Baylor-SMU, Midway-Mansfield highlight Slovacek's I-35 Showdowns of the Week

Slovacek's logoTo honor the loyal football fans that travel great distances to support their favorite team, DCTF and our friends from Slovacek’s in West, Texas are proud to present The Slovacek’s I-35 Showdowns of the Week: Baylor (0-0) at SMU (0-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas Everyone across the college football universe is itching to get back on the field this time of year, but these two former Southwest Conference rivals have their own unique reasons for wanting to see their 2015 campaigns finally get under way already. For SMU, kickoff of this Friday night tilt will signal the official start of the Chad Morris era of Mustang Football. For all of the good that June Jones brought to the program, it had stagnated significantly in his final years- and Morris seems to be the perfect antidote to what ills had developed under the previous regime. On the other sideline, Art Briles and Baylor had already been ruminating on their playoff snub and Cotton Bowl loss for nine months before the recent media storm surrounding the program- which has surely doubled down on the Bears’ desire to get back on the field. What Morris brings to SMU is essentially what Briles brought to Baylor- contagious enthusiasm, an incredible offensive acumen and deep ties in the high school coaching community. It’s not hard to imagine him engineering a Briles-esque turnaround at SMU, but Rome was not built in a day. The Mustangs will likely take some teaching moments from this game in pursuit of their long-term goals while Baylor takes their first step toward their short-term objectives. Hewitt Midway (0-1) at Mansfield (0-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday at Vernon Newsome Stadium in Mansfield Describing any game in Week 2 as “must win” feels a little melodramatic. But when you’ve got two teams like Hewitt Midway and Mansfield both looking to affirm their preseason aspirations to be true contenders in 6A, dropping to 0-2 is to be avoided at all costs. Being counted as a key contributor to District 8-6A’s reputation as one of the most intimidating gauntlet’s in the state isn’t good enough for Jeff Hulme and Mansfield- the Tigers and their explosive offense are aiming to disrupt the widely-held assumption that DeSoto and Cedar Hill will occupy the district’s top two spots at season’s end. That goal, and the Tiger offense altogether, hit a bump in the road in last week’s 27-17 defeat at the hands of Flower Mound Marcus. Mansfield was shut out for the entire first half, and didn’t reach the end zone until the fourth quarter. Junior tailback Kennedy Brooks, who ran for over 1,300 yards last year, was stifled to the tune of 31 yards and less than two yards per carry. A year ago, the Midway Panthers started the year off with a thrilling road victory over Lake Travis, infusing an already talented team with a fresh dose of confidence that they rode to an undefeated regular season and a run to the 6A Regional Semifinals. This year, however, the Panthers turned the ball over three times in their effort to keep up with a Cavalier offense for which they had no answer in a 48-24 season-opening loss at home. It was Midway’s most lopsided loss since 2007. With two high-powered offenses looking to get back on track, consistency and the ability to keep the opposition off the field will be key. Keep an eye on the production of Brooks for Mansfield and Midway’s Eric Clayburn. The better night among these two tailbacks may determine which team will keep from falling into an 0-2 hole.