When quarterback Ben Hicks marched SMU’s offense down the field during the Mustangs’ opening possession Friday, SMU fans had reason to be excited. Even though SMU settled for a field goal on the 69 yard drive, the Mustangs showed they could move the ball against one of the top defenses in the nation.
Little did SMU fans know it would be the last time the Mustangs would score on the night.
In a game where the defense shined early, the Mustangs burned countless opportunities to put points on the board when the ball was in their hands. The Mustangs failed to reach TCU’s redzone after their first possession, an entire 56:43 worth of play. The farthest SMU reached into Horned Frogs’ territory came late in the 2nd quarter when the Mustangs opted to attempt a field goal on 4th & 2 at the TCU 29. The 46 yard kick from Josh Williams was shanked wide left.
“We didn’t score a touchdown tonight,” Hicks said in the postgame press conference. “We scored three points. We can’t do that and win.”
Just like in their first three games, the Mustangs broke out of the gate strong, especially on the defensive side of the ball. SMU only allowed TCU’s highly explosive offense 66 yards in the 1st quarter. Also, the Horned Frogs did not earn a first down until 1:25 remained in the 1st quarter. TCU had tallied 215 total yards by halftime, but trailed in time of possession by over three minutes and had not yet converted on third down.
“I think defensively we’re playing well enough to win,” SMU head coach Chad Morris said postgame. “You just can’t put them on the field as many snaps as they’ve had to play.”
“We can’t finish anything right now, Hicks said. “We got to find a way to finish drives, score touchdowns and keep our defense off the field.”
Keeping the defense off the field will be key moving forward as the Mustangs still do not have the depth to sustain their coverage for four quarters. SMU’s defense started to show its wear on the first play of the second half when a missed tackle allowed TCU QB Kenny Hill to connect with wide receiver John Diarse for a 75 yard TD.
“Very disappointing, the way that we responded in the second half,” Morris said. Especially after playing as hard and as well as we played in the first half. Didn’t see that coming.”
For Morris, execution is everything, and the Mustangs must do a better job of executing on offense so that the defense can become a bigger factor later in games.
“We got opportunities to make plays and we’re unable to make them and then they capitalize on mistakes,” Morris said. “We just didn’t connect. In games like this, when you call your shots, they got to stick.”
Unable to keep the defense off the field, the Mustangs started to lose control of the game as key members of their secondary had to sit. With 10:37 left in the 2nd quarter, linebacker Anthony Rhone picked off a pass from Hill at the SMU five yard line. Safety Darrion Millines levied a brutal helmet first hit to the intended TCU receiver in the endzone and was ejected for targeting upon review.
In the 3rd quarter, cornerback Jordan Wyatt went down with an injury and was assisted off. He would return in the 4th quarter, but the absence of Wyatt and Millines helped allow the Horned Frogs to run up the score.
Penalties, injuries and exhaustion will affect any team. But Morris seems perfectly aware of what is plaguing SMU most: youth.
“You’ve got a bunch of babies out there on the field and they’re having to learn against some ranked opponents,” Morris said. “The season truly starts tomorrow, we start conference play next week. We’ve got to get this one behind us, make the corrections and move forward.”
