Colleges: SMU Mustangs
DALLAS -- London Giles scored 17 points Wednesday night to help SMU break a three-game losing streak with a 64-50 victory over Tulane.
Giles scored at least 10 for the 18th straight game for the Mustangs (12-16, 3-10 Conference USA). Leslee Smith grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jeremiah Samarrippas had seven assists.
Robert Nyakundi, leading the conference with 41.7 percent 3-point-shooting accuracy, improved on that by going 3 of 6 from long range for nine points.
Five-time Conference USA Freshman of the Week Ricky Tarrant's 21 points paced the Green Wave (15-12, 3-10), who dropped their fourth consecutive game. Josh Davis had 11 rebounds.
The Mustangs shot 53.5 percent (23 of 43) to the Green Wave's 28.9 percent (13 of 45). But Tulane made 22 of 31 free throws, while SMU was limited to 11 of 18.
SMU, which never trailed, split the season series after Tulane won 80-74 on Jan. 25.
Giles scored at least 10 for the 18th straight game for the Mustangs (12-16, 3-10 Conference USA). Leslee Smith grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jeremiah Samarrippas had seven assists.
Robert Nyakundi, leading the conference with 41.7 percent 3-point-shooting accuracy, improved on that by going 3 of 6 from long range for nine points.
Five-time Conference USA Freshman of the Week Ricky Tarrant's 21 points paced the Green Wave (15-12, 3-10), who dropped their fourth consecutive game. Josh Davis had 11 rebounds.
The Mustangs shot 53.5 percent (23 of 43) to the Green Wave's 28.9 percent (13 of 45). But Tulane made 22 of 31 free throws, while SMU was limited to 11 of 18.
SMU, which never trailed, split the season series after Tulane won 80-74 on Jan. 25.
SMU announced the signing of 20 recruits today, including quarterback Neal Burcham, who was a four-star recruit according to the ESPN rankings.
Interestingly, SMU also signed Prescott Line, the brother of SMU's Zach Line. SMU has nine ESPN three-star or higher signees, tied for the most in Conference USA (Marshall).
The list of signees:
Chauncey Briggs, OL, 6-5 330 West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield)
Neal Burcham, QB, 6-3 185 Greenbrier, Ark. (Greenbrier)
Christian Chamagua, OL, 6-6 290 Manvel, Texas (Manvel)
Brian Cramer, DL, 6-4 230 Round Rock, Texas (Stony Point)
A.J. Justice, DB, 6-2 185 Houston, Texas (Stratford)
Collin LaGasse, WR/DB, 5-11 190 Austin, Texas (Lake Travis)
Ty Law, DB, 5-10 170 Orlando, Fla. (Lake Highland Prep)
Prescott Line, RB, 6-0 215 Oxford, Mich. (Oxford Area Senior)
Ajee Montes, DB, 5-11 180 La Puente, Calif. (Bishop Amat)
Seaver Myers, OL, 6-6 290 Friendswood, Texas (Friendswood)
Elie Nabushosi, DL, 6-4 240 Frisco, Texas (Heritage)
Damien Neroes, LB, 6-1 215 Garland, Texas (Garland)
Jarvis Pruitt, DL, 6-3 220 Houston, Texas (Stratford)
Shakiel Randolph, DB, 6-5 190 Waco, Texas (Midway)
Nick Reed, DL, 6-1 265 Texarkana, Texas (Pleasant Grove)
Sam Rice, OL, 6-4 270 Coppell, Texas (Coppell)
Lincoln Richard, LB, 6-3 215 Everman, Texas (Everman)
Horace Richardson, DB, 6-0 175 Everman, Texas (Everman)
Daijuan Stewart, WR, 5-10 175 Baldwin, La. (West Saint Mary)
Chase Walling, OL, 6-6 270 Dallas, Texas (Lake Highlands)
Time to take a look at recruiting needs for ...
SMU
Offensive line. This is an area that coach June Jones has worked at to create depth, but the Mustangs have to continue to build. They lose six seniors of the 2011 team -- including all five starters.
Defensive back. Of the eight players listed on the depth chart, four seniors are gone -- including starters Chris Banjo and Richard Crawford. The other four will be juniors or seniors.
Receiver. In the offense Jones likes to run, you can't have too many athletes or receivers. Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson are gone, Darius Johnson will be a senior and Jeremy Johnson and Keenan Holman will be juniors. One of the Mustangs' top commitments is athlete Daijuan Stewart.
SMU
Offensive line. This is an area that coach June Jones has worked at to create depth, but the Mustangs have to continue to build. They lose six seniors of the 2011 team -- including all five starters.
Defensive back. Of the eight players listed on the depth chart, four seniors are gone -- including starters Chris Banjo and Richard Crawford. The other four will be juniors or seniors.
Receiver. In the offense Jones likes to run, you can't have too many athletes or receivers. Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson are gone, Darius Johnson will be a senior and Jeremy Johnson and Keenan Holman will be juniors. One of the Mustangs' top commitments is athlete Daijuan Stewart.
SMU basketball won't lose identity in Big East
January, 19, 2012
Jan 19
9:15
PM CT
DALLAS -- SMU's move to the Big East in July 2013 has everything to do with setting the program up with the best chance to succeed at football.
That leaves the basketball program in an interesting situation. On one hand, it joins one of the elite basketball conferences in the nation that routinely puts multiple teams in the NCAA tournament.
On the other hand, SMU is historically a middle-of-the-pack Conference USA contender and might have bitten off more than it can chew in its first years in the conference.
That, however, doesn't concern head coach Matt Doherty, who sees an opportunity to pick up top recruits from Texas and the East Coast who will make the Mustangs a threat in the basketball-focused Big East.
The move will bring new faces to Dallas and send the Mustangs to new venues on the road, but Doherty said his team will not adapt to any type of Big East system, but rather will continue to implement the same foundations the team utilized in C-USA.
"I'd like to hope they can adjust to us," Doherty said. "We're not going to change much. We'll play our matchup zone and we'll play our offense, which is actually kind of like Georgetown, so I like to be different. I don't like to be like everyone else, but I think the neat thing about the Big East is they have different kinds of teams."
As far as recruiting goes, Doherty has a card up his sleeve that he thinks will be a hot selling point for East-Coast standouts, literally. SMU students enjoyed a walk to class Thursday in shorts and flip flops, which is a style that won't be seen in the Northeast for several more months.
"Get a recruit to come down here and it's 60. It's a beautiful place and I know how to pitch it," Doherty said.
That leaves the basketball program in an interesting situation. On one hand, it joins one of the elite basketball conferences in the nation that routinely puts multiple teams in the NCAA tournament.
On the other hand, SMU is historically a middle-of-the-pack Conference USA contender and might have bitten off more than it can chew in its first years in the conference.
That, however, doesn't concern head coach Matt Doherty, who sees an opportunity to pick up top recruits from Texas and the East Coast who will make the Mustangs a threat in the basketball-focused Big East.
The move will bring new faces to Dallas and send the Mustangs to new venues on the road, but Doherty said his team will not adapt to any type of Big East system, but rather will continue to implement the same foundations the team utilized in C-USA.
"I'd like to hope they can adjust to us," Doherty said. "We're not going to change much. We'll play our matchup zone and we'll play our offense, which is actually kind of like Georgetown, so I like to be different. I don't like to be like everyone else, but I think the neat thing about the Big East is they have different kinds of teams."
As far as recruiting goes, Doherty has a card up his sleeve that he thinks will be a hot selling point for East-Coast standouts, literally. SMU students enjoyed a walk to class Thursday in shorts and flip flops, which is a style that won't be seen in the Northeast for several more months.
"Get a recruit to come down here and it's 60. It's a beautiful place and I know how to pitch it," Doherty said.
DALLAS – After taking part in a celebration at SMU for its future membership, Big East commissioner John Marinatto said Thursday the conference’s expansion wouldn’t end with additions coming in 2013.
Marinatto reiterated the conference's wishes to expand to at least 12 football schools, but he would not discuss a timetable or potential schools to be pursued.
“We’re working very hard,” Marinatto said. “I made it a practice over the last year to never discuss institutions specifically by name, so I’m not at liberty to get into specifics, but yeah, we want to get to at least 12 and that’s been our goal. We’re very happy with where we are, but obviously we have a little bit more work to do.”
Marinatto included, for at least 2012, West Virginia in the roll call for the conference. In 2013, Boise State, San Diego State, Houston and Central Florida will join, along with SMU. Whenever West Virginia leaves for the Big 12, an issue that hasn't been resolved, the additions will leave a total of 10 football schools in the Big East.
Marinatto said he participated in the two meetings that concerned the future of the BCS after the national championship football game in New Orleans. He characterized the meetings as “brainstorming sessions” which yielded 50 or 60 ideas of what the future could hold for the BCS system.
There will be another meeting at the end of January and another in February to continue these discussions as part of four meetings scheduled before any new manifestation of the BCS is finalized.
Marinatto believes some changes will be made, but said they will add to the good the BCS has done to college football, in his opinion.
“I think everyone around the table agrees the BCS has helped college football in so many ways,” Marinatto said. “It has made college football relevant and it has given schools that may have not had the opportunity to play in some of the major bowls the opportunity to play in some of the major bowls, but there’s also another side to it, and that’s the discussion. How do we keep what has been put in place, that’s been so helpful to so many, and at the same time reduce some of the negatives that go along with it?”
Losing the conference’s BCS automatic-qualifying status was not a concern of the commissioner, citing the strength of the programs the conference added in this newest phase of realignment, if, of course, automatic qualifying bids remain part of the BCS framework.
The addition of new teams is also a bargaining chip in landing a major TV contract in September of 2012, which Marinatto believes will provide the stability that the conference has lacked over the past year.
“Most of the expansion initiative’s complete, but when that’s done, certainly the glue that will continue to hold us together will be that when we get to the market, we can deliver with the kind of TV agreement similar with what the other five major conferences have, and that’s something we anticipated,” Marinatto said.
The final step in the process once expansion has been finalized for the conference and a TV deal is in place is to discuss the matter of divisions in a conference that will span across the entire country. All teams that will be members of the conference will have a vote in any major decisions such as a TV deal or the formation of divisions.
Marinatto reiterated the conference's wishes to expand to at least 12 football schools, but he would not discuss a timetable or potential schools to be pursued.
“We’re working very hard,” Marinatto said. “I made it a practice over the last year to never discuss institutions specifically by name, so I’m not at liberty to get into specifics, but yeah, we want to get to at least 12 and that’s been our goal. We’re very happy with where we are, but obviously we have a little bit more work to do.”
Marinatto included, for at least 2012, West Virginia in the roll call for the conference. In 2013, Boise State, San Diego State, Houston and Central Florida will join, along with SMU. Whenever West Virginia leaves for the Big 12, an issue that hasn't been resolved, the additions will leave a total of 10 football schools in the Big East.
Marinatto said he participated in the two meetings that concerned the future of the BCS after the national championship football game in New Orleans. He characterized the meetings as “brainstorming sessions” which yielded 50 or 60 ideas of what the future could hold for the BCS system.
There will be another meeting at the end of January and another in February to continue these discussions as part of four meetings scheduled before any new manifestation of the BCS is finalized.
Marinatto believes some changes will be made, but said they will add to the good the BCS has done to college football, in his opinion.
“I think everyone around the table agrees the BCS has helped college football in so many ways,” Marinatto said. “It has made college football relevant and it has given schools that may have not had the opportunity to play in some of the major bowls the opportunity to play in some of the major bowls, but there’s also another side to it, and that’s the discussion. How do we keep what has been put in place, that’s been so helpful to so many, and at the same time reduce some of the negatives that go along with it?”
Losing the conference’s BCS automatic-qualifying status was not a concern of the commissioner, citing the strength of the programs the conference added in this newest phase of realignment, if, of course, automatic qualifying bids remain part of the BCS framework.
The addition of new teams is also a bargaining chip in landing a major TV contract in September of 2012, which Marinatto believes will provide the stability that the conference has lacked over the past year.
“Most of the expansion initiative’s complete, but when that’s done, certainly the glue that will continue to hold us together will be that when we get to the market, we can deliver with the kind of TV agreement similar with what the other five major conferences have, and that’s something we anticipated,” Marinatto said.
The final step in the process once expansion has been finalized for the conference and a TV deal is in place is to discuss the matter of divisions in a conference that will span across the entire country. All teams that will be members of the conference will have a vote in any major decisions such as a TV deal or the formation of divisions.
DALLAS – In front of alumni, students, faculty and coaches at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center on Thursday, school president R. Gerald Turner announced that SMU has officially reached a level of national prominence that the university hasn’t seen since the days of the Southwest Conference.
At the celebration event for alumni and students, Turner announced that SMU will officially become a member of the Big East conference in all sports on July 1, 2013.
In attendance at the event, alongside Turner, was Big East commissioner John Marinatto, who personally accepted SMU into the Big East fold. Marinatto was greeted with an SMU football helmet, presented by the student body president.
The prize of this Mustangs victory, on the surface, is the chance to sit at the big boys' table in football with a BCS automatic qualifying bid opportunity through a Big East championship.
However, the treasure in SMU’s big move east is the financial gains the university will see in conference TV revenues and bowl payouts. That money will help resurrect aspects of the Mustangs' athletic department that had been downsized or eliminated due to budget cuts and financial problems faced as a mid-major school in Conference USA.
With a fatter pocketbook, SMU will make it a top priority to reestablish a marketing department within athletics to hopefully raise attendance at home events, athletic director Steve Orsini said.
Since the days of the football team's death penalty, SMU has managed to get by with little or no marketing effort that was specific to athletics. The Big East transition will not only allow SMU to make a national presence in college athletics, it will allow the school to be much more visible in its hometown.
Orsini said SMU is already beginning the planning phases of establishing a marketing department so it will be fully functional by July 2013, when the school will begin receiving its raised allowance.
“Even though it’s about 18 months until our first official day in the Big East, now is the time to start planning it because it will take a redesign, so to speak, a reallocation of our resources, plus just allocation of extra resources that we never had before," Orsini said. "Surely marketing, to meet our number one objective, which is increasing the attendance of every athletic event we have.”
SMU hopes the marketing push will add to the football attendance rise that has occurred with June Jones at the helm.
SMU averaged 23,515 at 2010 home football games, 2,167 more than the previous year. That increase was 30th in the nation, according to the NCAA. That still doesn’t explain a half-empty stadium for most contests at Ford Stadium.
“We haven’t really sat down, but right now in the priority of things, but marketing, increasing attendance - that would be priority one,” Orsini said. “I think by marketing ourselves more, by having more success, we’ll generate even more resources, more sponsorship sales, more fundraising, more ticket sales, etc.”
Once SMU can scratch off the top item on its to-do list, it then has several options for which it can use the remainder of its Big East payout, if the school decides to put the money back into athletics.
One possibility that Orsini mentioned is the creation of new sports programs. He said baseball, softball, lacrosse and men’s track could be in the debate.
SMU’s tradition in baseball spans back to the second year of the university in 1916. SMU fans could watch Dallas’ boys of summer at Reverchon Park, a few miles away from campus, headed by several big names, including Dallas coaching legend Steve Adair. The team was disbanded in 1980 for financial reasons.
SMU never had a lacrosse program, but it might be a good fit now.
“Lacrosse, as you know, is growing here, and the Big East represents the footprint of the best lacrosse in America,” Orsini said. “Those are all things we’ll discuss and see at the presidential level here.”
Lacrosse is big on the East Coast but in its infancy in Texas. It's not recognized as a varsity sport by the UIL, but high schools have formed club teams that compete throughout the state. Squads from Coppell and Dallas St. Mark's, schools just miles from SMU’s campus, have been nationally ranked.
Looking at the big picture, SMU’s move to the Big East represents movement toward a point where the school shares equal emphasis and success in both academics and athletics, Orsini said.
“I think we’re getting close to that balance now,” Orsini said. “We want both. We want excellence in academics and athletics. We’re here now, but we aren’t winning. Now we want to win. This is an example of winning because now we’re at the highest level, the field of competition for me as an administrator is level again.”
At the celebration event for alumni and students, Turner announced that SMU will officially become a member of the Big East conference in all sports on July 1, 2013.
In attendance at the event, alongside Turner, was Big East commissioner John Marinatto, who personally accepted SMU into the Big East fold. Marinatto was greeted with an SMU football helmet, presented by the student body president.
The prize of this Mustangs victory, on the surface, is the chance to sit at the big boys' table in football with a BCS automatic qualifying bid opportunity through a Big East championship.
However, the treasure in SMU’s big move east is the financial gains the university will see in conference TV revenues and bowl payouts. That money will help resurrect aspects of the Mustangs' athletic department that had been downsized or eliminated due to budget cuts and financial problems faced as a mid-major school in Conference USA.
With a fatter pocketbook, SMU will make it a top priority to reestablish a marketing department within athletics to hopefully raise attendance at home events, athletic director Steve Orsini said.
Since the days of the football team's death penalty, SMU has managed to get by with little or no marketing effort that was specific to athletics. The Big East transition will not only allow SMU to make a national presence in college athletics, it will allow the school to be much more visible in its hometown.
Orsini said SMU is already beginning the planning phases of establishing a marketing department so it will be fully functional by July 2013, when the school will begin receiving its raised allowance.
“Even though it’s about 18 months until our first official day in the Big East, now is the time to start planning it because it will take a redesign, so to speak, a reallocation of our resources, plus just allocation of extra resources that we never had before," Orsini said. "Surely marketing, to meet our number one objective, which is increasing the attendance of every athletic event we have.”
SMU hopes the marketing push will add to the football attendance rise that has occurred with June Jones at the helm.
SMU averaged 23,515 at 2010 home football games, 2,167 more than the previous year. That increase was 30th in the nation, according to the NCAA. That still doesn’t explain a half-empty stadium for most contests at Ford Stadium.
“We haven’t really sat down, but right now in the priority of things, but marketing, increasing attendance - that would be priority one,” Orsini said. “I think by marketing ourselves more, by having more success, we’ll generate even more resources, more sponsorship sales, more fundraising, more ticket sales, etc.”
Once SMU can scratch off the top item on its to-do list, it then has several options for which it can use the remainder of its Big East payout, if the school decides to put the money back into athletics.
One possibility that Orsini mentioned is the creation of new sports programs. He said baseball, softball, lacrosse and men’s track could be in the debate.
SMU’s tradition in baseball spans back to the second year of the university in 1916. SMU fans could watch Dallas’ boys of summer at Reverchon Park, a few miles away from campus, headed by several big names, including Dallas coaching legend Steve Adair. The team was disbanded in 1980 for financial reasons.
SMU never had a lacrosse program, but it might be a good fit now.
“Lacrosse, as you know, is growing here, and the Big East represents the footprint of the best lacrosse in America,” Orsini said. “Those are all things we’ll discuss and see at the presidential level here.”
Lacrosse is big on the East Coast but in its infancy in Texas. It's not recognized as a varsity sport by the UIL, but high schools have formed club teams that compete throughout the state. Squads from Coppell and Dallas St. Mark's, schools just miles from SMU’s campus, have been nationally ranked.
Looking at the big picture, SMU’s move to the Big East represents movement toward a point where the school shares equal emphasis and success in both academics and athletics, Orsini said.
“I think we’re getting close to that balance now,” Orsini said. “We want both. We want excellence in academics and athletics. We’re here now, but we aren’t winning. Now we want to win. This is an example of winning because now we’re at the highest level, the field of competition for me as an administrator is level again.”
Jason Phillips, who had been Houston's offensive coordinator, is joining SMU's coaching staff.
"His receivers and the offenses that he has been a part of in his coaching career have been some of the best in the country and I'm excited to have him join our staff," SMU coach June Jones said in a release. "He knows our offense from having played in it and I look forward to his input into what we do, along with what he brings to us from the offenses that he has been associated with in his coaching career. He has recruited Texas for close to 10 years, so he will have an impact there as well."
Phillips, who also served as Houston's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989 when Jones was an assistant coach. Phillips played six NFL seasons, including another stint under Jones when he was offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.
With Phillips calling plays, Houston's prolific offense led the nation last year with 599 yards per game, the second highest average in Division I FBS history.
In the last four seasons under Phillips, Houston receivers posted individual 1,000 seasons seven times. Phillips' guidance helped quarterback Case Keenum become the NCAA career leader in passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
"His receivers and the offenses that he has been a part of in his coaching career have been some of the best in the country and I'm excited to have him join our staff," SMU coach June Jones said in a release. "He knows our offense from having played in it and I look forward to his input into what we do, along with what he brings to us from the offenses that he has been associated with in his coaching career. He has recruited Texas for close to 10 years, so he will have an impact there as well."
Phillips, who also served as Houston's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1989 when Jones was an assistant coach. Phillips played six NFL seasons, including another stint under Jones when he was offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.
With Phillips calling plays, Houston's prolific offense led the nation last year with 599 yards per game, the second highest average in Division I FBS history.
In the last four seasons under Phillips, Houston receivers posted individual 1,000 seasons seven times. Phillips' guidance helped quarterback Case Keenum become the NCAA career leader in passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
Streaking SMU takes on Oklahoma State at AAC
December, 28, 2011
12/28/11
8:15
AM CT
Oklahoma State will be looking to break a three-game skid vs. SMU, which has won five of its last six games, in the opening game of the second annual Dallas Showcase at American Airlines Center on Wednesday night.
The game -- the first of a doubleheader -- is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. and will be telecast on ESPNU.
SMU (7-4), making its first appearance at the AAC, will be battling Oklahoma State for the first time since 2005. Three of the Mustangs' four losses have been by a combined nine points.
"With young players, sometimes they get ahead of themselves and think they are better than they are and then you take a step back," said SMU coach Matt Doherty, whose roster includes eight freshmen and two sophomores. "Hopefully we've taken some steps backwards and have gotten better. This will be a great test for us."
The Cowboys (6-5) aren't much older. OSU’s roster features six freshmen and one sophomore. Former Dallas Lincoln All-American Le'Bryan Nash, a 6-7, 230-pound freshman forward, leads OSU with 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
"We have put our team in a very difficult situation as far as the schedule (is concerned)," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "We haven't played at home very often and we've played against teams much more experienced than us, but we're hoping at the end of the day it will help us get better down the road."
Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.com or at the American Airlines Center box office. Lower arena seats are priced at $29, $59 and $99. A portion of each ticket benefits Buckets and Boots, a Texas-based charity that supports volunteer firefighting efforts.
The game -- the first of a doubleheader -- is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. and will be telecast on ESPNU.
SMU (7-4), making its first appearance at the AAC, will be battling Oklahoma State for the first time since 2005. Three of the Mustangs' four losses have been by a combined nine points.
"With young players, sometimes they get ahead of themselves and think they are better than they are and then you take a step back," said SMU coach Matt Doherty, whose roster includes eight freshmen and two sophomores. "Hopefully we've taken some steps backwards and have gotten better. This will be a great test for us."
The Cowboys (6-5) aren't much older. OSU’s roster features six freshmen and one sophomore. Former Dallas Lincoln All-American Le'Bryan Nash, a 6-7, 230-pound freshman forward, leads OSU with 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
"We have put our team in a very difficult situation as far as the schedule (is concerned)," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "We haven't played at home very often and we've played against teams much more experienced than us, but we're hoping at the end of the day it will help us get better down the road."
Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.com or at the American Airlines Center box office. Lower arena seats are priced at $29, $59 and $99. A portion of each ticket benefits Buckets and Boots, a Texas-based charity that supports volunteer firefighting efforts.
June Jones needs to show commitment to SMU
December, 14, 2011
12/14/11
6:28
PM CT
The College Football Live crew discusses how June Jones can sell SMU recruits and fans that he is committed to staying with the Mustangs after he nearly took the job at Arizona State.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Pittsburgh will face SMU in its second straight trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl.
Bowl officials announced the matchup Sunday for the Jan. 7 game at Legion Field.
Pittsburgh beat Kentucky 27-10 last season in the first game after coach Dave Wannstedt was forced to resign. Now, his replacement, Todd Graham, must replace three assistants who have left the program to pursue other jobs, including co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee.
Pittsburgh is making its fourth straight postseason appearance out of the Big East while coach June Jones has led SMU to three bowls in a row.
The two teams have split their first five meetings, 2-2-1. SMU, out of Conference USA, won their only other postseason matchup 7-3 in the 1983 Cotton Bowl.
Charmed? First BCS shoe falls for Frogs
November, 18, 2011
11/18/11
11:10
AM CT
The No. 19 TCU Horned Frogs put themselves in BCS contention with last week's win at then-No. 5 Boise State. They need help on two fronts and they got it from one Thursday night. No. 20 Southern Miss blew its golden chance with a stunning loss at downtrodden Alabama-Birmingham, 34-31.
That loss, Southern Miss' second of the season, will bump it down the BCS rankings, leaving No. 11 Houston (10-0) as the Frogs' lone hurdle to a possible third consecutive BCS berth. The Cougars play host to SMU Saturday and ESPN GameDay will be there. A Houston loss in either of its two remaining regular-season games (at Tulsa, Nov. 25) or in the Conference USA championship game could be enough to vault the Frogs into position for an automatic BCS berth.
TCU (8-2) has to take care of its own business. The Frogs play at home Saturday against Colorado State (3-6) and then finish the season two weeks later at home against UNLV (2-7).
For a more detailed look at TCU's road to the BCS click here.
That loss, Southern Miss' second of the season, will bump it down the BCS rankings, leaving No. 11 Houston (10-0) as the Frogs' lone hurdle to a possible third consecutive BCS berth. The Cougars play host to SMU Saturday and ESPN GameDay will be there. A Houston loss in either of its two remaining regular-season games (at Tulsa, Nov. 25) or in the Conference USA championship game could be enough to vault the Frogs into position for an automatic BCS berth.
TCU (8-2) has to take care of its own business. The Frogs play at home Saturday against Colorado State (3-6) and then finish the season two weeks later at home against UNLV (2-7).
For a more detailed look at TCU's road to the BCS click here.
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