Time, patience the keys for SMU, where progress is slow but steady

DALLAS — Here at SMU, progress can be measured in 30-minute increments.

Football games are 60-minute affairs, of course, so all progress is relative. But take two halves of football against two nationally recognized contenders: unbeaten Baylor on Sept. 10, and longtime rival TCU two weeks later.

Both games ended as expected — the Bears and Horned Frogs combined to top the Mustangs by 57 points. Those margins overshadow the first half of each game, however, with SMU and Baylor heading into the locker room tied at 6-6 and the Mustangs trailing TCU by just a field goal, 6-3.

“We are better. We are,” SMU coach Chad Morris told USA TODAY Sports. “That’s evident. I feel it. I see it.”

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Yet each loss is, well, a loss. Losses are like children: no one is better than the rest, and no single one is worse. And as the defeats mount — Morris, formerly Clemson’s offensive coordinator, is 4-13 with the Mustangs — so does the frustration: Morris recently sat on a couch in the program’s football facility, removed his visor, ran his fingers through his hair and admitted as much.

Are you frustrated? Is it hard? Is it even tougher than you imagined it would be?

“Yeah,” he said, almost at a whisper. “It has been. I knew it. I didn’t know the extent, with the lack of depth. That’s evident right now.”

These are times that test even the sturdiest blueprint for a program-wide overhaul. SMU, now 2-3 leading into Friday’s matchup with Tulsa, will be hard-pressed to navigate a schedule that still features, after the Golden Hurricane, Houston, Memphis, South Florida and Navy. A postseason bid is a pipe dream.

For one more season — and not beyond this season — SMU will measure its progress in increments: one half, one quarter, one series, one snap. Morris’ grand plans for the program haven’t changed, nor have they been delayed; it’s all part of the process.

“You’ve got to have baby steps and little wins, you really do,” he said. “You’ve got to see the progress. Because I’ve won my whole life. I know how to win. I know what it’s going to take to win.”

SMU’s return to contention will be driven on offense, where Morris has carved out a reputation as one of college football’s strongest minds — even drawing acclaim from coaches such as Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who has borrowed from Morris’ schemes and formations at Clemson.

“We know we can do it, we just need to execute,” quarterback Ben Hicks said. “We’re tired of being the doormat of the American Conference.”

More than anything, what it will take is time. A roster largely devoid of any depth upon Morris’ arrival nearly two years ago is slowly gaining in numbers, but with a catch: SMU has inked 47 players in Morris’ two recruiting cycles but has needed to play all but 12 of its signees.

The Mustangs will start two seniors on offense against Tulsa, compared with six freshmen or sophomores — led by Hicks, a true freshman inserted into the lineup after senior Matt Davis suffered a season-ending knee injury. The inexperience is plainly clear: Hicks is completing just over half of his attempts with nine interceptions against four touchdowns.

So it’s easy, and probably correct, to fault the team’s second-half woes on the experience gap between the Mustangs and their well-heeled competition, as seen during those two games against the Big 12 Conference. Morris called this disparity “unfortunate.”

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“You’ve got so many babies out on the field, having to grow up pretty quick,” he said. “They’ve got to grow up and they’ve got to grow up the hard way, especially when you play against programs that have been established.

“We hope that in due time, we’re going to look back and say, ‘You know what? We had to grow up the hard way.’ And that when these guys are juniors and seniors we’ll see some of the dividends.”

For now, patience stands in place of production. The Mustangs do rely on several upperclassmen, particularly on defense. But the roster leans overwhelmingly toward youth, contributing to another year spent scrambling for wins while creating a sense of optimism: Internally, the coaching staff strongly believes the 2017 season will yield a breakthrough.

“We’re making a difference,” Morris said. “I know we are. I firmly believe it. I think if we continue the process that we’re about, it’s going to pay off.”

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