Memphis

The Tigers are next on the schedule for the Mustangs after their come from behind win over Tulane put them at an even 4-4 record. Right now Memphis sits at 5-3 and the team is certainly struggling at this point in the season, they have recorded bad back to back loses as they lost 42-28 to Navy and then got rolled by Tulsa 59-30. The defense for Memphis has been atrocious as they have given up at least 24 points to teams five weeks in a row, all good news for the potent SMU offense. Memphis’ potential to win this game will rely on their ability to put up points, right now they are averaging 37 per game thanks to a balanced game plan. The team has 16 rushing touchdowns on the year and 17 more through the air meaning the defense for SMU will have a lot to deal with.

This game screams shootout and thanks to a very relaxed pass rush from the Tigers, only seven on the year, SMU’s offense has the advantage.

49-42 SMU wins.

ECU

After an encouraging two wins to start the year, one of them over North Carolina State, the Pirates have since gone 1-5 in their last six games which is a stretch that included dropping five games in a row. Thanks to the cupcake win that ECU collected last week over Connecticut they got their first AAC win of the season but they still sit at 3-5 for the year. This is not a good football team, the offense is a mess and has struggled under bad quarterback play. The only good thing about the losing streak that they had is that four of the games were on the road including at Virginia Tech, at South Carolina, at USF and at Cincinnati. When they play SMU it will be a home game for ECU and the Pirates have one of the best home field advantages in the conference. They play Tulsa next week so expect them to drop another game in AAC play.

If SMU handles the Tigers in a high scoring game, then the road trip to ECU might have a trap feel about it. The crowd will play a huge part and the Pirates may play spoiler to a fantastic Mustang season.

A close game that SMU squeaks out 24-21.

USF

Maybe the best backfield combination in the AAC, Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack are the quarterback and running back that fuel this offense. They are both playmakers and form a versatile attack that very few teams can contain, let alone stop all together. The Bulls have played fantastic football this year and currently sit at 7-2 with their bye week coming up and then a road game against Memphis. This is a very good football team with big strong athletes everywhere on the field. They even looked very competitive in a 55-35 loss to Florida State in a game that the score doesn't truly reflect.

The Bulls have every reason to be considered as the favorite in the AAC after Houston lost to the Mustangs and USF handed Navy a 52-45 defeat, and looking at the rest of the schedule they could easily finish with a 10-2 record.

A reminder that SMU isn’t quite their yet to compete with a talented team like this one and USF beats the Mustangs 52-31.

Navy

The last game of the season and it’s a home matchup with the Navy offense from the 1950s. The heavy rushing attack is nothing new and luckily for SMU the 2016 Mustang defense is far more equipped to handle it. Navy is an interesting team as they have good conference wins against Houston and Memphis, but then seem to play down to the level of their competition as they dropped games against Air Force and struggled to pick up wins against Tulane and Connecticut. They host Notre Dame this week and will then play a competitive Tulsa team before traveling to meet the Mustangs.

They could potentially win all three of those games or they could lose all three, it’s hard to really get a good feel on this team. The important thing to remember is that SMU will be coming off a humbling defeat to USF, it will be the last game of a fantastic second year for Chad Morris and his staff, their WILL be a home field advantage for SMU in this game and the players will be going crazy as Navy’s team still has to play Army the following week.

SMU ends the season on a strong note as they stuff Navy in a 28-13 win and confidently head into the postseason.

SMU Record: 7-5