Despite a dark overcast sky over Gerald J. Ford Stadium, the Mustangs provided their alumni with a ray of light by defeating defending WAC champion Louisiana Tech 37-34. SMU (1-7, 1-3) celebrated its homecoming along with the first victory of the season and head coach Phil Bennett’s tenure.
While SMU got exactly what it expected from two of its most productive players, there were two first-time starters who made the most of their opportunities.
Redshirt freshman Richard Bartel made his first start as a Mustang in place of hobbled quarterback Tate Wallis. Bartel thrilled the Mustang fans and coaching staff with a dazzling performance. Bartel completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 296 yards and three touchdowns.
Bartel’s performance was the difference in the Mustangs offense. SMU has struggled to put points on the board throughout the season. Saturday’s 37 points and 458 total yards were season highs.
“We haven’t had the execution we had at quarterback today,” Bennett said. “We had execution and it gave us a chance to win the game.”
SMU jumped out to a huge lead, 31-10, but Louisiana Tech stormed back. It was familiar territory for the Mustangs who have often surrendered leads and taken themselves out of a position to win the game.
The Bulldogs got two touchdowns from senior running back Joe Smith and added a field goal, closing the gap to 31-26. The Mustangs kept their composure and never stopped believing in what they needed to do.
“We’ve been in this position before,” Bartel said. “Our big thing is that we wanted to keep [the lead]. You have to make a play to beat a play.”
SMU got the ball back and executed what would be its biggest play of the afternoon. Facing a critical third down and 11, Bartel found a streaking Cody Cardwell down the sideline. The pass completion was good for 84 yards and a touchdown. SMU missed the extra point.
Louisiana Tech would get the ball back and score again, bringing them to within a field goal at 37-34. SMU’s following drive stalled and with 2:47 left in the game, the Mustangs punted the ball away.
The defense held strong, pressuring McCown on the first two downs. SMU prevented a third-down completion to what looked like a wide-open receiver when cornerback Jonas Rutledge closed and broke up the play.
“We knew what we had to do,” redshirt freshman Don Ieremia-Stansbury said. “We had to step it up and give the ball back to the offense.”
SMU ran the clock out behind junior tailback Keylon Kincade. Kincade’s 46th carry of the day went for 11 yards and a Mustang first down. His 46 carries set a new single-game school record and put him 18 carries behind Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 255 set in 1981. Kincade totaled 158 yards and scored two touchdowns.
“[Keylon] is a baller. He’s from Troup, Texas, he doesn’t know any different. You talk about keeping us in the game and helping Richard, Keylon Kincade did that,” Bennett said.
Kincade’s rushing ability allowed Bartel and the passing game to make plays when the team needed them. The offense controlled the ball, dominating time of possession 41:18 to La. Tech’s 18:42.
“I was really proud of Richard. The thing that I was most proud of Richard about was his game management,” Bennett said. “He was in a rhythm.”
Another surprise impact came from the SMU defense. Linebacker-turned-defensive end Don Ieremia-Stansbury made the first start of his career at defensive end. He had only practiced at defensive end for four days and only played there twice in high school.
Ieremia-Stanbury made an instant impact on defense, harassing Louisiana Tech quarterback Luke McCown. He sacked McCown two times and put constant pressure on him throughout the afternoon.
“I think today you saw an athletic defensive end run down a pretty good scrambling quarterback,” Bennett said.
Ieremia-Stansbury also recorded six tackles in his debut. Bennett will keep him in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. At 6-feet-2 inches, 225 pounds, the staff hopes that Ieremia-Stansbury can add some weight and be a factor in their defensive schemes for the rest of his collegiate career.
Bennett saw potential for Ieremia-Stansbury to be an impact player so he had to find a place and time for him to play. The opportunity presented itself at defensive end against Louisiana Tech.
“I’m gonna take credit on this move,” Bennett said. “I said ‘I’m gonna find a place for this kid to play.’ I should have done it earlier.”
The emergence of new starters Ieremia-Stansbury and Bartel gave SMU the lead. Offensive mainstays Kincade and Cardwell each had a hand in making sure the Mustangs did not relinquish the lead. Cardwell completed the triple threat on offense by catching five balls for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Bartel wanted to establish the offense early and was successful at doing so. Despite it being his first start, he was confident that he could do the job and help the team win.
“If I didn’t [have confidence] I would have been setting us up for loss number eight. Right after that first play, it was the same as always…like riding a bike.”
The Mustangs dropped their first seven games and all Bartel could do was watch. Bennett didn’t think Bartel played well enough in practice to warrant a quarterback change.
“I should have played him more in the Oklahoma State game,” Bennett said. “I played the quarterback that I thought would put us in a position to win.”
On gameday, however, Bartel was a “pleasant surprise” to Bennett as he put the Mustangs in position to topple the defending WAC champions.
“You get out there in the game and adrenaline takes over,” Bartel said. “You have fans in the stands and you have a point to make.”
After a thrilling game performance, Bartel has earned the starting job. In doing so, he has proven to his coach that he can make plays when they count.
“Ray Charles could see who made plays today,” Bennett said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that he’s not going to be the starting quarterback, because he is.”
No one expected it to come so late, but SMU finally got Bennett his first win. Enduring a winless season was not something Bennett expected to have to deal with for eight weeks, but he stayed positive over the duration.
“It hasn’t gone by script by any means. But at the same time, I haven’t lost focus, the vision of where I see this program going,” Bennett said. “It’s one win, but it is one. It’s a starting place, and that’s all it is.”
The SMU players rewarded Bennett with the game ball after the win. Much the way Bennett and his staff have taken blame for all of the losses, the players gave the coaches credit for their first victory.
“We’ve been trying to [win one for Bennett] since the first game. He has heart and it just pours out,” Kincade said.
To celebrate, Bennett said he was going to go home and watch Kansas State “drill” Texas.
