Mission accomplished
Game Report Posted: June 25, 2010 20:27
National championship game
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, Calif.
SMU 27, No. 2 Rutgers 24
Junior tailback Willie Gold takes an option pitch from Michael Butler and outruns the Scarlet Knights' right linebacker 22 yards for the winning touchdown with 3:21 left to give Coach Nibble and the Mustangs the national title.
Mustangs fend off two final Rutgers efforts, the first ending when CB Walter Thomas breaks up a fourth-down pass at the SMU 38 with 2 minutes left and the other a Hail Mary attempt that's batted away at the 20 on the final play.
SMU rallies from being down 7-0, 10-7, 17-10 and 24-17. Gold does much of the running work with 83 yards. FB Tyler Lane bulls for 71 yards and a TD.
Mustangs trail 17-10 in the fourth quarter when Butler hits Terry Gray on an hook at the Rutgers 40. Gray spins away from a tackle and outruns the pursuit for a 50-yard TD to tie it. The Mustangs appear to be driving for the go-ahead score on their next possession when CB Paul Givens picks off a Butler out route and races 72 yards for a Rutgers TD and a 24-17 lead.
SMU's Bobby Whitehead kicks a 33-yard field goal to cut it to 24-20, then the Mustangs go 60 yards in six plays for the go-ahead score, which comes on a counter option.
Rutgers QB D.J. Bernard, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, hits 25 of 46 passes for 292 yards. He's significantly slowed in the second half, however, when the Mustangs get four sacks and several hurries.
Season notes
Awards
Lombardi: DT Eric Riley
Thorpe: CB Ricky Paul
Ray Guy: Terry Colby
All-Americans: Riley, Paul, Colby, DT Arthur Weeks, DE Shane Wright, FS Terry Dawkins
Passing
Michael Butler 48 percent, 1860 yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs
Rushing
Willie Gold 1003 yards, 12 TDs
Tyler Lane 951 yards, 20 TDs
Quinton Smith 920 yards 4 TDs
Receiving
Terry Gray 32 catches, 6 TDs
Defense
MLB Thomas Gates 92 tackles
Eric Riley 18 sacks
Shane Wright 12 sacks
Arthur Weeks 10 sacks
Ricky Paul 6 INt, 1 TD
Records: Riley's 18 sacks are a school season record; Wright's 35 career sacks are a school mark; Lane's 20 TDs break Eric Dickerson's season mark of 19.
SMU 35, No. 9 Cincinnati 14
Game Report Posted: June 24, 2010 20:57
Key player: DT Eric Riley, who may well be the Lombardi Award winner as well as a certain All-American, gets his school-record 18th sack of the season as the Mustangs hold the defending national champs to 221 total yards.
The skinny: Bearcats put up a fight, leading 14-7 in the second quarter, before Ricky Paul makes his seventh INT of the season and returns it 30 yards for the tying TD. SMU ground game takes it from there. ... SMU, on its way to the Bgi 12 title game, stays on course for a national title showdown with Rutgers.
SMU 29, Colorado 0
Game Report Posted: June 23, 2010 21:31
Key player: OLB Brad Winstrom has a sack for a safety and picks off a pass to lead a defensive effort that holds the Buffs to 151 total yards.
The skinny: This win wraps up the Big 12 North, putting Colorado two games back in the standings. SMU has only a blowout win over lousy Kansas left on its conference sked before moving on to the conference title game against, probably, Oklahoma. Surprisingly, Rutgers (11-0) jumps in front of SMU in the BCS standings with a 41-9 win over defending national champ Cincinnati. It's the second straight loss for Cincy, taking all of the fun out of its visit to Dallas and SMU in two weeks. Shit. ... Tyler Lane leads the Mustangs against Colorado with 131 yards on 27 carries with two TDs, giving him 15 for the season. Willie Gold rushes for 120 yards on 20 carries. ... Michael Butler sucks passing with 4-of14 for 53 yards.
SMU 50, Texas A&M 21
Game Report Posted: June 18, 2010 21:03
Key player: Freshman DT Eric Riley gets four sacks, including one for a safety, and returns a fumble for a touchdown. He gets a game-high 14 tackles. Whoa.
The skinny: Willie Gold goes 60 yards around right end for a TD run that puts the Mustangs up 22-21 after they trailed 21-7. Fullback Tyler Lane gets a wall around the left side on the next possession and rumbles 78 yards for a score. Riley's fumble return makes it 43-21. Game over. ... Lane finishes with 120 rushing yards; Gold gets 83 and Quinton Smith 75 on eight carries.
No. 2 Cincinnati also stays undefeated, so the Mustangs and defending national champs are still on collision course for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Dallas on the final day of the regular season.
SMU 25, Nebraska 7
Game Report Posted: June 17, 2010 21:02
Key player: Shane Wright is a beast, getting three sacks, including one for a safety, and picks off a deflected pass.
The skinny: Eight sacks for the mighty Mustangs, who repeatedly pin the Huskers inside their 10-yard-line. ... Opposition's starting QB and TB are knocked out of the game for the second straight week. ... FB Tyler Lane leaves the game with a knee straiin in the first quarter, the first injury of his studly career. ... SMU backup QB Jonathan Holt suffers a torn abdominal muscle and is gone for 11 weeks. Guy sucks anyway. .... Aaron Hardy steps up to No. 2 behind Michael Butler. ... Butler hits 7 of 10 passes for 121 yards.
SMU 38, Tennessee 7
Game Report Posted: June 17, 2010 20:57
Key player: Terry Dawkins picks off a pass, knocks one down and returns a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
The skinny: Coach Nibble decides after this one to start getting Dawkins the ball on more kicks and possibly some WR action.
SMU 54, TCU 3
Game Report Posted: June 16, 2010 21:36
Key player: DE Willie Jones gets two sacks and generally stomps on TCU quarterback Ron Burns and TB Ryan Poe.
The skinny: SMU outgains the Frogs 541-197 in total yardage. ... Michael Butler hits 4 of 4 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown (to David Schroeder). ... TBs Willie Gold and Quintin Smith each go over 100 yards rushing.
SMU 27, No. 4 Cal 7
Game Report Posted: June 15, 2010 22:11
Key players: Defensive tackles Arthur Weeks and Eric Riley own the line of scrimmage, with Weeks making eight tackles and Riley getting a sack and a pass knockdown in his college debut.
The skinny: FS Terry Dawkins bit on a fake and was burned on a 53-yard TD pass by the Bears, otherwise this would have been a shutout. The Bears get 151 passing yards on 15-of-36 passing; they rush for 53. ... Mustangs button it up on offense, plowing between the tackles for 221 rushing yards and eating clock. They run just one play in the spread; the rest of the time it's base I formation, tight I or one back. ... Tyler Lane rushes for 81 yards. ... Michael Butler makes his first start at QB and hits 4 of 11 passes for 89 yards, one TD (to Terry Gray) and, most important, no picks. ... Mustangs knock out Bears QB Alex Williams in the first quarter and send TB Rondell Thompson hobbling to the bench with injuries three times.
Mustangs go all in
Season Report Posted: June 15, 2010 21:55
Last year: 12-1 (7-1, Big 12 north runner-up)
Key returnees: DE's Shane Wright and Willie Jones; MLB Thomas Gates; CBs Ricky Paul and Walter Thomas; OLB Paul Winstrom, MLB Thomas Gates, SS Quinton Thomas, FS Terry Dawkins, DT Arthur Weeks; TB Willie Gold, FB Tyler Lane
Key losses: QB Ricky Miles, TB David Miller, WRs Brandon Ward, Marcus James, Marcus West, RT Mike Cutler, LG Bobby Rutledge, LT J.T. Harris
Why They'll Win: The best defense in Coach Nibble's career is back together after a season of redshirting and injuries. It could post 12 shutouts if the Mustangs offense doesn't turn the ball over. It's bolstered by the addition of towering freshman DT Eric Riley, the nation's No. 1 overall recruit. Several of the defenders are seniors, so this is the year for the Mustangs to make their run at a national title.
Why They'll Lose: The offensive line is so-so and the quarterbacks are mediocre at best. Jonathan Holt, Andy Hardy and Michael Butler will bid to replace Miles, who passed for a school-record 48 touchdowns and 3,988 yards. All have weak arms, but at least Butler can run some. The running backs are very good, led by Willie Gold and Quinton Smith. Whether the line can open any holes remains to be seen.
Notable: After going often to the spread with Miles, Nibble will pack it in with double tight ends and plow the runners up the middle. Gold and Smith have surprising power and quickness despite weighing less than 200 pounds. ... The Mustangs actually have two stud freshman DTs, with Riley and James Harrison; the latter would be stuck on the bench so he'll redshirt and take over in 2030 when Arthur Weeks has moved on to the NFL. ... The Mustangs open with No. 4 Cal and close at defending national champion Cincinnati.