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Sports

SMU must stifle Houston offense 
to keep C-USA title hopes alive

by CHRIS ELLIOTT
The Daily Cougar

Southern Methodist will have two things on the line in its Saturday afternoon game against Houston -- bowl eligibility and a long shot at representing the West Division in the Conference USA championship.

The Mustangs have already matched last season's win total and still have three games remaining on the schedule, all of which could shake things up in the conference. SMU head coach Phil Bennett said his team has the same ability to close out the season with three consecutive wins, as it did last season, but it will not be easy. Making it through the final stretch of the season with three consecutive wins would require the Mustangs to beat the three hottest teams in the conference: UH (7-3, 5-1 C-USA), Tulsa (7-2, 4-1 C-USA) and Rice (4-5, 3-2 C-USA).

"We were fortunate last year to finish up strong and for us to win the (West Division) we're going to have to do it again, but we haven't done anything yet and that's one of the things I want people to understand," Bennett said. "A long time ago Emory Ballard, my college coach, had a saying, and it's true. He said football people remember November, and hopefully it will be a good November for us."

In order to get off to a good start in November, SMU will first have to find a way to contain a Houston offense that is ranked eighth in the nation in total offense, with 440 yards per game, and 14th in scoring offense. Houston has been able to light the scoreboard up for an average of 33.2 points per contest.

SMU's defensive leaders, senior cornerback Joe Sturdivant and senior defensive end Justin Rogers, will have to step it up a notch. Sturdivant has shown the ability to make plays in the backfield and in coverage. He leads the Mustangs with 84 tackles, has two picks on the season and has also forced a team-high three fumbles.

Rogers has terrorized and hit anything that moves out of the backfield. He leads C-USA with six sacks and is near the top of the league when it comes to making plays behind the line of scrimmage -- 10 of his 35 total tackles have been for a loss. He, Sturdivant and the rest of the SMU defense are 10th in the nation when it comes to rushing defense, allowing a C-USA-low 81 yards per game on the ground.

The Cougars have put up an average of 214 yards on the ground while riding their current three-game win streak. Bennett knows if he can disrupt that trend and force UH senior quarterback Kevin Kolb to carry the load, rather than have the one-two punch of junior Anthony Alridge and senior Jackie Battle run loose, his team, which leads the conference in sacks, will have a better chance of coming out of Saturday with a win.

"Offensively, they've run the ball well. In the games they've really played, they've been able to run the ball," Bennett said. "Last week defensively they played really well against a good Tulsa offense.

"They know what lies ahead of them. I don't think they're intimidated. They understand that for us to have a chance we've got to take them one game at a time. As I said earlier, in this league there are no gimmies … We've just got to stay healthy, have a little luck and see what happens."

The Mustangs may have their eyes set on the conference title, and with four teams still active in the chase it is feasible they could in fact reach that goal. Bennett, however, said they are not looking too far ahead. Until after Saturday's game, his team has one goal.

"There's a lot of parity in this league. No. 1, the one I'm most concerned with is Houston," Bennett said. "Obviously with them beating Tulsa it's a large order. Our goal was to be in position to win the (West Division). We've got three games to go and we're in that position.

"We don't have to count on anybody but ourselves with the way the schedule falls. That was our goal. As far as lurking … We all know that on any given day anybody can beat anybody."

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