College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 9
By Zach Bigalke
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 5-0. losing 21-10 in 3rd quarter vs. No. 9 Cincinnati. 884. SMU Mustangs. 22. player
SMU won’t fall completely out of the AP Top 25 this week after suffering a loss at home against Cincinnati, given that it was a matchup of ranked teams. But the Mustangs will tumble down into the low 20s of the poll following their first defeat of the season, and now they fall into the second tier of American Athletic Conference contenders who already have one league loss on their record.
The SMU defense did its job on Saturday evening in Dallas, but that alone couldn’t secure victory. Where the Mustangs fell flat was on offense, as the loss of TJ McDaniel and Reggie Roberson Jr. showed its full impact. Shane Buechele struggled to find targets against a tough Cincinnati defense without McDaniel to soften up the Bearcats on the ground and without Roberson to burn the secondary.
Next week SMU remains at home for a Halloween contest against a Navy team that also has only one AAC loss on its record. With Tulsa and Houston still on their schedule in November, SMU still controls its own destiny in the conference race despite suffering their first loss of 2020.