DFW college football teams return home for second week of season

by Todd E. Jones of of College Football Top Ten

After opening the 2008 college football season on the road, the University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, and Texas Christian University return to the metroplex for each team's home opener. SMU and UNT will be looking to get their first wins after losses to Rice and Kansas State respectively. TCU is looking to build on its opening win over conference foe the New Mexico Lobos, as they take on the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.

SMU

In Dallas at Ford Stadium, SMU will host the Texas State Bobcats of the Southland Conference and the Football Championship Subdivsion at 7 p.m. at Ford Stadium. SMU Freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell figures to have a big day in the Mustang "run and shoot," as the Bobcats gave up 213 yards passing to Angelo State QB Josh Neiswander, while the defense held Angelo State to only 79 yards rushing. On offense, Texas State was very balanced with 136 passing yards and 152 rushing yards.

Such games against Football Championship Subdivisions (FCS) are usually considered "tune ups," much like the NFL's preseason games. However, if a team loses to a FCS team, it is a source of embarrassment for years. Last year, Michigan lost its opening game to the defending FCS National Champions Appalachian State. Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr retired at the end of the season, and Michigan hired a new coach with a new system. In 1992, the Arkansas Razorbacks lost to The Citadel in its season opener, and head coach Jack Crowe was fired after the game. This is an important game for SMU. The Mustangs need to get the win and they need to show a lot of improvement, especially on defense.

UNT

In Denton, the Mean Green return home to host the Tulsa Hurricanes at 6 p.m. at Fouts Field. Last year's Conference USA runner-up appears to have another good offense. Tulsa head coach Todd Graham has his offense firing on all cylinders putting lots of pressure on the opposing team's defense. Against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Tulsa racked up 601 total yards of offense and 6 touchdowns. Senior QB David Johnson was 20-of-24 for 332 yards passing. The Golden Hurricane also rushed for a total of 240 yards.

Tulsa runs a "hurry up, no huddle" spread offense, which is incredibly balanced. Last year Tulsa had 562 running plays along with 564 passing plays. Tulsa's offense may simply be too explosive for the UNT defense to handle. Even so, UNT needs to show improvement offensively after an inept start against Kansas State.

UNT officials announced this week that the Tulsa game will be televised on TXA 21.

TCU

In Fort Worth, TCU hosts the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at 6 p.m. on Saturday in its home opener at Amon G. Carter Stadium. While SFA is also a Football Championship Subdivision team, coach Gary Patterson is concerned about their new offensive system which accounted for 56 points, 285 yards passing and eight touchdowns in its opener against Langston on Saturday. It appears that the Lumberjacks are wielding footballs, not axes, as they only rushed for 19 yards.

For TCU, many will be watching to see if Aaron Brown will return to the field. Brown missed last week's game for violating a school policy, and Patterson has not indicated when he will return. TCU will also be without Senior LB Jason Phillips who is a little banged up. His absence will give some of the younger guys an opportunity to get some much needed experience.