SMU to Face Fresno State for First Time
Oct 13 | Football
The SMU Mustangs (0-5, 0-2 WAC) face Fresno State (4-2, 1-0) for the first time in school history on Thursday night in the Cotton Bowl. SMU will be looking to snap its five-game losing streak on national television. The game will be broadcast nationally by FOX Sports Net, beginning at 6:00 PM Central time.
When it faces Fresno State Thursday night, SMU will be matched up against its first opponent from the state of California since losing to 13th-ranked UCLA, 17-10, in the Rose Bowl on September 10, 1994. SMU's last victory over a team from California came on September 15, 1973, when the Ponies upended Santa Clara, 49-7, at Texas Stadium. The last time SMU competed against a left coast school in the Cotton Bowl was on September 29, 1962, when USC defeated SMU, 33-3. SMU will face three teams from California this season (Fresno State, San Jose State and Cal State Northridge), marking the first time in school history the Mustangs will play three California teams.
SMU head coach Mike Cavan and players Jason Simonton and Kris Briggs addressed the media at the school's weekly football press luncheon:
Mike Cavan, SMU Head Coach:
"We need a total team effort to be successful. Instead of coming here each week talking about our individual successes during a game, we need to talk about the entire team. At UTEP last week, our guys battled for 60 minutes and put themselves in position to win a game. That's a good step."
"I think the short week has hurt us injury-wise. We have a few players -- James McCarthy, Chris Cunningham and Tony Newsome -- who probably could have played if the game was on Saturday. I don't think they'll be ready by Thursday."
"Fresno State is a first-class football team. They were one of the teams picked to win the WAC and now, after their win over TCU, they've got to be the favorite. They have a senior quarterback who on film looks like a tremendous player. They do a lot of things on offense. They move around a lot and can spread you out as easily as run the power running game. Defensively, they may be as good as we've seen this year up front."
"I've talked to the players about this game being on national television. Their families, friends and ex-girlfriends will all be watching Thursday. I joked with them that they don't want to play poorly in front of all those ex-girlfriends. Seriously, they've got an opportunity to perform in front of a national TV audience. That should help."
"We need to continue what we started at UTEP. There was a great feeling on our sideline when we made our move at the end of that game. It's the first time all year I thought we battled for 60 minutes. We need to build upon that effort."
#24 Kris Briggs, freshman, running back:
"It depends on the situation, you think, 'How hurt am I and can I get up and go again?' It depends on the situation but you definitely know when you're seriously hurt."
"Nobody can predict the future. Conference USA may be the best place for them (TCU) but it may not have been the best place for us - only time will tell. Our job is to play hard and not worry about what conference we may or may not be in."
"We (Rodnick Phillips, Johnnie Freeman, Kris Briggs) all have different talents that can be used in different situations. There's not real competition among us, we keep each other up and motivated to do the best we can for the team."
"Johnnie and I look up to Rodnick and learn from him, but we're all learning from each one another. It's not about our numbers, our mission is win ball games and not worry about who go what each game."
About touchdown against UTEP and fumble against Hawaii
"I just thanked the Lord for getting me into the endzone and for letting the coaches call that play. I've put the fumble behind me and chalk it up as a freshman mistake - one that I'm working toward never letting happen again. Coach Cavan didn't make me carry a ball around campus or anything like that - but he might if it happens again.
#36 Jason Simonton, senior linebacker:
"You always get up for a big game on television because you're playing in front of so many more people than are actually there."
"It doesn't matter which conference you're in as long as you're playing games. You will still have teams to play and bowl games to go to, so that doesn't really concern us as players. I tell them (younger players) that it's not a big deal. We just have to keep going out and playing hard. TCU isn't better than we are because they got in (to Conference USA). There are so many factors that went into the decision. We'll continue to play TCU and there will still be a rivalry."
"I think that is the Luke Johnson we have been looking for this season. He knew that (Markus) Pratt was out and needed to step up his game. That is the type of game we've expected from him and knew that he was capable of."
