SMU’s DeMyron Martin (8) goes head first into the end zone at the end of the first half. (John Schreiber)

The Mustangs’ defense did notcompletely break down Saturday night against North Texas. It bent a lot, but did not break. SMU gave up 601 passing yards in its 45-31 win over the Mean Green, but kept them out of the end zone when they had to.

“Right now our situation on defense is not about yards, it’s about finding a way to win,” head coach Phil Bennett said.

Everyone expected the Mustangs to blow North Texas out of the water, but Bennett was not one of them.

“I know my kids’ demeanor and they were banged up and they were a little bit tired,” Bennett said.

Playing on just five days’ rest was a risk to take when scheduling was made. But Bennett and Athletic Director Steve Orsini said that it was an opportunity to play Texas Tech on national television, which was too good to pass up. And each knew that it could mean trouble for the UNT game, which it almost did.

The game was in doubt until two SMU touchdowns within a minute of each other late in the fourth quarter. A 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Willis to receiver Zack Sledge put SMU up by seven. Bryce Hudman intercepted the ball 40 seconds later and ran it back 49 yards to push the lead to 14.

The Mustangs came out flat on offense and defense to start the game. And that put SMU down early as UNT put together two over-70-yard drives and took an early 14-3 lead.

SMU finally found a rhythm in the second quarter and got back in front thanks to two long drives of its own. The most crucial play of the game was the final play of the first half.

With no time remaining the Mustangs had the ball on the one-yard line, and were down by four. There were three possible outcomes of the play: no points, three points or seven points. Bennett took a gamble and won.

“I had a guy upstairs who said, ‘we’ve got to go for three.’ I said, ‘We are going for the touchdown,’ three points were going to put us behind and I want to be ahead at halftime,” Bennett said.

In the huddle, Bennett said that DeMyron Martin asked for the ball, and he got it. A one-yard run from Martin gave the Mustangs the lead for the first time in the game.

The Mustangs kept the momentum going to start the second half.

Receiving the ball to start the half, SMU started from the 29-yard line and drove down the field for another touchdown. It took the Mustangs just four plays and a minute and a half to drive 71 yards and take a 10-point lead.

But North Texas didn’t go away. The Mean Green scored twice to open the fourth quarter and tie the game with just under nine minutes left.

On SMU’s first drive following UNT’s tying touchdown, Martin fumbled the ball and North Texas had a chance to take the lead.

But on just the second play of the drive, Mean Green quarterback Daniel Meager was intercepted by Bryan McCann, and the Mustangs took little time regaining the lead.

“We kept answering, that’s what we have to do all season,” Willis said.

And the Mustangs did answer. UNT only scored back-to-back points once the entire game, and after two SMU turnovers, the Mustangs defense got the ball back.

Willis had a career day throwing for 353 yards, and his 435 total offense yards is second most in an SMU game ever.

But the most important player didn’t score a touchdown or make a big defensive play. It was punter and place kicker Thomas Morstead.

“This guy is an NFL guy. Thomas placed the ball where we wanted it, and what a weapon he was tonight,” Bennett said. “If I had to give an MVP it would be co-MVPs with him and Justin [Willis].”

Of Morstead’s five punts, three were inside the 20-yard line and one hit at the one-yard line. Morstead is also perfect in extra-point and field-goal attempts this season and has made 40 consecutive extra points, an SMU record. He was also named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week.

The Mustangs will get more time to rest and prepare for their next opponent, Arkansas State, a team that has shown improvement since last year’s 55-9 deafeat to SMU. The game will take place in Jonesboro next Saturday at 6 p.m.

SMU’s Bryan McCann (right) intercepts a pass intended for UNT’s Brock Stickler (left) during the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game. The interception helped ensure an eventual win for SMU. (John Schreiber)

SMU defensive back Jonathan Lindley (front) intercepts a pass intended for UNT wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald (back) during the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Ford Stadium. (John Schreiber)