Montana State @ SMU preview

Southern Methodist hopes to turn its high-powered offense into its first victory of the season when it hosts FCS school Montana State on Saturday night. The Mustangs are among the nation's best in passing yards after one week but still dropped their opener against Texas Tech. The Bobcats enter the game having put up some gaudy offensive numbers in their opener, a 42-24 victory over Monmouth.

Both teams are still adjusting to new offenses, with the Mustangs welcoming Hal Mumme as the team's passing game coordinator and the Bobcats hiring Tim Cramsey as offensive coordinator in the offseason. The passing games are both explosive, though Montana State's zone-read scheme had near-perfect balance between the ground game (293 yards) and the passing game (268) against Monmouth. SMU has cranked up its passing game much like head coach June Jones' run-and-shoot teams of the past and is hoping for more success this week.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: No line

ABOUT MONTANA STATE (1-0, 0-0 Big Sky): While the offense gained a lot of headlines in the opener, it's the defense that will be the key to the Bobcats' success or failure against SMU, especially the defensive front. Senior defensive end Brad Daly and sophomore defensive end Odin Coe brought a lot of pressure in the opener and will need to repeat that against the Mustangs' pass-happy offense. “When it mattered, in the first half (against Monmouth), they were tough against the run and put pressure on the quarterback,” MSU coach Rob Ash told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “They looked like our defense of past years, and that's an excellent outcome.”

ABOUT SOUTHERN METHODIST (0-1, 0-0 AAC): SMU coach June Jones has coached a number of top quarterbacks over the years, and he is confident his current signal caller, senior Garrett Gilbert, can put up big numbers this year. Jones was happy with Gilbert's opening performance (41-of-62 for 388 yards) but he sees room for improvement. “Just a couple of his quick reads, you know some of the stuff we are doing is new to him this year and he's going to learn in a game,” Jones told the Dallas Morning News. “Whenever you tweak and add, you have to live through game experience to do that. He's got to get better, I've got to get better and the team has to get better.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Bobcats senior WR Tanner Bleskin recorded his second 100-yard receiving game in his last three outings with seven catches for 121 yards against Monmouth.

2. Over the past 29 games, Southern Methodist is 15-0 when scoring first but 0-14 when the opponent scores first.

3. This will be the first meeting between the two schools but Montana State has played six FBS schools under coach Rob Ash, going 0-6.

PREDICTION: Southern Methodist 45, Montana State 35