SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert ran for two touchdowns and passed one touchdown pass Saturday against the Memphis Tigers. (AP)
SMU won its second consecutive game by beating Memphis 44 -13 at Ford Stadium Saturday to cap off Homecoming week at SMU.
SMU was not able to capitalize on trips to the redzone. It kicked three field goals in the first half. After Memphis kicked a field goal with 8:20 left in the third quarter, SMU scored the final 28 points of the game to blow out the Tigers.
“It was a little frustrating in the first half not getting touchdowns, but I thought in the second half we did what we had to do. The kids rallied up and played tough in the second half,” SMU head coach June Jones said.
SMU Garrett Gilbert scored two rushing touchdowns and threw another to Der’rikk Thompson. The Homecoming game was arguably Gilbert’s best performance as a Mustang.
Gilbert completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw for 353 yards without an interception.
“He did the things he needed to do to win the game. I thought he took care of the football. He is a competitive kid and the more confidence he gets, the better he will get,” Jones said.
Senior running back Zach Line passed Craig James on SMU’s all-time rushing list with a 127-yard performance. Line moved into third place at SMU for career rushing yards and added a touchdown as well.
“He’s just a great player for us and just works his rear end off. He’s a blue-collar running back and we’re in a pass offense and he passed those guys who were carrying it a whole lot more than he is. Zach has earned it and done a great job,” Jones said.
Line’s touchdown gives him six on the season and 40 career rushing touchdowns. He also added 23 receiving yards. The Mustangs offense piled up 487 total yards while the SMU defense held Memphis to a lowly 202 total yards and forced two turnovers.
The SMU defense continues to make plays for the Mustangs and was the reason why SMU was able to dominate the second half so well. SMU did not commit a penalty and held the ball for over 35 minutes.
Junior linebacker Kevin Pope recovered a fumble for the second straight game, and safety Shakiel Randolph recovered the first fumble of his career. Senior Kenneth Acker added a career-long 59 yard punt return to the five yard line in the first quarter that set up Line’s touchdown.
SMU jumped out to a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter after two Chase Hover field goals and Line’s touchdown. Even after Memphis closed the gap to 16-13, there was a sense that SMU would strike back.
It didn’t as a few minutes later Gilbert added his first rushing touchdown of the day.
“We knew we had to raise the game and compete harder in the second half and not make mistakes. We did that and that’s what you have to do and the kids raised their game to do it,” Jones said.
SMU knew it had to battle back and not give the 1-7 Tigers a reason to stick around and battle. “At halftime we knew that we gave them a reason to compete and you can’t do that with a team that’s down. They only have one win,” Jones said.
Two players that continue to lead the way on offense are receivers Darius Johnson and Jeremy Johnson. The two slots totaled 207 yards receiving and 15 catches combined. Gilbert looked their way plenty of times during his streak of 14 straight completions.
The win moves SMU to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in Conference USA. SMU heads to the University of Central Florida in a key C-USA matchup that could determine if SMU will be able to make it to the championship game.
