Junior running back Zach Line pushes through the Miner’s defense for a touchdown during play against UTEP Saturday evening at Ford Stadium. SMU wont the game 28-17. (Michael Danser/The Daily Campus)
SMU opened up the scoring in Saturday’s game with a four play 60 yard drive finished off with a 1 yard run from halfback Zach Line.
UTEP answered with a touchdown of their own from their running back Leilyon Myers. Tied at 7-7, SMU was driving until McDermott completed a 27 yard pass to Keenan Holman and the Miners forced a fumble to take over possession.
UTEP proceeded to kick a field goal and scored 10 consecutive points. Enter quarterback Kyle Padron, after J.J. McDermott started the game and played nearly all the first quarter. Padron scored on his first play.
Padron kept the ball on a designed quarterback keeper off the left side of the offensive line for a highlight 12 yard touchdown and dramatic entry to the game.
SMU stalled the Miners at the start of the second quarter and forced UTEP to kick a long field goal which they missed. SMU took over and marched down the field. On the drive, McDermott connected with Cole Beasley for a 24 yard gain and Line capped off the drive with his second score of the day on a 7 yard run.
Before half time, it looked as if UTEP was going to kick a field goal to close the game on the SMU 11-point lead, but defensive end Margus Hunt blocked yet another field goal making that 3 blocked kicks in two games.
That puts him at 13 blocked kicks all-time, which is third in NCAA division one history. One more field goal block will put him at first all-time in NCAA history.
SMU started the third quarter forcing UTEP to punt. On the ensuing SMU drive, Beasley caught a pass and made two defenders miss. While fighting for extra yards, he fumbled and UTEP returned the ball to SMU’s 39 yard line.
On the play, Germard Reed of UTEP went down with an injury and had to be taken off the field in an ambulance. According to Fox Sports, he was able to move his arms and legs after being taken off the field.
UTEP’s running back Leilyon Meyers then proceeded to score his second touchdown of the game from the SMU 2 yard line to make the score SMU 28 UTEP 17.
As SMU was driving down the field and in field goal range, McDermott threw his first interception of the day on an out route that Travaun Nixon intercepted. The interception did not translate into points, but after a good punt UTEP pinned SMU within their 5 yard line and forced a three and out. After the punt, UTEP returned the ball to the 34 yard line poised to score again but the SMU defense held strong and forced yet another punt.
With 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter, UTEP still trailed 21-17 when Ja’Gared Davis intercepted UTEP’s quarterback Nick Lamaison on a tipped pass. It was unclear who was going to make a play down the stretch to win the game until Davis forced and recovered a fumble for a touchdown with UTEP backed up in their own end zone to put the Mustangs up 28-17 and seal SMU’s first win of the season.
SMU came out on top this week, but still did not play to their full potential. The offense seemed to be clicking in the first half and carrying the defense, while it was the opposite in the second half. The Mustangs are now proving that they can win games even when they do not play great. Last week was a disappointment, but the Mustangs bounced back tonight with a victory that’s sure to have the whole SMU campus excited about football.
