus Hunt there is no consistent pass rush on this team. The team ranked dead last in the conference in sacks and tenth in pass defense. That was a huge problem in the pass heavy Conference USA and it will be a major concern in the bowl game too.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Zach Line, RB, 1,207 yards
Passing: Garrett Gilbert, QB, 2,730 yards
Receiving: Darius Johnson, WR, 747 yards
Tackles: Randall Joyner, LB, 89
Sacks: Margus Hunt, DE, 6.0
Interceptions: Randall Joyner, LB 3; Kenneth Acker, CB, 3
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 128.92 (96th in nation, 10th in conference)
Passing Offense: 237.25 (58, 6)
Total Offense: 366.17 (94, 9)
Scoring Offense: 29.50 (58, 7)
Rushing Defense: 129.08 (26, 2)
Pass Defense: 271.17 (103, 10)
Total Defense: 400.25 (63, 4)
Scoring Defense: 27.00 (57, 3)
Turnover Margin: 1.00 (14, 1)
Sacks: 1.42 (97, 12)
Sacks Allowed: 2.42 (90, 6)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2011 Compass Bowl Pittsburg (28-6)
2010 Armed Forces Bowl Army (14-16)
2009 Hawaii Bowl Nevada (45-10)
1984 Aloha Bowl Notre Dame (27-20)
1983 Sun Bowl Alabama (7-28)
*all team stats through 11/24
