The first practice after Saturday's loss to Navy said a lot about this year's SMU football team. There was a lot of energy and, more importantly, a lot of high spirits from the players and the coaching staff.

They all understood what the loss to Navy meant. SMU is no longer in the hunt for the American Athletic Conference West Division title, which also means the team won't get to play in next week's AAC Championship Game. And barring a ton of unforeseen circumstances, the Mustangs won't get to play in the Cotton Bowl as the nation's top-ranked Group of 5 team.

So be it -- but the electricity of Sunday's practice showed that while some expectations were no more, other goals are still very much alive in the final week of regular-season play. SMU will host Tulane on Saturday in a game that's not only Senior Day for the Mustangs but also one that will give the program 10 wins for the first time since 1984 season.