Freshman QB Kyle Padron takes a sack against the Marshall Thundering Herd. (Associated Press)
SMU was just one win away from securing their first chance in 25 years to play in a bowl game, but the team and fans will have to wait one more game to secure SMU’s fate. A 34-31 loss to Marshall on Saturday puts the Mustangs at 6-5 overall and 5-2 in Conference USA, which makes SMU bowl eligible by NCAA standards, but still one win short of a promised appearance.
The game came down to the wire, but the Marshall Thundering Herd’s offense overpowered SMU’s defense, despite Marshall playing without their top two offensive players, Cody Slate and Darius Marshall.
SMU’s offense, led by freshman quarterback Kyle Padron in his fourth start, struggled against the Herd’s defense, but managed to make a final effort before the first half ended, tying the game at 10-10 with a 25-yard field goal by Matt Szymanski.
Relying more on their ground game, junior running back Shawnbrey McNeal ran for 82 yards, but only scored one touchdown on the third drive. With 978 yards on the season, the University of Miami transfer is just 22 yards away from becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher in SMU history since Kelon Kincase, who ran for 1,280 yards in 2003.
Padron struggled in his second road debut, throwing for just 225 yards, his lowest total of the season. Completing just 18 of his 32 attempts, Padron threw one interception that eventually lead to a Marshall touchdown, putting the Herd ahead 34-24 late in the fourth.
“There’s certain points of the game where you have to step up,” head coach June Jones told The Dallas Morning News. “We knew they were going to be a physical team up front, but I wasn’t expecting that Kyle would have that much pressure.”
Despite being sacked five times for a loss of 25 total yards, Padron and wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Aldrick Robinson clicked, combining for 122 total receiving yards and two touchdowns.
In Sanders’ game-tying touchdown, the team’s leading receiver made an over-the-shoulder catch to even the score at 17-17. Sanders, with 1,071 receiving yards on the season, is the fourth 1,000-yard receiver in SMU history, and continues to lead active NCAA players with 33 career touchdowns.
“It’s a big disappointment, but we have to bounce back,” Sanders told The Dallas Morning News. “We’re still on path to reaching our goals at the beginning of the season, and we just have to get one more win.”
Robinson caught a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter and put the Mustangs within three points of Marshall.
With the offense doing their best against a resilient Herd defense, it fell on the shoulders of SMU’s defense to stop Marshall from scoring and to get the ball back with enough time to kick a tying field goal. Unfortunately, Marshall scored just before the two-minute mark, making the Herd bowl eligible and crushing SMU’s hopes of hosting the conference championship.
As a whole, SMU’s defense gave up 475 yards with an average gain of 6.5 yards per play. While Padron was sacked five times by the Herd’s defense, the SMU defense finished the game with zero sacks and interceptions for the first time all season.
Sophomore defensive end Taylor Reed also came up big for the SMU defense, forcing his second fumble of the season in the third quarter. Senior linebacker Chase Kennemer also had a big night for the Mustangs, ending the game with 13 tackles to bring his season total to 117. Saturday’s loss was also Kennemer’s eighth game with 10 or more tackles.
The Mustangs will have their last chance for a seventh win and guaranteed bowl berth this weekend as they host Tulane (3-8, 1-6) in the final game of the regular season. Saturday’s game against the Tulane Green Wave is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Ford Stadium.
While Houston would have to lose to Rice this weekend for the Mustangs to still have a shot of hosting the C-USA Championship, a seventh win would really help the chances of earning an invite to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24. Jones has expressed interest in rejecting other bowl invitations if the opportunity to return to the islands is available.
“It hurts knowing that we’re probably not going to have the opportunity to play for the conference championship,” Padron told The Dallas Morning News. “It sets us back a bit, but we know what’s at stake.”
