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First Look: SMU Mustangs

Baylor takes the field for the first time in the 2014-2015 season on Sunday night against the SMU Mustangs.

Cooper Neill


vs.   
10/10 BAYLOR (0-0) vs. NR/NR SMU (0-0)
Aug. 31, 2014 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas | McLane Stadium (45,140)

TV: FOX Sports 1
Listen | Gametracker Gametracker | Game Notes Notes | Tickets Gameday Central

OPPONENT: SMU Mustangs
ODB GAME HUB:
Baylor Bears vs. SMU Mustangs 2014
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
: SMUMustangs.com | Baylor vs. SMU Game Preview
SMU GAME NOTES: Click for .pdf
LAST MEETING: 59-24 Baylor win in 2012
LAST GAME (for SMU): SMU vs. UCF 2013
SB NATION BLOG: None
SPREAD: Baylor -33
TV COVERAGE: FS1 (DISH Network subscribers beware)
WEATHER FORECAST: Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High 96F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.  Potential for isolated thunderstorms in the evening. Low 76F.
BAYLOR UNIFORMS: Unknown

SB NATION SMU PREVIEW: Mustangs Stay the Same, Remain Interesting
BAYLORBEARS.COM PREVIEW: Opening McLane Stadium

STUDENT TICKETS: Apparently gone? Game is SOLD OUT.

Baylor begins a new era with the opening of McLane Stadium this weekend, welcoming old foe SMU back to town after a one year hiatus.  With Garrett Gilbert holding a clipboard in St. Louis, the Mustangs turn now to sophomore Neal Burcham to lead June Jones' run-and-shoot offense, which will look to take advantage of Baylor's youth in the secondary immediately.  In 2013, Burcham completed 64 out of 109 passes for 556 yards, 2 TDs, and 4 INTs.

SMU's 2014 Schedule

August
@ Baylor Bears Sunday, August 31 2014 7:30 PM EDT coverage
September
@ North Texas Mean Green Saturday, September 06 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Texas A&M Aggies Saturday, September 20 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
TCU Horned Frogs Saturday, September 27 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
October
@ East Carolina Pirates Saturday, October 04 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday, October 18 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Memphis Tigers Saturday, October 25 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
November
@ Tulsa Golden Hurricane Saturday, November 08 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
South Florida Bulls Saturday, November 15 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
@ UCF Knights Saturday, November 22 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
Houston Cougars Friday, November 28 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
December
@ Connecticut Huskies Saturday, December 06 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage

With this being the opening game for both teams, we don't have much to go on beyond last year's results.  That's why I suggest you take a close look at Bill C's SMU Preview, linked above, and digest the information in it.  After finishing 70th in overall F/+ in 2012, SMU fell to 84th last season.  Their offense (71st) and defense (79th) were pretty much equally bad, and that was before they graduated their QB, two top receivers, both guards, and 3 of their top 4 secondary players.  One place they do have a lot of returning talent is in the front seven; SMU brought back everyone at DT and DE and only lost one of three starting linebackers.  That combined group could actually be a pretty decent early test for our offense, especially when compared to Northwestern State and Buffalo.

One thing to  is almost bound to be a very pass-heavy SMU offense on Sunday.  They had the #8 passing offense last season by yardage, and threw the ball over 600 times.  Baylor, by comparison, threw it just 448 times.  SMU is going to throw and throw often, especially if they think they can beat our secondary.

Statistic National
Rank
Conference
Rank
Value National Leader Value Conference
Leader
Value
3rd Down Pct 78 5 0.389 LSU 0.571 Louisville 0.560
3rd Down Defense 80 8 0.412 Louisville 0.267 Louisville 0.267
4th Down Pct 64 3 0.481 Wake Forest 0.833 Rutgers 0.778
4th Down Defense 40 3 0.450 Buffalo 0.222 UConn
UCF
0.400
0.400
Blocked Kicks 45 4 2 San Jose St.
North Texas
Air Force
7
7
7
Rutgers
Houston
4
4
Blocked Kicks Allowed 22 2 1 21 teams tied 0 South Fla. 0
Blocked Punts 18 3 1 North Texas 4 Rutgers
Temple
2
2
Blocked Punts Allowed 72 6 1 71 teams tied 0 5 teams tied 0
Comp Percentage 23 4 0.646 Louisville 0.708 Louisville 0.708
Fewest Penalties 107 6 90 Navy 34 UConn 56
Few Penalties/Game 113 7 7.50 Navy 2.62 UConn 4.67
Few Penalty Yards 102 6 770 Navy 282 UConn 493
Few Penalty Y/G 110 6 64.17 Navy 21.69 UConn 41.08
First Downs Defense 71 7 269 Louisville 183 Louisville 183
First Downs Offense 58 5 276 Baylor 372 Cincinnati 315
Fumbles Lost 97 8 12 6 teams tied 4 Louisville 6
Fumbles Recovered 102 10 6 Middle Tenn.
Ball St.
Houston
18
18
18
Houston 18
Kick Return Defense 72 7 21.76 Miami (OH) 14.24 Rutgers 18.47
Kickoff Returns 98 9 19.30 Florida St. 28.16 Houston 25.26
Net Punting 123 10 31.30 Alabama 42.43 Houston 41.37
Interceptions Thrown
59 6 12 5 teams tied 4 Louisville 4
Interceptions Made 73 6 11 Florida St. 26 Houston 25
Passing Offense 8 1 341.4 Fresno St. 394.8 SMU 341.4
Passing Yards Allowed 113 8 271.8 Florida St. 156.6 Louisville 170.8
Passing Yards / Comp 118 9 10.24 Georgia Tech 18.42 UCF 13.61
Punt Return Defense 117 10 16.00 Louisville 1.15 Louisville 1.15
Punt Returns 65 4 7.88 North Carolina 18.13 South Fla. 14.14
Red Zone Defense 104 10 0.880 Southern California 0.628 Louisville 0.684
Red Zone Offense 97 7 0.780 Florida St. 0.973 UCF 0.866
Rushing Defense 31 8 140.8 Louisville 80.7 Louisville 80.7
Rushing Offense 117 8 93.8 Auburn 328.3 Cincinnati 168.5
Sacks Allowed 115 9 3.17 Toledo 0.50 Cincinnati 1.31
Scoring Defense 99 10 33.3 Florida St. 12.1 Louisville 12.2
Scoring Offense 76 5 26.8 Baylor 52.4 Louisville 35.2
TFL Allowed 63 4 6.00 Toledo 3.25 UCF 5.38
Passing Eff 68 6 128.60 Florida St. 174.69 Louisville 171.93
Passing Eff Defense 94 8 139.96 Michigan St. 92.28 Louisville 99.16
Team Sacks 39 5 2.33 Louisville 3.31 Louisville 3.31
Team TFL 13 3 7.5 Clemson 9.5 Louisville 7.8
TOP 86 6 28:55 Bowling Green 34:03 Louisville 33:49
Total Defense 72 7 412.6 Louisville 251.5 Louisville 251.5
Total Offense 41 4 435.2 Baylor 618.8 Cincinnati 472.1
Turnover Margin 105 8 -0.58 Houston 1.92 Houston 1.92
Turnovers Gained 103 9 17 Houston 43 Houston 43
Turnovers Lost 87 5 24 Louisville
Navy
10
10
Louisville 10

Like last year, my plan is to avoid delving too deeply into the stats for these First Looks.  The idea here isn't to preview the team in-depth but rather provide a one-stop shop for general information for that week's game.  Maybe we'll go a little deerp than this once we have more information from this season available, but for now, this should be sufficient.

Question Time!

  • FIRST -- On a scale of 1-turnt, how turnt are you?  Gifs are appropriate mediums for answers to this question.
  • SECOND -- The current spread is Baylor -33.  The O/U is between 73 and 74.  Were you a betting man or woman, and were betting legal, what would you bet?
  • THIRD -- Do you have any specific questions about SMU that we can get answered in the coming days?
  • FOURTH -- Uniform prediction for this game: Go.
  • FIFTH -- What are you most concerned about going into this game at this exact moment (or the moment you read/answer this question)?