SMU has athletes including plenty of WRs, a mobile, versatile QB, and they like to go tempo. Their FG kicker has a big leg.
They were a bit of a mess tonight with an opening turnover and a fumbled punt attempt. Not that impressed with either line or their defense in general.

I had this as a loss for BYU. If we prove to be any good at all, we can win with a few keys:

1. Win (or neutral in) the turnover battle. Don’t gift them easy points

2. DBs play assignment sound and limit the big play. UNR stuck with the SMU wideouts rather well until the 4th quarter. If BYU can do the same, it allows Hill to….

3. Mix up the run defense and pressure schemes. UNR was often in the SMU backfield with run blitzes or just plain beating their blocks

4. Use designed QB runs, read options and QB scrambles. SMU struggled to defend

5. Reasonably effective run game + high percentage passes.

Not incredibly impressed with SMU’s tackling or D at large. Get playmakers the ball in the 2nd level, and I like our chances to make plays, possess the ball and score points

If BYU can’t keep SMU from going tempo on O or wear down the Mustang D, there’s danger of their O really getting rolling, which could easily = an L for BYU. SMU’s D will look for big plays to get us behind the chains and off the field. I expect them to be considerably better than the team we saw tonight. If we can make it too costly for them to be overly aggressive and take chances on D, BYU can beat SMU in a war of attrition.

Teams that can hit them in the mouth and not beat themselves should prove problematic for SMU. Hopefully, BYU can be that team when we journey to Dallas.