2025 SMU Mustangs Season Preview

A pretty good summary of their team and the moves they made in the off season.

Playing a solid ranked squad on the road. 0-2 seems likely. Dave can't beat good teams. That'll likely continue. SMU 38-30

I'm predicting 0-2 as well. Aside from the in field talent, they have assembled a much better coaching staff. Ours is just bad at player development, in game adjustments, and strength/conditioning.

Pretty much this.. the day Dave Aranda beats a good team I'll be the 1st to congratulate him. Beating the B12 scrubs isn't impressive. The hype around this squad was based on beating a bunch of pumpkins to close the 24 season. Dave just flat out sucks as a HC. There's simply no way around it. An 0-2 start is disastrous considering the HC himself told everyone this is his best roster.

They will beat us, it will be embarrassing and painful, and the usual suspects will tell us that we never had a chance and to cheer up, because we can totally still make the playoffs bro.

We have a lot tape to study on how to let a QB torch you running. SMU has a lot of tape on how do a QB run against us. I really want to win and believe in us winning but Lashlee runs a solid offense…

boykin_spaniel said:

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We have a lot tape to study on how to let a QB torch you running. SMU has a lot of tape on how do a QB run against us. I really want to win and believe in us winning but Lashlee runs a solid offense…

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SMU won't be able to blow us off the ball in their base run game the way Auburn was. They'll likely stress our defense in different ways, especially in the passing game, but they won't be able to replicate Auburn's game plan because they don't have Auburn's offensive line.

They'll look to get outside but I'd still expect Jennings to have reads similar to Arnold where he can pull the ball and run up the middle if we clear out defending the edge

SMU has a better running QB than Auburn. Nuff said!

SMU also has one of the better TEs in the country in RJ Maryland. Not sure what else they return. But I imagine between Jennings running the ball and the mismatches Maryland can create they'll have tons of success offensively

Realitybites said:

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I'm predicting 0-2 as well. Aside from the in field talent, they have assembled a much better coaching staff. Ours is just bad at player development, in game adjustments, and strength/conditioning.

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Dallas baker is a great coach but unfortunately he is a position coach at this point and can't overcome the urge of the OC to run the ball up the middle against the teeth of one of the better D-line's in the SEC.

Same story with Khenon Hiall

0-2 coming soon

boykin_spaniel said:

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They'll look to get outside but I'd still expect Jennings to have reads similar to Arnold where he can pull the ball and run up the middle if we clear out defending the edge

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I think a big part of our struggles last night is that we had to dedicate so much attention to stopping (or more accurately, kind of slowing ... sometimes) the running backs that we couldn't pay extra respect to Arnold's running ability.

It was truly a pick your poison situation.

If we can stop the base run better next week, it will allow us to better defend the quarterback run.

BU82EX said:

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SMU has a better running QB than Auburn. Nuff said!

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Arnold is a really good runner. He had almost 100 more rushing yards than Jennings last year in four fewer games.

The knock on him is his ability to read defenses and throw, not his ability to run.

Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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I was told that Dave was completely reinventing his defense to add all these new wrinkles that would throw Auburn off. Knowing Dave, I think his adjustments actually made it easier for Jackson Arnold to beat us with his legs

BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

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They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

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I'd say his success was a fair mix of designed run, RPOs and occasionally scrambling after a pass play broke down. We had no answer regardless, but I would expect all three to be present next week.

IowaBear said:

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Pretty much this.. the day Dave Aranda beats a good team I'll be the 1st to congratulate him. Beating the B12 scrubs isn't impressive. The hype around this squad was based on beating a bunch of pumpkins to close the 24 season. Dave just flat out sucks as a HC. There's simply no way around it. An 0-2 start is disastrous considering the HC himself told everyone this is his best roster.

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Pretty true - when has Aranda beaten a team he wasn't supposed to? Ever?

SMU won't have the trenches that Auburn has. Two really good offenses going at it. I expect a high scoring contest that Baylor should win. Our WR/QB combo is elite. Against a lesser DL our running game could be electric.

BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

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They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

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Most college teams don't have that.

dstaylor57 said:

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SMU won't have the trenches that Auburn has. Two really good offenses going at it. I expect a high scoring contest that Baylor should win. Our WR/QB combo is elite. Against a lesser DL our running game could be electric.

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SMU OL is quite good...Parr, Williams, Byrd are all legit returners. Don't know much about their D-Line, but I agree this will be a high scoring game.

boykin_spaniel said:

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They'll look to get outside but I'd still expect Jennings to have reads similar to Arnold where he can pull the ball and run up the middle if we clear out defending the edge

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Yeah, that's what I'm worried about.

bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

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They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

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Most college teams don't have that.

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Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

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They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

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Most college teams don't have that.

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Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

---

Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

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Most college teams don't have that.

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Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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I mostly agree with that. In addition to getting bullied up front on both sides of the ball all night, at the end of the game we had a spy on Arnold, no one even blocked him, and he still just could not make the play.

We had a few seriously head scratcher decisions sprinkled through the game, but mainly we lost because they've got better players.

There are very few coaches out there who are good enough to win with that kind of talent deficit. Dave is not one of them.

bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

---

Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

---

Most college teams don't have that.

---

Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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For Pete sake. It was a scheme issue. He was so worried about the WR that he left the QB to run on us for almost 150 yards and never brought a spy up to stop him. Thats coaching, not talent.

BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

---

Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

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Most college teams don't have that.

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Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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For Pete sake. It was a scheme issue. He was so worried about the WR that he left the QB to run on us for almost 150 yards and never brought a spy up to stop him. Thats coaching, not talent.

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I agree we should have adjusted and forced them to pass at some point. We never did it. But even when we put a spy on Arnold, we could not make a play.

I'm not a big Aranda guy but scheme on D wasn't the primary issue with Arnold's runs. The guys filling in for Williams at Rover were put in position to make plays and simply whiffed time after time. Neither are Big 12 level, much less SEC level.

Robert Wilson said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

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Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

---

Most college teams don't have that.

---

Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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For Pete sake. It was a scheme issue. He was so worried about the WR that he left the QB to run on us for almost 150 yards and never brought a spy up to stop him. Thats coaching, not talent.

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I agree we should have adjusted and forced them to pass at some point. We never did it. But even when we put a spy on Arnold, we could not make a play.

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Undisciplined pass rush, getting way too far upfield allowing Arnold to just pull it down and scramble was pretty much their entire offense. The guy threw for 100 yards. And only completed 11 passes.

We don't have the athletic freaks that Dave needs to run his scheme.

News flash, his scheme is really just a vary vanilla base that depends on individual feats of athleticism

At some point you have to bring a safety up to spy. One of your corners is left 1v1 but Arnold isn't known for being a consistent passer so make him make a throw. You can try to disguise the safety spy but we needed a spy and we did not have one

BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

---

Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

---

Most college teams don't have that.

---

Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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For Pete sake. It was a scheme issue. He was so worried about the WR that he left the QB to run on us for almost 150 yards and never brought a spy up to stop him. Thats coaching, not talent.

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You can't scheme around a defensive line that's getting pushed four yards off the ball every play. Sorry, you just can't.

BUATX2000 said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BUATX2000 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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BearBuck said:

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Did anyone detect any in-game adjustments for us defensively last night. Because it seemed half of their snaps were QB draws the entire game and we never stopped it. Had gaping holes every time like we had no idea it was coming.

---

Most of those weren't draws, they were read plays or RPOs.

Those are all tough plays to defend. It's the modern-day option game.

---

They are not hard to defend if you have corners who can cover in man to man without safety help. We do not have that.

---

Most college teams don't have that.

---

Thank you for falling for the trap. That's exactly what Dave had when he earned his reputation as a defensive guru. both Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who were LSU's starting cornerbacks during their 2019 national championship season, are still active players in the NFL as of the 2025 season.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to argue or prove. I haven't defended Aranda's defensive scheme. In fact, I've said I'm ready to hire an outside coordinator with his own scheme.

I just don't think last night was a scheme issue. It was a talent issue.

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For Pete sake. It was a scheme issue. He was so worried about the WR that he left the QB to run on us for almost 150 yards and never brought a spy up to stop him. Thats coaching, not talent.

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I agree we should have adjusted and forced them to pass at some point. We never did it. But even when we put a spy on Arnold, we could not make a play.

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Undisciplined pass rush, getting way too far upfield allowing Arnold to just pull it down and scramble was pretty much their entire offense. The guy threw for 100 yards. And only completed 11 passes.

We don't have the athletic freaks that Dave needs to run his scheme.

News flash, his scheme is really just a vary vanilla base that depends on individual feats of athleticism

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I don't disagree with any of that.

At the same time, when you were getting your ass kicked that badly up front there aren't many coaches that can pull a rabbit out of the hat. And Dave is not one of them.

boykin_spaniel said:

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At some point you have to bring a safety up to spy. One of your corners is left 1v1 but Arnold isn't known for being a consistent passer so make him make a throw. You can try to disguise the safety spy but we needed a spy and we did not have one

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I'm not opposed to that adjustment, but it likely doesn't solve anything. Bringing a safety into the box likely just gets us beat over the top on play-action.

I just find it funny that all the same people who acknowledged before the game that we needed two high safeties to protect the corners against Auburn's receivers are now furious we didn't bring a safety into the box.

Our defense isn't deep or talented enough to shut down both the pass and the run. And that was true before Marshall went down. We're very likely picking our poison one way or the other and griping about coaching decisions either way.