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Mustangs head to Houston for Rice

·33 min·2 clips

SMU is bowl eligible for a fifth straight year, a milestone Jordan Hoffaditz says 'should be celebrated.'

1. The Pony Stampede episode "Mustangs head to Houston for Rice" previews SMU's road game against Rice after back-to-back blowouts of Temple (55-0) and Tulsa (69-10). 2. Host Jordan Hoffaditz, who covers SMU for ponystampede.com, plans to attend the game in Houston and post thoughts afterward. 3. His thesis is that even against weak opponents, scoring 124 points in two games and recording shutouts for the first time since 2012 is 'hard to do.' 4. He breaks down the scoring: Jordan Hudson and RJ Maryland have two touchdown catches each, Jalen Knighton and Kamar Wheaton have two rushing scores each, and kicker Colin Rogers has been consistent. 5. He frames the 6-2 record, fifth straight bowl eligibility and 4-0 conference start (only the second since the 1980s) as boxes that must be checked, recalling years when six wins still did not bring a bowl. 6. On defense, he says over 50% of the turnovers have gone for touchdowns, citing Corey Roberson's pick six against Prairie View A&M and Jonathan McGill's against East Carolina. 7. He previews Rice quarterback JT Daniels, a former top-ranked recruit who went from USC to Georgia to West Virginia to Rice, and notes how quickly he releases the ball, which could blunt SMU's pass rush. 8. He highlights receiver Luke McCaffrey, who has 13 more catches and over twice the yards of Rice's second receiver, and freshman Dalen Alexander, who has five rushing touchdowns on 18 carries. 9. He calls Rice a team that 'can hang with some people,' noting its 37-10 loss to Texas, double-overtime win over Houston and 30-28 loss to Tulane last week. 10. Fans of SMU football and college football previews will get the most from it.

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