(Casey Lee/The Daily Campus)
In what was hyped to be a high-scoring affair, the SMU Mustangs (4-2, 3-0) did not light up the scoreboard but managed to pull out a 21-18 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-3, 1-2), Friday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
“We are proud of the kids for playing as hard as they played,”
SMU head Coach June Jones said. “There were some times I began to wonder if we were going to pull away, but the kids found a way to win.”
The Mustangs are off to their best start since 1986, which was the last time SMU started 3-0 in Conference USA play.
Jones believes the triumphant start is quite exciting.
The Mustangs had to work hard to accomplish that feat after Tulsa got off to a hot start in the first quarter.
On the Golden Hurricane’s opening possession, quarterback G.J. Kinne engineered a 47-yard drive, which he capped off with a six-yard touchdown run.
Kinne’s score gave Tulsa a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
The Golden Hurricane looked like they were going to put points on the board with a 45-yard field goal, but SMU defensive end Margus Hunt recorded his third blocked field goal of the year and ninth blocked kick of his career to prevent the score.
“It’s the guys believing they have a chance to block every kick,” Jones said. “Even though Margus [Hunt] is certainly powerful and has great range, the guys around him are putting pressure on the players to get Margus [Hunt] to have the movement to get through, so it’s a team deal and it’s pretty amazing.”
The Mustang offense fed off the momentum as quarterback Kyle Padron hit wide receiver Cole Beasley on two big plays before finding wide receiver Darius Johnson on a 22 yard scoring strike. The touchdown tied the game at 7-7 heading into the second quarter.
Beasley once again played a big role in the Mustangs’ next scoring drive.
The junior snagged Padron a pass by the sideline and cut back to the middle of the field and outran all of the Tulsa defenders before diving into the end zone for an electrifying 32 yard touchdown that gave SMU a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter.
The Mustangs began the second half with a 53 yard bomb from Padron to wide receiver Aldrick Robinson to set up SMU in perfect scoring position.
Padron then connected with wide receiver Bradley Haynes on a 14 yard touchdown pass to extend the SMU lead 21-7.
But the Golden Hurricane would make a comeback.
On the ensuing drive, Tulsa kicker Kevin Fitzpatrick booted a 30-yard field goal to knife into the Mustang lead.
Fitzpatrick looked like he was going to add another field goal early in the fourth quarter, but SMU defensive end Kevin Grenier blocked his second kick of the year to preserve the 21-10 Mustang lead.
When the Tulsa offense got the ball back, Kinne once again called his own number and sprinted into the end zone from three yards out.
Kinne then found running back Charles Clay in the end zone from two yards out for the two point conversion, making the score 21-18.
The Mustangs got the ball back and never surrendered possession. SMU took over six minutes off the clock, which allowed the final whistle to sound as the Mustangs held on for the victory.
“We had a couple of big plays in the passing game, and Zach Line had a couple of good runs as well,” Padron said. “The offensive line did a great job for six minutes, and they really killed [Tulsa’s] will, and we came out on top.”
Padron completed 27 of 40 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns on the night.
Both Robinson (5 rec. 118 yards) and Johnson (8 rec. 102 yards 1 td) surpassed the 100 yard receiving mark, and Beasley added seven receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown. Line contributed 92 yards on the ground.
SMU will travel to Annapolis, MD to take on the Navy Midshipmen in a non-conference battle Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
“We are continuing and progressing on the goal that we want to be at when the season ends,” said linebacker Pete Fleps who led the Mustangs with 10 tackles. “We are taking it one game at a time, and we have a tough test coming up against Navy, but we are on our way.”
