The SMU defense, which ranked 14th in the nation in total defense a year ago, was effective again Saturday morning at the Mustangs' second full-contact scrimmage. Led by sophomore defensive end Markus Pratt (two-and-a-half sacks), the defense registered nine quarterback sacks totaling 66 lost yards. The Pony stop troops also had two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, four pass breakups and six QB pressures. Sophomore linebackers Vic Viloria and Kevin Aldridge led the team with five tackles apiece.

"I thought it was a typical end of two-a-days scrimmage," said third-year SMU coach Mike Cavan. "The defense ran around with a lot of enthusiasm this morning. The offense is not quite there yet, but we've got a couple of weeks to work things out. It's not surprising when we've been piecing our offensive line together."

The offense used the big play for three of its four touchdowns Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Josh McCown connected with freshman Cody Cardwell on a 73-yard scoring strike while freshman signal caller Kelan Luker threw a 70-yard scoring strike to freshman Ryan Riddle. Senior running back Brendan McGraw had a 46-yard touchdown run for SMU's second score of the morning.

The SMU passing game continued to show improvement. McCown was 8-of-12 for 142 yards and two touchdowns while Luker went 8-of-18 for 147 yards and one TD. Walk-on quarterback Michael Mayon was 5-of-11 for 37 yards and two interceptions.

"We're throwing the ball better than we did last season," said Cavan. "It might look like we're doing some different things offensively because we've got some receivers who can go get the ball. The play of Cody Cardwell and Chris Cunningham has been a big plus for us. We need to get them in a game situation and see how they respond."

The top three receivers in the scrimmage were all true freshmen - Cunningham (six catches-66 yards-1 TD), Riddle (4-91-1) and Cardwell (2-83-1).

SMU begins its single practice routine on Monday, August 23, the same day classes start at the school. The Mustangs, picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference, host Arkansas on September 4 (7:00 PM) in the Cotton Bowl in the 1999 season opener.

Aug. 21 Scrimmage Box Score

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
SMU Defense.........  0  0  0  0  -  0       Record:
SMU Offense.........  6  7 14  3  - 30       Record:


Cunningham 7 pass from McCown (kick failed)       6-0
McGraw 46 run (Crowley kick)                     13-0
Riddle 70 pass from Luker (Crowley kick)         20-0
Cardwell 73 pass from McCown (Crowley kick)      27-0
Crowley 27 FG                                    30-0

                                   BLUE    WHITE
FIRST DOWNS...................        0       27
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............      0-0   50-118
PASSING YDS (NET).............        0      326
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........    0-0-0  41-21-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....      0-0   91-444
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0      1-7
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........      0-0     1-15
Interception Returns-Yards....      2-0      0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............    0-0.0   6-42.3
Fumbles-Lost..................      0-0      3-2
Penalties-Yards...............      0-0     2-15
Possession Time...............    00:00    00:00
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0      0-0

RUSHING: SMU Defense-. SMU Offense-McGraw, B. 12-89; Freeman, J.
8-37; Pipkins, J. 4-27; Cardwell, C. 1-19; Phillips, R. 9-11; Briggs, K.
2-1; Mayon, M. 2-minus 6; McCown 5-minus 14; Luker, K. 7-minus 46.

PASSING: SMU Defense-. SMU Offense-Luker, K. 8-18-0-147; McCown
8-12-0-142; Mayon, M. 5-11-2-37.

RECEIVING: SMU Defense-. SMU Offense-Cunningham, C. 6-66; Riddle, R.
4-91; Cardwell, C. 2-83; Newsome, T. 2-29; Briggs, K. 2-16; Pennington, J.
2-13; Ellen, D. 1-12; Fowler, R. 1-8; Hampton, J. 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS: SMU Defense-Williams, J. 1-0; Baha, N. 1-0. SMU
Offense-None.

Stadium: IM Field              Attendance: 500
Kickoff time: 9 am      End of Game: 10:30 am  Total elapsed time: 1:30
Officials:
Temperature: 92        Wind: 10 NE     Weather: Bright and Hot

Defensive Statistics

SACKS (UA-A): SMU Defense-Pratt, M. 2-1; Chandler, T. 2-0; Schavrda,
C. 1-1; Patman, J. 1-0; Birdwell, W. 1-0; Simonton, J. 1-0. SMU
Offense-None.

TACKLES (UA-A): SMU Defense-Aldridge, K. 5-0; Viloria, V. 5-0;
Hrncir, T. 3-2; Coats, R. 4-0; Riley, C. 3-1; Simonton, J. 2-2; Johnson, D.
2-2; Brown, B. 3-0; Ford, B. 2-1; Gardner, T. 2-1; Peterson, E. 2-1; Pettit,
J. 1-2; Price, L. 1-2; Briggs, B. 2-0; Beard, K. 2-0; McGraw, B. 1-1;
Dorsey, T. 1-0; Hart, T. 1-0; Richardson, C. 1-0; Williams, B. 1-0; Graham,
T. 1-0; Robinson, J. 1-0; Williams, J. 1-0; Garrett, K. 1-0; Pratt, M. 1-0;
O'Neill, Sh. 0-1; Baha, N. 0-1. SMU Offense-None.