SMU To Visit UConn To Close Out 2014 Season
Dec 2 | Football
| SMU (0-11, 0-7 American) vs. UConn (2-9, 1-6 American) | |
| Date & Kick Time | Saturday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. |
| Live Stats | SMU Gametracker |
| Location | Rentschler Field (40,642) - East Hartford, Conn. |
| TV | CBS Sports Network | Channel Finder |
| Radio | KTCK 1310 AM/96.7 FM |
| Game Info | SMU Game Notes (.pdf) | UConn Game Notes (.pdf) |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUFootball | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMU_Football | @TomMason20 | |
SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU announced the hiring of Chad Morris as its new Head Football Coach on Dec. 1. Morris comes from Clemson, where he had served as Offensive Coordinator for the past four seasons. He helped the Tigers go 41-11 during his time in Death Valley, including four bowl berths and the 2011 ACC Championship. Morris, who was born in Dallas, spent 16 seasons as a coach in the Texas high school ranks.
• The SMU Mustangs will visit UConn for their last game of the 2014 season. SMU is 2-0 all-time against the Huskies, including a 38-21 win last season.
• Sophomore Matt Davis has started the last four games at quarterback for the Mustangs. Davis made the most of his first start, throwing for 212 yards and one touchdown while adding 181 rushing yards with two scores. The 181 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback in SMU history. For his effort, Davis was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll on Nov. 10.
• SMU has made four bowl game appearances in the last five seasons, winning the 2009 and 2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowls as well as the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl (after the 2011 season). SMU also won 35 games from 2009-13, ranking as the eighth-most in any five-year span in program history. SMU also won two Conference USA Western Division co-championships (2009 and 2010) and reached the C-USA Championship game in 2010.
• Senior linebacker Stephon Sanders was selected as a semifinalist for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation announced on Sept. 25. The award is given annually to an individual deemed to be the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation, and up to 16 of the candidates will be named recipients of a prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award. He was also named to the Butkus Award Watch List (nation's top linebacker) on July 14. Sanders has totaled 70 tackles (including eight for loss) so far this season.
• Senior linebacker/running back Kevin Pope has started at both running back and linebacker for the Mustangs this season. Pope also started on both sides last year, making 10 starts at linebacker and one at running back to close the season.
• SMU has used four different starting quarterbacks this season - sophomore Neal Burcham (Aug. 31-Sept. 6), redshirt freshman Kolney Cassel (Sept. 20), junior Garrett Krstich (Sept. 27-Oct. 25) and sophomore Matt Davis (Nov. 8-28).
THE SERIES
• SMU and UConn have met just twice, with both games taking place in Dallas. SMU has won both matchups, including a 38-21 victory last season. Garrett Gilbert threw four touchdown passes and a late pick-six by linebacker Stephon Sanders sealed the win for SMU. The 1989 meeting holds significance in SMU football history as the "Miracle on Mockingbird". When SMU returned to the football field in 1989, critics claimed that it was going to take a miracle for Forrest Gregg and the Mustangs to win a game. UConn came to town in the second week of the season. After trailing 30-14 late in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs scored 17 points in the final five minutes to win the game, 31-30.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
• UConn is 2-9 on the season, with home wins over Stony Brook (19-16 - Sept. 6) and UCF (37-29 - Nov. 1). UConn has won two Big East championships since 2007, including the 2010 title, earning the Huskies a bid to the 2011 Fiesta Bowl versus Oklahoma.
THE COACHES
• Tom Mason was named SMU's Interim Head Coach on Sept. 8. Mason is in his seventh season as defensive coordinator on the Hilltop. Mason has played a large role in the significant football resurgence at SMU, with the program tallying 35 wins from 2009-13, the eighth-most in any five-year span in program history. Mason's defense helped lead SMU to back-to-back Conference USA Western Division Co-Championships in 2009 and 2010, and led the Mustangs to four straight bowl berths from 2009-12. Mason was also the interim head coach for 10 games at Boise State in 1996.
• Bob Diaco, who served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two, is in his first year as the head football coach at UConn. Diaco was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award. He was a semifinalist for the award in 2011.
SMU senior wide receiver Der'rikk Thompson has moved into 11th on SMU's career receiving yards list with 1,917, and now needs 19 yards to catch Jeremy Johnson for 10th all-time. Thompson had three catches for 96 yards versus USF (Nov. 15), marking the 11th time in his career he has had at least 70 receiving yards in a game.
