The fourth-largest crowd in Gerald J. Ford Stadium history witnessed SMU’s biggest win in four decades Saturday, as the Mustangs stunned No. 10 Miami 26-20 in overtime.
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee was all smiles in the postgame press conference.
“Man, what a difference a week makes,” Lashlee said. “I just told the guys how proud I was of their response. It’s beyond football— just how proud I was of how they responded after the disappointment we had last week in a big game.”
“I think it’s the highest-ranked win here at Ford Stadium. It’s been a while since we’ve beaten a top-10 team, so. So today was a culture win for our program.”
Coach Lashlee was proud of the team’s performance, but it wasn’t all pretty.
The game opened with both defenses locked in. SMU forced a Miami punt on its opening drive, while the Hurricanes returned the favor by stopping SMU on downs.
Miami capitalized on the short field. On the eighth play of the drive, quarterback Carson Beck connected with wide receiver JoJo Trader for a 38-yard touchdown. SMU cornerback Marcellus Barnes was in a position to make a play on the ball, but he never turned his head to break it up, giving Miami a 7-0 lead.
Despite the unfortunate start, SMU’s defense kept the team in it early, much like the Clemson game two weeks ago.
Just a few drives later, Ahmaad Moses intercepted a tipped pass from Beck that bounced off Trader’s hands. Moses returned it to the Miami 28-yard line, setting the Mustangs up with prime field position.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings wasted no time taking advantage. On the very next play, he fired a strike to wide receiver Yamir Knight for an easy 28-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven.
That was the first of three scoring drives that came directly off SMU takeaways, which Jennings was proud of.
“Yeah, the offense has the defense’s back and the defense has the offense’s back,” Jennings said. “The defense came up big today, made some stops and our job was to capitalize on the turnovers and get points.”
For the next nine minutes of the second quarter, both teams traded punts. But Miami’s Malachi Toney broke the stalemate, returning a punt deep into SMU territory inside the 10-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the half. The Hurricanes added a short field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
The Mustangs came out of the locker room inspired. SMU marched 79 yards in nine plays, capped by a three-yard rushing touchdown from Jennings— giving SMU its first lead, 14-10.
Miami quickly answered with a 75-yard drive of its own, finishing with a three-yard touchdown pass from Beck to tight end Alex Bauman.
The SMU defense stood tall late in the third quarter, stuffing Miami on a critical fourth-and-one near midfield to keep the Mustangs within reach.
Jennings, battling through a re-aggravated ankle injury, led SMU down the field again. After briefly leaving for two plays, he returned to finish the drive, setting up kicker Sam Keltner’s 43-yard field goal to tie the game at 17.
The teams traded one more field goal apiece— including Keltner’s clutch 43-yarder with just 25 seconds left— to send the game to overtime.
That’s when SMU delivered its knockout punch.
On third-and-six in overtime, Moses again read Beck perfectly, jumping Toney’s route for a stunning interception— his second of the game.
“Coach Symons made a good call,” Moses said. “I didn’t think [Beck] was going to throw it, but when he did, I knew I had to make the play. I knew right there we won the game.”
Moses was right.
All SMU needed was a score. The Mustangs ran the ball five straight times, pounding down to the one-yard line. Then, TJ Harden sealed the deal— celebrating his way into the end zone to seal a 26-20 victory and etch his name into SMU history.
For the first time since 1974, SMU had defeated a top-10 team at home.
As Harden crossed the goal line, Ford Stadium erupted. Students poured onto the field, players hugged and Rhett Lashlee earned his signature win just 24 hours after the school announced his contract extension, confirming his commitment to SMU for the future.
SMU student Bailey Stern never thought she would rush the field during her time at SMU.
“It was an out-of-body experience,” Stern said. “Going from freshman year to senior year, joining the ACC, it’s become so much bigger than I initially thought our football program would ever be.”
The celebration on the Hilltop will be remembered for years, but the Mustangs’ journey this season isn’t over. With the upset, SMU remains firmly in contention for a spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Next up: a trip to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where SMU will face Boston College on Nov. 7.
