Oct. 24, 2006
SMU football head coach Phil Bennett held his weekly press conference Tuesday as the Mustangs prepare for an ESPN2 national television showdown against UAB on Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Bennett discussed the upcoming battle versus UAB and recapped Saturday's loss at East Carolina.
On UAB...
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Watson Brown. I've competed against him on many occasions and I just think he's a really good football coach. He has done a really good job at UAB. We had a very exciting game last year and were fortunate enough to win it. UAB has played some very close games this season - at Oklahoma, at Georgia, in overtime against Mississippi State - and have had some tough losses."
"In this league right now, whether it's us, East Carolina, UAB, whoever, there is not a nickel's difference between any of us. It's those that teams that play hard, mistake-free, and with a passion that win. I think this is a game that both teams feel like they need to win. They have a lot of guys back on their offensive line and it is probably one of the better lines that we'll play. Their quarterbacks have done a pretty good job and defensively they play hard."
On SMU's injuries...
"I think DeMyron Martin will play. I saw him yesterday. He stayed here in rehabbed all week. I think Jessie (Henderson) will play, and I think Cory Muse is close. I can't tell you right now whether he'll play or not. I would also say Bobby Chase is questionable."
On playing on Tuesday...
"It's different. I've never experienced it. You look at it, and Friday's going to be Tuesday, Saturday's going be Wednesday, Sunday's going to be Thursday, and Monday's going to be Friday. You get a little bit more time to prepare, and maybe that's good, but sometimes when you have too much time, you do too much, and that's what we have to be careful of. It's going be different. I'm hoping our guys will be energized and excited about the opportunity we're going to have to play on national TV."
On playing on National Television...
"Regardless of if we were playing at 5 p.m. at McCullough Middle School, with the situation we're in, there's an importance on this game. We control our destiny, without any doubt, and we have three home games in a row. We opened up with four of our first six games on the road, and I don't care who you are, that's hard. We have played better at home, but this is a team coming in here that feels they need to win, too, and it's going to be a challenge."
Tickets to next Tuesday's game are available online at smumustangs.com or by calling 214-SMU-GAME.
Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. Gameday information surrounding the SMU-UAB game can be found by clicking here.
