PonyFans.com is proud to welcome back, for his second season as a columnist, Nate, who is 14 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 says Matt Davis should get consideration as the starting SMU quarterback in the years ahead (photo by PonyFans.com).

The Mustangs’ loss to Memphis dropped SMU’s record to 0-7. But as this broken season goes on, we have to look forward. So the Mustangs go to Oklahoma to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Now, Tulsa has had almost the equivalent of the Mustangs’ 2014 season, just with one more win than SMU. The Golden Hurricane comes in at 1-7 after a 40-20 Halloween loss to Memphis, who also just beat SMU the week before. Tulsa did have an early 14-3 lead on Memphis, but that was before the Tigers rattled off 30 unanswered points. Each team lost its last game to Memphis, but SMU has a week of rest.

Let’s look a bit deeper into the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa’s defense has been getting trashed all year, giving up 40.3 points per game. If you look at Tulsa’s season stats, the Golden Hurricane is getting beaten all over the place, whether it’s the turnover margin or even onside kicks. Both SMU and Tulsa are riding seven-game losing streaks (actually nine for SMU going back to last year); Tulsa’s started after it opened up the year with a 38-31 win over the lowly Tulane Green Wave.

Quarterback Dane Evans has been OK at times, but also very prone to throwing picks, as he has thown nine interceptions this year. In his career at Tulsa, going back to last year, he actually has thrown more interceptions (19) than touchdowns (18). Tulsa’s running game leaves something to be desired as the Golden Hurricane ranks 98th in the nation with an average of 135 yards per game on the ground, but Tulsa also has the 18th-ranked air attack, averaging 298 yards per game. But you look at all that and you see a bunch of either OK or bad players, all of whom have had bad years. The offensive line is awful, as Evans has been sacked 21 times. Despite all those yards through the air, all of that amounts to 100th in the nation at 23 points a game. Granted, this is a terribly young football team coached by Bill Blankenship; only nine seniors and 18 juniors have seen time this year for Tulsa.

SMU quarterback Garrett Krstich got hurt in the fourth quarter of the Memphis game and Matt Davis came in, and showed he can perform as a dual-threat quarterback. When talking about the two quarterbacks competing, Mason said, “He (Davis) did some things with his legs that I really like,” interim head coach Tom Mason said. “I think he gives you a little bit of a dual threat. I’m looking for explosive plays right now, and he’s a guy who can give you some explosive plays.” From what I’ve heard from quotes and articles, if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Matt Davis to get the start on Saturday. To be quite honest, I’ve wanted to see him get significant playing time all year. I feel he is SMU’s quarterback for the next couple years. We’ll just have to see.

Tulsa is getting better each and every week with a lot of credit going to sophomore wide receiver Keevan Lucas who has dominated with 75 catches, 929 yards and eight touchdowns, and I see Lucas at least getting past 1,000 yards Saturday and then some. I see Evans having a good game, and the Tulsa offense will put up some points. But as bad as Tulsa’s defense is, I see them getting knocked around a little bit by SMU’s offense .

Nate’s Take: Tulsa 38, SMU 24