Un—bear—able (Photo by Christina Parrish, The Daily Campus)
On Saturday night, Gerald J. Ford Stadium was a place where some streaks continued but many were broken. Head Coach Phil Bennett has yet to win a home opener or beat a Big XII school in his four seasons at SMU, but the Bears put an end to their 24-game road-losing streak as the Mustangs fell to the Baylor Bears 28-23. It also marked the first time for SMU in the past 13 games that the team leading after the first quarter didn’t go on to win the game.
A crowd of 29,538 was in attendance, many wearing the yellow and green of Baylor, but the roar of thunder sticks echoed from the small SMU student section and the rap beats of Lil Jon blasted from the stadium’s speakers as the Mustangs took to the field for SMU’s inaugural football game in Conference USA. Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky was on hand to mark the occasion, as well as the Tulane football team, who received a standing ovation from the fans.
SMU started the game by narrowly avoided a potential catastrophe when Baylor’s Latif Nurudeen blocked a punt by Ryan Mentzel on SMU’s 28-yard line. The defense came out and held Baylor to one yard and a missed 44-yard field goal attempt.
Once the Mustangs seemed to have gotten on their legs, SMU was able to capitalize on an interception from returning defensemen D.D. Lee and scored by way of a 21-yard rush by quarterback Jerad Romo on the only play of the Mustang’s third drive.
SMU was able to hold Baylor to two field goals in the first half, thanks to the defensive efforts of Lee and defensive back Rolando Humphrey, and while SMU caught two interceptions for a gain of 41 yards, they also lost two fumbles. The offense was less productive, with only two of eight completed receptions and no third down conversions. Baylor was also able to keep tight end Ryan Kennedy at bay; he made no plays in the first half.
Romo credited the strong showing at the beginning to overall good focus. “On the first drive, everybody did their assignments, we had a presence,” Romo said. As the game went on though, he said the team couldn’t “get on the same page…everyone played well tonight, but we didn’t all play well together.”
SMU was the first to score in the second half on a drive that included excellent rushing from Cedric Dorsey and an impressive 20-yard gain on a pass from Romo to receiver Bobby Chase. Baylor answered with a 12 play, 76 yard drive ending with a Baylor touchdown followed by a two-point conversion, tying the game. As the third quarter wound down, both teams set themselves up for a 15-minute showdown.
When Baylor got the ball in the fourth quarter, running back Paul Mosley took Baylor to the lead on a one-yard run.
Rolando Humphrey later recovered a fumbled punt reception by Baylor’s Shaun Rochon, but SMU was unable to capitalize on the play. The Mustangs had to settle for a 32-yard field goal.
Baylor was able to seal the deal when Mosley scored his third touchdown of the game. With 1:32 left in the game, SMU made an attempt at a rally, including a series of acrobatic catches by Bobby Chase, including one were he did a mid-air flip over a Baylor defender. Chase scored a touchdown with 0:19 left, but an onside kick attempt didn’t pan out.
Bennett blamed the defensive fallout on Baylor’s ability to wear down the Mustangs. “Football, like basketball, is a game of match ups…they found a match up that they liked and they just wore us down.”
SMU only had 270 offensive yards, and Bennett said he was “not pleased with the spread offense.”
“Bobby Chase should have been involved in the game earlier,” he said.
Next weekend, SMU will host metroplex rival TCU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet Saturday night at 8:30 at Ford Stadium. The Horned Frogs hold a 40-38-7 series lead on the 86-year-old rivalry. The game will be broadcast on CSTV.
Un—bear—able (Photo by Christina Parrish, The Daily Campus)
Un—bear—able (Photo by Christina Parrish, The Daily Campus)
