New York Times on SMU's 2009 football prospects

I’m still not ready to anoint SMU. capable of making a bowl appearance, but I am confident we’ll see a much better on-field product in coach June Jones’s second season. To take a monumental step forward, the team would need to make significant improvements in their ball control and on defense, two areas where I remain skeptical of SMU’s abilities. Still, there is good reason to predict anywhere from three to five wins in 2009. Looking at the schedule, SMU both opens and closes its season with its most winnable games. This makes the heart of a season truly deadly, but allows the team to both enter and end 2009 on a good note. With another year under their belts and a set of recruits to install in the system, I think the Mustang offense will be better this fall than last, but the offensive line remains a concern. Likewise for the defense, which returns eight starters but lacks quality depth and playmakers to stop some of Conference USA’s most explosive offenses (Houston and Tulsa, for instance). Over all, I predict SMU to make a three-game improvement: 4-8, 3-5 in conference play. The program’s not there yet, but its on its way. The team couldn’t ask for a better coach running the show.