PonyFans.com is proud to welcome back, for his second season as a columnist, Nate, who is 13 years old, in eighth grade, might want to be a sports writer and knows more about football than a lot of people who already make their living covering sports. Nate will offer his thoughts and will preview each game throughout the season, looking at a key player, matchup or statistic that could prove relevant in each upcoming game … and explain why it will impact the outcome. Feel free to post comments and constructive criticism, ask him questions, and/or give suggestions for upcoming columns!

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Nate said he has been particularly impressed with the way interim head coach Tom Mason has kept the Mustangs focused despite the rough first half of the season (photo by SMU athletics).

Well, SMU took another drubbing as A&M ran over SMU, 58-6. We can’t hang our hats on this one though as the Mustangs were clearly outmatched in all three phases (Interim head coach Tom Mason said) Garrett Krstich will start Saturday at quarterback against TCU, and the offense has been getting slightly better. Despite the final score, there were some positives from Saturday:

• With June Jones gone, SMU now will run the ball with the more hard-nosed style of Mason, as SMU pounded the ball 42 times for 102 yards. I know that is only about two yards per carry, but it was good to see the Mustangs pound the ball.

• No turnovers — after seeing turnover after turnover in the first two games, that was a positive sight.

• SMU ground out a long eight-minute drive towards the end of the second half that looked really good and resulted in three points.

Now, the SMU defense was awful, mostly because the Mustangs’ tackling was atrocious — Mason mentioned that in his postgame press conference. As a defensive coordinator, he will make sure it is never that bad again.

Alright, we’re done fuming about the embarrassment of last Saturday. It’s in the past. Now we focus on the 2014 Battle for the Iron Skillet. From the outside this seems like a minor rivalry, but on the inside it is intense, with two crosstown rivals who hate each other. TCU leads the all-time series, 46-40-7, and has won 12 out of the last 14; the Frogs last lost to SMU in the classic overtime game in Amon G. Carter Stadium when SMU took down then-nationally ranked TCU in overtime, 40-33. Last year, SMU was within handshaking distance of TCU at halftime, but it all blew up in the second half at Carter Stadium as TCU won, 48-17. This year, TCU comes in at 2-0 with two wins against bad teams (Samford and Minnesota), and SMU has run into a buzzsaw in all three games this year losing by a combined score of 146-12. SMU is yet to attempt and extra point this season.

TCU has allowed only 10.5 points a game with its always-stingy defense. Granted, the Frogs have faced low competition, and this week they go up against the statistically worst offense in the nation, but this is a rivalry game and I expect SMU to have some fire though. Offensively, TCU doesn’t have much of a running game as so far, but quarterback Trevone Boykin has broken out and leads the team in passing yards and rushing yards. The Frogs’ top receivers are David Porter and Kolby Listenbee, each of whom has more than 100 yards receiving on the year.

SMU has been known for its offense in the past, yet this season, the Mustangs rank last in the nation in all eight major offensive categories. The defense isn’t terrible, but the offense is putting the defense in bad situations; going into last Saturday, opposing teams’ drives start on average at the SMU 37-yard line.

This is a rivalry game, so SMU will keep it close for a bit (maybe it’s 10-6 at the end of the first?), but again, SMU is outmatched and although TCU won’t erase SMU like the Mustangs’ first three games, the Frogs should come into Gerald J. Ford Stadium (which will include a lot of purple-wearing Horned Frog fans) and handily beat the Mustangs.

Nate’s Take: TCU 41, SMU 13