The Ben Hicks redemption tour
There have been plenty of opportunities to give up on SMU quarterback Ben Hicks this season. If you wanted to tap out after his miserable opener against North Texas, no one would blame you. In Michigan, when he was pulled in favor of freshman William Brown? A great time to hop off the bandwagon. Or maybe last week’s overtime interception that was returned for a Cincinnati game-winning touchdown was the last straw. But if you hung on against all hope and saved all of your Ben Hicks stock, today was your jackpot, as the junior put together his best performance in his long, oft-tumultuous SMU career to guide his squad past nationally ranked Houston. The numbers are one thing — 28-of-43, 318 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions — but it was the way he accumulated those figures that’s more impressive. Hicks made throws on the move, often dancing through the raindrops  — both figuratively (like Ed Oliver) and literally — to buy time for his receivers to come open before firing strike after strike. This was the Ben Hicks that Ponies fans were hoping to get when he arrived as a highly touted signal-caller from Central Texas; now, the question is where the redemption tour will go from here.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Coog
A week after its most dominant and resounding effort in throttling nationally ranked South Florida, Houston laid an egg on the road to sully its previously unblemished conference record. It’s not that the offense was bad — QB D’Eriq King still notched 229 yards of total offense and three scores — but it simply failed to outrun the team’s lingering defensive issues. The Coogs have now allowed more than 5 yards per play to its opponent in six of its nine games this season, including its last three contests. The back seven remains a liability for Houston, and it cost them in a big way on a rainy night in Dallas.

Trajectories
In the grand scheme of things, this game isn’t that big of a deal — Houston is still in the driver’s seat to win the AAC West (though that says more about the division than the Coogs) and SMU is arguably still an underdog to make a bowl — but it’s an important moment to discuss the direction of these teams. SMU is unquestionably trending upward, especially if the offense continues to cook; the Ponies have arguably played their best three games of the season in their most recent three contests. For Houston, it’s hard to glean a trend, but with difficult games against Temple and at Memphis still looming, the Cougars had better turn it back pointed north, and fast.