PonyFans.com is proud to welcome back, for his third season as a columnist, Nate, who is 14 years old, in ninth 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. He 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! (He can be followed on Twitter at @Pony_NATE_tion.)

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Chad Morris collected his first of what PonyFans hope will be many wins as the head coach of SMU, beating North Texas 31-13. This was a game that was sort of similar to the Baylor game role-wise, although to a much lesser degree. In the Baylor game, the Bears were clearly the better team, but it took a while to show and Baylor pulled away. In Saturday’s game, SMU actually was trailing, 13-10, heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs exploded for 21 unanswered points, and as we saw, rolled to a 31-13 win.

Nate says the defense SMU will face this week at TCU is the equal of the offense the Mustangs faced in the season opener against Baylor (photo by gofrogs.com).

Again, quarterback Matt Davis: WOW. This guy was the MVP of this game as well. Davis completed 17 of 24 passes for 171 passing yards and two touchdowns. Don’t forget his 17 carries for 125 yards and another pair of rushing touchdowns. His 50-yard touchdown run was unbelievable — Davis broke through not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Mean Green tacklers. (Granted, it was all awful arm-tackling, but that’s still almost half the UNT defense that got a hand on him).

On his other touchdown run, he ran through three tacklers, barreling into the end zone. He also made some great throws, including another bomb to receiver Courtland Sutton. Remember this guy is a redshirt freshman! In his first two games starting for SMU, he has three touchdowns on eight catches for 146 yards. He’s been a big-play threat, averaging 18.4 yards per catch.

So now the Mustangs get to go on the road against the No. 3 team in the country. I think TCU is a better team than Baylor, so this doesn’t bode too well for SMU. The Mustangs will just have to handle it like they did against Baylor: just play their hearts out. SMU was nearly tied (28-21) with Baylor at halftime in the opener, and therefore should be a confident team against a TCU team coming off a 70-7 win over Stephen F. Austin.

TCU’s defense is the equivalent of Baylor’s offense: TCU has one of the best defenses in the country, as Baylor has one of the best offenses in the country. That is not to say the Frogs’ offense isn’t good — they have a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Trevone Boykin, who is a well-rounded quarterback who can run all over the field and also throw all over the field and could have a big day against SMU.

Unfortunately for the Ponies, this is another game in which they are very outmatched, and this time it’s on the road. SMU will fight until the end like they did against Baylor, but this time SMU won’t keep it close nearly as long as it did two weeks ago. TCU will roll early and take the Iron Skillet again.

Nate’s Take: TCU 61, SMU 17