Following the Mustangs’ 40-10 win over Stanford on Saturday, SMU is bowl-eligible for the sixth straight season.
SMU jumped out to an early lead via Moochie Dixon’s (WR) 87-yard receiving touchdown from Kevin Jennings (QB) on the first play from scrimmage. SMU continued their trend of starting fast and striking first. After going up 7-0 in the first minute of the game, the Mustangs never looked back. After Jennings threw touchdown passes to Key’Shawn Smith (WR) and RJ Maryland (TE), in the blink of an eye, the score was 21-0.
The Ponies’ hot start set them up for success the rest of the way. Jennings threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone. While Jennings had the offense rolling, the SMU defense continued their dominance. Stanford starting QB, Ashton Daniels, was only given two drives before he was benched for freshman quarterback, Elijah Brown. The young quarterback did what he could, but the experienced SMU defense took advantage of the quarterback situation.
Whether it be the front seven sacking the Stanford QBs seven times or the secondary picking off Brown twice, the defense made plays all night long. After SMU sprinted to a 21-0 lead, Stanford relied on star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor to get them back into the game. Ayomanor, the All-Freshman All-American receiver from a year ago, made an outstanding contested catch over Cale Sanders for the 18-yard touchdown. Although Stanford thought they might have found a way back into the game after their touchdown, SMU responded with a 12-play, 59-yard touchdown drive capped off by an LJ Johnson 5-yard rushing touchdown.
SMU finished off the first half with a 51-yard field goal from Colin Rogers, who continues to impress this season for the Mustangs. SMU came out in the second half and the defense picked up right where they left off, whereas the offense struggled to find a rhythm. SMU didn’t score at all in the third quarter. It was the first time they had been held scoreless in a quarter since the first quarter against BYU.
After the end of the third quarter, SMU still held on to a 31-10 lead and there was little doubt SMU would come out with the win. Early on in the 4th quarter, Isaac Pearson nailed a punt that was downed at the Stanford 1-yard line. Just two plays later, Cale Sanders came flying off the edge, sacking Elijah Brown for the safety. On the next drive, SMU took 6:29 off the clock on a 13-play, 63-yard touchdown drive, again finished by an LJ Johnson touchdown run. Johnson was limited a couple of weeks ago against Louisville, and after fully recovering during the bye week, his presence was felt throughout the game. Once Johnson scored for the second time, that was the last point scored in the game.
SMU closed out the final five minutes of the game and held on to their 40-10 lead. SMU moves to 6-1 and 3-0 in ACC play after the dominant win. Up next for the Mustangs: a trip to Durham to take on the 6-1 Duke Blue Devils. Notably, Duke OC, Johnny Brewer, was SMU’s QB coach just a year ago. The Mustangs will look to improve to 7-1 next week in primetime again, at 7 p.m. (CT) on ACCN on October 26, 2024.
