We met with On the Pony Express before the Battle of the Iron Skillet.
After a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the UCF Knights, the Horned Frogs will compete in the penultimate “Battle of the Iron Skillet” against the SMU Mustangs. This will be the 103rd matchup between the two schools and the second to last for the foreseeable future. Before the crosstown battle, we caught up with Billy Embody of the On the Pony Express to discuss SMU’s move to the ACC, the Mustang’s early season offensive struggles, and the age-old rivalry with TCU.
Frogs O’ War: What do you make of the Mustangs’ move to the Atlantic Coast Conference? Does this move bode well for SMU moving forward?
On The Pony Express: It was a big win for SMU to land in the ACC. The administration feels like from a fit perspective, it’s terrific. On top of the university being in a league with multiple national champions in key sports this century, it’s a league that the university is aligned with as far as long-term academic goals. The payout is substantially more than what the program was getting from the AAC as well. SMU didn’t give up all sorts of revenue. They’re actually getting at least double in TV revenue than they were before, they’re just forgoing the Tier 1 money. So boosters are spending big to fill that $25 million or more delta to get SMU to the payout other ACC schools are getting. It’s been a huge win for fundraising, ticket sales, and applications so far. It’s been a transformative move for the university as a whole.
Frogs O’ War: Following a rocky start to the season, what have the Mustangs struggled with most?
On The Pony Express: Offensively, it’s been an adventure. SMU’s offensive line hasn’t pass protected like the staff expected it was going to. That’s impacted the quarterbacks and passing game as a whole. With the offensive line struggling, SMU has made a change from Preston Stone to Kevin Jennings. Jennings is more of a scrambler and as a passing game, SMU’s hoping the move will pay off with more consistent production instead of a boom-or-bust offense. The run game has been solid so if the pass game catches up, the Mustangs might have a potent enough offense to be a threat.
Frogs O’ War: How much of an impact will the quarterback change make? Is Kevin Jennings the future signal caller for SMU?
On The Pony Express: Rhett Lashlee made a big decision with this change. It’s one that’s expected to improve the overall consistency of the offense. If the Mustangs can get more of a short to intermediate passing game going, that’ll lead to better efficiency. SMU’s gone interception, 3-and-out, 3-and-out to start its games this season under Preston Stone. With Jennings, he appears calmer and more consistent as far as moving the offense. If that holds up, he’s the quarterback of the future. If not, the position will be a huge point of emphasis in the transfer portal this offseason. That said, SMU’s pretty confident in Jennings developing well.
Frogs O’ War: SMU’s defense has been a strong suit thus far. What must the Mustangs do to slow down the high-powered Horned Frogs passing attack?
On The Pony Express: SMU’s defensive line has been able to control the line of scrimmage for the most part so that’s a big piece for the team’s hopes to make the Frogs one-dimensional. If Josh Hoover has to air it out, the corners and safeties will need to step up. Hoover gets the ball out pretty quickly, which can minimize the pass rush. It’ll fall on the secondary to make some solid one-on-one plays against TCU to slow the passing game down. It’s a tall task, but the secondary has been better than expected so far this fall.
Frogs O’ War: Should SMU and TCU reignite the Battle for the Iron Skillet? What was the sentiment amongst the SMU community when the rivalry wasn’t renewed?
On The Pony Express: SMU wants the rivalry to be played. As college football goes toward some non-regional games, playing a crosstown rival is something Mustang fans would love to see. The sentiment though falls at what Sonny Dykes wants to do. Most feel if he wasn’t at the helm in Ft. Worth, the game would be played. Naturally, there’s animosity toward him for the game coming to an end in the near future.
Frogs O’ War: What’s your prediction for SMU vs. TCU? Who wins? What’s the final score?
On The Pony Express: This is a “show me” game for Rhett Lashlee. Dykes has had his team better prepared to perform. Lashlee’s team needs to play clean and start fast to get it done. That said, the Mustangs haven’t shown that yet against TCU. The blueprint is there for SMU from UCF, but they’ve not shown the ability to get it done yet TCU wins, 26-20.
Shout out to Billy for providing great insight ahead of Saturday’s matchup. For all things SMU, check out On the Pony Express.