SMU is Horrible

[Eric]

Granted, SMU's offense looked terrible against Baylor last Sunday, but I figured that was just Baylor annihilating an opponent like they did last year. It was obvious that SMU would have problems after that game and nobody really thought they would be good in the preseason. But they just lost to North Texas 43-6 with those six points coming on a last-second hail mary. I just have to let that sink in for a minute.

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...Okay. Either June Jones has done a horrible job stocking his program with players or the players have quit on June Jones. It has to be one of those two. North Texas is okay, but that result is inexcusable. They just got their first points of the season on that hail mary busted coverage as time ran out. June Jones is coaching one of the worst offenses in the country. That's probably the most counter-intuitive thing I've seen in this brief 2014.

[donovan]

Unbelievable......Not sure Hawaii would take him back.

[Eric]

I think everybody knew SMU wouldn't do that great this year, but this was a team that went 5-7 after they made the step up to the AAC. There are some injuries across the board, but the offense is an absolute dumpster fire. Their offense in Jones' first season (where they went 1-11) was better than this is. They didn't even have 100 yards against Baylor. And when a team puts in the backups in the fourth quarter and you can't manage 100 yards, that is pathetic. The Citadel might crack 100 yards against Florida State. Might.

[WoVeU]

That is what I was thinking...they are just ridiculous. I couldn't even watch that game.

[Cane from the Bend]

And now, June Jones Resigns ... citing personal issues.

Yeah, personally, he knows this team cannot win.

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[warrriorsfan808]

ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!!!

[donovan]

Do you see Jones returning as the answer?

[highfly]

I watched the 30 for 30 show ESPN did on SMU and it seemed like after a couple of solid years and June Jones as coach they had finally climbed out of the pit and would be a competitive team. Now they just look awful and there is no sign of fixing it in the near future. Not gonna pin it all on the death penalty cuz they're not alone. Colorado is not to far behind after being near the top for a run in the 90s.

[Cane from the Bend]

Colorado was decent up until 2004.
Then, everything went sour.

They fired Barnette only to rehire him, because they didn't have time to replace him. But they only rehired him with full intent on letting him go at the end of the next season ... to which, he did no recruiting, and Colorado missed an entire off season.

Then, they replaced him with Hawkins from Boise, who came in and cleaned house. The cupboard was bare, and he never could get things going.

A couple of lowly seasons, and some outcry over him giving favoritism to his son as the Buf's qb (even though he sat his son at times), then Hawkins was gone ...

It's been so long now, since Colorado has had a competitive team, that today's potential recruits do not recall their run. So it will be a major project, no matter who goes to attempt a right of that ship.

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[Cane from the Bend]

Oh, my ...

Now Dickerson Chimes in.

Eric Dickerson interview, 105.3 KRLD-FM in Dallas on Tuesday: "I talked to four former players yesterday, and we all said if they don't want to do anything, just kill the program -- Just stick to academics and basketball and kill that program -- It's so frustrating for us to watch SMU become nothing but a laughingstock or almost nonexistent. It's almost like it doesn't exist -- It's a tough question. The main thing is getting the help there, and I think June has been frustrated the last couple of years with not getting the help that he needed from upper management in the university -- I look at TCU, and TCU is a great school. I look at TCU and SMU. ... TCU has got it. They have fans coming to the games and made the total 360, and we're just still sitting on our hands like we don't get it. We're still sitting there talking about the death penalty that happened 30 years ago. It's time to get over that."

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It is hard to watch a program build a positive direction, only to turn back around and slump into near obscurity ... but to say, just scrap it is a little extreme in my view.

I understand the sentiment ... but, this statement was said with an emphatic tone. He and four other former players agreed.

And now, one of the all time greats from the school, has voice this sentiment on a live public platform.

No good, no good.

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[Eric]

Dickerson is right about one thing: I'm tired of hearing SMU people or pundits who keep bringing up the death penalty. Yes, it would take quite a bit of time to rebuild from something that massive, but look at a school like UTSA who started playing competitive football in 2011 (and managed to lose to a D3 school in their inaugural season). And look at them now; they have a better roster than SMU and they literally started with nothing. In this day and age, hiring the right coach, investing in the right facilities, and recruiting the right athletes should be good enough to win games and is almost achievable at any school. Of course this is relative to their level of competition as turning Kent State or somebody into a perennial top 25 football team would be next to impossible, but as a consistent force in the MAC? It's possible if they make the right calls as a system.

SMU is in the American Athletic Conference which is on the outskirts of the "Power 5." It's in Texas. Winning consistently is about finding the right guy. And for awhile, June Jones was the right guy. He just started suffering from burnout.

[donovan]

I see SMU's problem, not unique to them, in many schools, some with winning programs. It's not about football anymore..

[WoVeU]

Wow! I didn't even know Jones rolled up?!?!? Then Cane lays that Dickerson quote out...wow! I see where he is cooing from, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing right.

I agree with both Eric's...it is time to forget about ancient history.

[donovan]

I get the ancient history, we do too much of that, but this is not Ancient History. They are feeling the affects of a decision made years ago and have not been able to recover, its much bigger than football. The issue, to me is, the NCAA still is clueless how to handle infractions. This is more current than we want to know. SMU's not winning is no big deal, lots of schools loose. A season coach saying...this is in so disarray, not worth it is. Could have SMU done better...maybe. The University of Oregon is about to be hammered...or let off the hook, in basketball. Should we ruin the current program because of what the administration did? When does the administration become accountable>

[WoVeU]

I get the ancient history, we do too much of that, but this is not Ancient History. They are feeling the affects of a decision made years ago and have not been able to recover, its much bigger than football. The issue, to me is, the NCAA still is clueless how to handle infractions. This is more current than we want to know. SMU's not winning is no big deal, lots of schools loose. A season coach saying...this is in so disarray, not worth it is. Could have SMU done better...maybe. The University of Oregon is about to be hammered...or let off the hook, in basketball. Should we ruin the current program because of what the administration did? When does the administration become accountable>

Not recovering at football (just being competitive) and June Jones hanging it up both have to be signs outside of football! At this point we are talking the AD, president, and so on. I wonder how well their enrollment and academics have held up over the last 20 years...to that I have no clue. But it could shed some light.