Facing American Athletic Conference power house Houston SMU needed to play at its highest level to come away with a win on Friday.
As if it wasn’t tough enough already, the Mustangs were without their starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who was out with a left knee sprain. Neal Burcham got the nod in Gilberts place- making his first career collegiate start.
SMU had been averaging 31 points a game coming into Friday’s match up, but the offense’s production figured to suffer without Gilbert behind center.
However, its hard to imagine SMU head coach June Jones anticipating this much of a drop off: Houston only out gained SMU by 70 yards, but managed to keep the high-octane Mustang offense off the board as the Cougars took the win 34-0. It was the first time the Mustangs were shut-out since 2004 when SMU was walloped 42-0 at Fresno State.
Burchum had to step in for an injured Gilbert in the second half against USF last week. His performance was just enough to eek out a win as he was essentially a game manager. Unfortunately for Burcham, to beat Houston he would have to actually take risks and put the ball in play.
Trailing by 24 points with a little more than 10 minutes left in the third quarter, and desperate to get something going, the Mustangs went for it on fourth and three but Der’rikk Thompson could not make the grab. Houston took over on its own 41.
Houston capitalized on the short field and put the nail in the coffin with a Ryan Jackson 37-yard run to make the lead 31. Jackson finished with 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Cougars’ quarterback John O’Korn finished with 245 yards in the air on 25 completions and had a pair oft touchdowns.
Houston receiver Daniel Spencer recorded seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Including turning the ball over on downs, SMU gave away the football eight times (one fumble, three interceptions, three on downs), with Houston capitalizing on three of those turnovers for 17 points. SMU went 3-7 on fourth downs. Including turning the ball over on downs, SMU gave away the football eight times (one fumble, three interceptions, three on downs), with Houston capitalizing on three of those turnovers for 17 points. SMU went 3-7 on fourth downs.
Burcham threw for 212 yards on 27 completions with three interceptions for the Mustangs.
Darius Joseph hauled in nine passes for 52 yards, while Jeremy Johnson caught eight for 75. With less of an emphasis on the passing game, Prescott line had his best outing- rushing for 81 yards on 17 carries.
The Mustangs will look to get their offense back on track when they host UCF at Gerals J. Ford Stadium on Dec. 7. Kick off is slated for 11:00 a.m. CT.
