SMU Defense Will Probably Hang On to Defensive Ranking

If the Mustangs were wondering about motivation, but defense has it for second half

DALLAS — SMU coach Rhett Lashlee has been trying to stress finishing games all year and now they have the perfect chance to work on that after running up a 52-3 lead over Tulsa on Saturday morning at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The defense certainly has the motivation to do just that.

In the first half they held the Golden Hurricane to just 91 yards of offense and now avoiding a second-half letdown will keep the Mustangs solidly in the Top 20 and just might move them up to the Top 10 in defense. They came into the game ranked No. 13 in total defense.

There were graphics shown on the ESPNU broadcast how the Ponies were ranking up with the power players in college football on offense, but that's even more evident on defense. Notre Dame and UCLA are the teams right in front of them and if they can continue, they will likely pass them.

As they prepare to move to the ACC, the one thing a lot of people look at making the move to a Power 5 conference for the first time is how the defense stacks up. Usually, teams making that move are heavily-tilted towards offense.

Lashlee has talked for several weeks they have to finish these games. In the two losses against Oklahoma and TCU, the Ponies' defense didn't maintain the intensity and focus in the second half and it didn't work out well.

It showed flashes of that against East Carolina, but came together in a 55-0 rout of Temple last week. Now they are squeezing Tulsa and making a statement.