The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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5 thoughts on SMU’s homecoming loss to James Madison

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SMU’s offense leaving the field after a drive against JMU Photo credit: Ryan Miller

1. End-of-game management needs improvement. For all the good that Chad Morris has done, he was still in just his fourth game as a college head coach. Sure, he has head coaching experience at the high school level, but SMU needed to milk the clock on its final scoring drive. I understand trusting a defense because a head coach should show trust in his players, but giving James Madison two minutes to score against a defense it had shredded all game turned out poorly. Morris admitted he would have liked to run off more time on that drive. Matt Davis said his reaction to scoring was that he should have went out of bounds. However, I won’t make a big deal over calling two timeouts on defense. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think it made a big difference.

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SMU quarterback Matt Davis scrambling against JMU Photo credit: Ryan Miller

2. Five sacks. This wasn’t all the offensive line’s fault. Davis held the ball too long at times. On one first-quarter sack, he held the ball way too long against a four-man rush. JMU ran a stunt play that the line picked up well but couldn’t hold forever. On another, Davis escaped initially but didn’t throw the ball away and took the sack for a 14-yard loss. JMU contained him for much of the first half, forcing him to stay in the pocket longer than he usually does. That’s a product of good coverage and gap integrity on defense. I’m not absolving the offensive line, but as Morris noted postgame, the blame for sacks is on a lot of guys.

3. Speed kills. SMU struggled to stop run plays designed to show off speed and stretch the field sideways. It didn’t fare much better against inside power runs, but almost all of the run plays that SMU bottled up were inside runs. A 4-2-5 defense is designed to defend plays in space, but SMU didn’t do the job. Defenders often bit on fakes on read-option runs, creating wide-open holes and open spaces on the field. JMU has speed, but SMU’s lack of it defensively was more evident.

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SMU fans looking concerned late in the game against JMU Photo credit: Ryan Miller

4. Jeremiah Gaines is quiet again. Gaines didn’t record a catch and was only targeted a handful of times. Defenses identify him and plan for him in game prep, but SMU needs him to win the matchups other teams give him. So far, he hasn’t. He’s also being used as a blocker on the outside a lot. We’ve seen him struggle blocking on the line, but he can move smaller players better. He wasn’t perfect in that area, but it’s where he’s best.

5. Xavier Jones and Braeden West continue to improve. These are going to be special players for SMU for a long time. They run with such poise and vision and don’t waste any energy running sideways. Jones converted a third and short in the first half by making a beautiful, lightning-quick cutback to get up the field to the marker. Had he instead tried to beat a defender by outrunning him, he would have been short. West is a similar one-cut runner with speed to get through closing holes and outrun defenders chasing him from behind and from the back side of the play.

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