Mustangs in search of first victory
| • | Hawai'i, SMU both facing must-win game |
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
DALLAS — In plain view — of the students walking from a late afternoon class, of the high-rolling boosters, of the visiting reporters — the Southern Methodist football team worked out yesterday on a grass field neighboring Gerald Ford Stadium.
The Mustangs, after all, have no secrets, and their plays — and plight — are a matter of public record.
"It's common knowledge we're struggling," said middle linebacker Vic Viloria, whose 0-3 team plays host to Hawai'i (1-2) tomorrow (6 a.m. Hawai' time) in a Western Athletic Conference game. "We're working hard and we're improving, but it's still frustrating."
In search of a boost, SMU coach Mike Cavan opened up the quarterback position. Cavan said he will announce today whether sophomore Kelan Luker or junior David Page will start.
Luker started the first three games, committing a turnover in each of them. Page started against UH last year.
"To tell you the truth, both guys will play," Cavan said.
Cavan said the Mustangs spent the past two weeks — they had a bye last Saturday — working on fundamentals. They have turned the ball over nine times in three games, with six turnovers leading to touchdowns.
"It's bad enough to say you had six turnovers," Cavan said. "But to say you had six turnovers for touchdowns ... I never heard of that. That may be an NCAA record."
He described some of the turnovers as "silly, some as our fault, and some I have to give credit to the other team. We have to cut it out, though. We can't beat anybody turning over the football."
Cavan has tried several things. He has platooned running backs, tinkered with the offense and, now, is evaluating the quarterback position.
Little has worked, and the Mustangs, already overshadowed in a crowded sports market, are becoming more of an afterthought. For the third consecutive year, SMU is playing at home on the same day as the nationally popular Oklahoma-Texas game at the nearby Cotton Bowl.
About 15,000 — less than half the capacity of Gerald Ford Stadium — are expected for tomorrow's UH-SMU game.
"I'm smart enough to know you have to win football games sooner or later," said Cavan, in his fifth season as SMU's head coach.
A columnist for the Dallas Morning News suggested that Cavan was on the hot seat. With boosters paying big money — 650 fans pay $2,500 a year for the right to pay $70 per ticket, and some bigwigs pay $25,000 a year for a luxury box — the Mustangs can ill afford to stumble again.
"We need to win a football game," Cavan said.
• Notes: The Warriors arrived yesterday morning, spending most of the day in meetings or sleeping. They practiced at 9 p.m. (4 p.m. Hawai'i time) at a nearby high school field. ... Quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen was a late addition to UH's 60-player travel roster. "At first, they told me I wasn't going," Withy-Allen said. "Then they told me to get ready." With Tim Chang injured, Withy-Allen joins Nick Rolovich and Jared Flint as the only quarterbacks on the trip. During last night's practice, Withy-Allen wore a T-shirt with his No. 7 inscribed on his back in tape.
