Southern Methodist Mustangs Football 2011 Preview, Predictions, Picks, Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

Southern Methodist Mustangs Football 2011 Preview, Predictions, Picks, Odds

As the 2011 NCAA Football Season approaches, we are providing season previews for every college football teams to give you the betting edge. Follow the best College Football Handicappers as they analyze their teams in this 2011 season preview. Be sure to bookmark SportsbookBuzz.com your source for Sportsbook Reviews. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on the College Football in our recommend sportsbooks.View the rest of our 2011 NCAA Football Season Previews here.

2010 Record: 7-7 C-USA Record: 6-2 (T-1st, West) 2011 Returning Starters: 19; 10 offense, 9 defense

Coach: June Jones, 16-23 (3 years)

Offensive Coordinators: June Jones Defensive Coordinators: Tom Mason

2011 SMU Players to Watch: QB Kyle Padron, RB Zach Une, WR Cole Beasley, WR Darius Johnson, LT Kelvin Beachum.

2011 SMU Strengths: The offense returns almost intact it’s proven it can rack up yards in the run-and -shoot, both in the air and on the ground. Padron has started since midway through his freshman season. The defense has matured as it enters the third season in Tom Mason’s 3-4, with Reed and Davis legitimate stars at linebacker.

2011 SMU Weaknesses:
Padron proved inconsistent at times last season, and the Mustangs struggled to finish drives with touchdowns. Who replaces big-play receiver Aldrick Robinson? SMU’s secondary must prove it is no longer the defensive weak link. Special tearns need reworking under anew position coach.

2011 SMU Offense:

Junior Kyle Padron will be in his third year of running June Jones’ Run ’N’ Shoot offense, which means the decisions the quarterback is forced to make should come more easily. Padron threw for a school-record 3,828 yards (16th in the nation) and 31 touchdowns last year along with 14 interceptions, which is a number Jones is OK with considering that Padron threw the ball 508 times. The Run ’N’ Shoot features one running back, and that job will fall to junior Zach Line, who put together a strong 2010 season. Line ran for 1,494 yards and 10 touchdowns, eclipsing the single-season rushing total of all Mustang backs not named Eric Dickerson. Line was held out of spring practice with back issues, but will play nearly every down if he stays healthy. Jones likes to stick to the same four receivers once he settles on starters, and coming out of spring he liked Darius Johnson, Cole Beasley, Terrance Wilkerson and Keenan Holman. Johnson and Beasley will typically line up in the slot with Wilkerson and Holman on the outside. Johnson is the best of the bunch, and Beasley led the team in catches last year with 87. All five starters return on the line, but Josh LeRibeus, a senior who sat out ’10 due to academics, will regain his spot at left guard. All in all, five seniors with starting experience will line up in front of the Mustangs’ talented skill players.

2011 SMU Defense:

SMU returns all three defensive line starters from last year and will boast a unit loaded with upperclassmen. Defensive end Taylor Thompson has an NFL future, and Jones was high on the play of both nose guard Marquis Frazier and defensive end Margus Hunt in the spring. SMU’s 3-4 scheme relies heavily on the linebackers to make plays, and the Mustangs return a pair of good ones in Ja’Gared Davis and Taylor Reed. The athletic Davis had nine sacks last year and was a first-team all-league selection. Reed led SMU in tackles in ’10 from the middle linebacker position. True freshman Davon Moreland, the most highly touted SMU recruit in recent memory, will get a shot to start right away. Chris Banjo will start for his fourth straight season at free safety, anchoring a back line that returns three starters. Ryan Smith will line up next to Banjo in his second season at strong safety after playing cornerback as a freshman. Richard Crawford will man the right cornerback slot again, while the left should go to emerging sophomore Kenneth Acker.

2011 SMU Special Teams:

New special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr., who arrived from UCLA and whose acclaimed late father coached at SMU in 2008, arrives with plenty to fix. Redshirt freshman Mike Loftus is untested as the projected kicker/punter replacement for graduated Matt Szymanski. Then there’s the punt return woes: SMU averaged just 4.9 yards per return in 2010. The good news: Defensive end Margus Hunt and the Mustangs have proven to be a kick-blocking force.

2011 SMU Football Schedule | SMU Football Sportsbooks

2011 SMU Predictions:

With plenty of veterans back from a squad that tied for the C-USA West title last season, the Mustangs are poised to win plenty of games in 2011. Depth is still a concern, but the starting 22 can play with anyone in the league, and the Mustangs’ first league championship since they tied for the 1984 Southwest Conference title in the pre-Death Penalty days is a real possibility. The key will be in the turnover department, where SMU was No. 111 nationally at minus-12. An improvement even to the middle of the pack will make a huge difference for a team whose offense is capable of outscoring nearly every team on the schedule.

2011 SMU Betting Odds:

SMU Current odds to win a National Championship: +5000

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