No more press releases about Indiana or SMU.  The truth is that I never left the Wildcats.  I just took a break.  I tried to move to NCAA 2008 and while the game is fantastic with wonderful graphics, it has been truly impossible to leave behind my heart.

Watch this space for a possible return to glory and Wildcat football.

Bloomington, IN - In a shocking move, Coach Lander has left SMU to take an Athletic Director Position with Indiana University.

“I had some great years in Bloomington,” said Lander.  “It’s an honor to come back and try and take the Hoosiers to the next level.  I think Josh will be the coach who can bring our football team to glory.”

Josh Zelman, the star quarterback at Arizona who never got an NFL career off the ground faces a big challenge in bringing the Hoosier back to respectability.

“Kellen Lewis reminds me of a young Dane Wright,” said Zelman.  “I think we have something special in the works here.”

In his first game, Zelman fell behind 14-0 to Indiana State but rallied back to pull out a 41-22 victory.

Ft. Worth, TX - The SMU Mustangs were one possession away from a victory in the battle for the Iron Skillet.  But in the end TCU was just a better team with more talent and a better defense.

But, one amazing highlight was Devin Lowery who had 3 INTs for 111 yards and a touchdown.

“It was the game of my life,” said Lowery.  “But we lost, and that was just awful.   It’s unacceptable, I wanted that skillet.”

Justin Willis continued his horrible streak of passing with 11/19 passing for 194 yards and 4 INTs.  A real shame.

The game was tight throughout, and TCU took some leads that looked like cheap computer moves.  Long bombs, and so forth.

This season is a bit of  a wash until the new recruiting classes come in.

Springfield, AR - The SMU Mustangs impressive 2 game winning streak is over with a humiliating loss to the Arkansas State Indians. The game was mildly close going into the second half but Arkansas State just took over and tore through a sloppy, sloppy SMU defense.

But the blame lies squarely with Justin Willis who threw 3 picks and played like garbage.

Dallas, TX - The SMU Mustangs downed the North Texas Eagles on Saturday in front of alumni and recruits alike.  Stone Cold Steve Austin was in attendance, as were two SMU recruits who got to watch the Mustangs eek out a victory in the rain.

The game was much closer than the score would indicate as SMU scored 2 quick touchdowns in the final two minutes to put the game away.  North Texas showed a strong running game from their QB and a vicious defense.  Of course Justin Willis didn’t make things any easier for SMU.

Willis was 9/19 for 219 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs, of course it should be noted that in the fourth quarter he threw a short pass to Colombus Givens that erupted into an 86 yard touchdown scamper.  Willis spent most of the day throwing pics, missing screen passes, and generally making poor throws.

“Yeah I struggled,” said Willis after the game.  “It was raining and the ball was slippery you know?  Besides, we won right?”

Demyron Martin had a solid game going 17/58 for a TD, but he fumbled and will desperately need to work on his ball control skills.

The gamebreaker was TE Vincent Chase (pictured) who opened the game up with an incredible touchdown reception in the 3rd and another big play in the 4th.

“If any of you reporters refer to this team as my ‘entourage,’ I’m going to lose it,” said Chase after the game.  “My parents named me 20 years ago, before this dumb show started.  So no, I’m not related to him, no I don’t have an agent named Ari, so just drop it ok?”

But the game ball went to the SMU Defense - SS Tony Hawkins had 10 tackles, Bryce Hudman had a TFL and a 74 yard INT return, and finally Cory Muse looked like an impact player by making a dirty sack in the second quarter where he literally threw the North Texas QB to the ground like a bitch.

“That was pretty good,” said Stone Cold after the game.  “Cory might have a future in wrestling, I hear he likes pain killers so he might be a good fit.”

The Mustangs are now 2-0 and facing a pretty weak schedule.

Lubbock, TX - The SMU Mustangs began their new era with a big victory over arch rival Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday.  Led by quarterback Justin Willis (who many say remind them of Dane Wright), the Mustangs pulled out a close win over the passing attack of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The game was a back and forth affair throughout with SMU making big plays off the option and the run, while Texas Tech chewed away at the SMU secondary which looked exceptionally weak.  Texas Tech QB Graham Harell was 33/50 fro 410 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.  Sadly for Harell, both interceptions were returned for touchdowns.

“He was pretty good,” added SS Tony Hawkins.  “But we were just a little better.  We gotta keep it more real next time.”

On offense, the Mustangs were led by Demyron Martin who carried 9 times for 154 yards, including one picture perfect play where he took the hand off, followed two stellar blocks and scampered 70 yards for the touchdown.

Quarterback Justin Willis was 8 of 12 for 180 yards and 3 TDs, while only throwing one pic.  He also ran six times for 63 yards, making him a real threat to run on every single down.  This dual threat has not been seen since Dane Wright in 2012 when he had the best single season in the history of NCAA QBs.

Noted Wildcat booster Myles V. was in attendance for the game and had this to say

“I’m looking forward to the great view of Lubbock,” said Valentin. “In my rearview mirror.  This place is a  dump.  SMU is ok, not enough thugs though.  We’re working on it.”

SMU will be having their home opener next week against North Texas (Stone Cold Steve Austin is an alum and will be in attendance.)

Tucson, AZ - Unable to finish his final season due to personal reasons.  Athletic Director Lander of the Arizona Wildcats has stepped down.

The Wildcats WON the Pac Ten, winning out the rest of the season.  They are playing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl dubbed the “Divorce Maker”

Awards:

Jay Gibson won the Groza

Jay Gibson was a 1st Team All American

Andy Jackson was a 2nd Team All American

All Pac Ten

1st Team

Brent Robinson, QB

Alan Barron, HB

Andy Jackson, WR

Ryan Parrish, WR

Jeremy McCutcheon, C

Martin Overstreet, G

Cedric Lacey, T

Matt Fitzhugh, DE

Peter Brink, OLB

Antonio Ingram, FS

Steve Wynn, SS

Jay Gibson, K

2nd

Aaron Thompson, TE

James Wilson, G

Travis Sledge, T

Neil Hill, G

Nick Robinson, DE

Tucson, AZ - The Arizona Wildcats continue their march to another Pac Ten title, this time with a 42-17 win over the Washington Huskies.  Amazingly, the game was played in a downpour, in Tucson.

“Finally,” said receiver Ryan Parrish.  “We go up there and it’s always rainy and crappy.  They always look forward to coming here to check out our girls, hang by the pool in the hotel, and take it easy.  Those jerks.  I hope they had to go back to the hotel and put their socks on a radiator like we always do.  Although usually their uniforms are wet anyways when they play here.  Wet from crying! yes!”

The game was pretty close in the first quarter as both teams tried to figure out how to play in the desert rain.  But by the 2nd quarter, the Wildcat offense was clicking and the defense was hitting.  Alan Barron looked like a superstar, again, going for 128 yards and two touchdowns.  And Brent Robinson played a great game going 17/28 for 260 and 3 TDs.

“It’s just the team playing as a team,” said Robinson.  “We’re starting to get a lot better, and Darrell is becoming a real go to guy.”

Darrell Ross has finally arrived and had his best game ever.  Making four catches for 113 yards and 2 TDs.  He credited the good game to the wonderful smell of rain in Tucson.

Finally, Ben Bray continues show that he might be the best Linebacker in the Pac Ten, and maybe, just maybe, one of the greatest in Arizona history.

Rankings
#12 Coaches
#9 AP