Junior linebacker Randall Joyner (5) in the 48-3 loss to Texas A&M Sept. 15. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

Randall Joyner had a great night last Saturday, making 14 tackles and two interceptions to help the Mustangs’ defense shut out the University of Texas at El Paso [UTEP] Miners for the first time at home since 2003.

The stellar athletic feat earned the junior SMU linebacker Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honors as well as the Mustangs’ second win of the season.

The 5-foot-10, 228-pound linebacker out of Newman-Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas was an integral part of keeping the Miners off of the board.

Both interceptions came on the SMU side of the 50 yard line. Joyner’s first interception stole all of the momentum away from UTEP’s offense after Miners’ quarterback Nick Lamaison threw a 35-yard pass to Jordan Leslie to threaten within field goal range.

After Lamaison was intercepted a second time, second-string quarterback Carson Meyer was put into the game for the Miner offense. Joyner wasted no time rendering the backup ineffective by intercepting a pass from Meyer on his first drive also on SMU territory.

This Saturday’s game will take Joyner and the rest of the Mustang defense to the Big East, where the team will play the Green Wave of Tulane in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Tulane, which holds the unfortunate longest currently active losing streak in college football, should prove to be a light task for the Mustangs’ defense.

Tulane’s quarterback has thrown only 333 yards, five interceptions and two touchdowns on the year. The Green Wave ground game will be easy for Joyner to handle, as it is ranked dead last in the football bowl subdivision, with an average of 14.6 yards per game.