GAME REPORT: Texas Tech 24, SMU 14

[PonyPride]

The difference between last week's season-opening loss to Navy and this week's 24-14 loss to Texas Tech was massive. In the debut of Phil Bennett's tenure as head coach at SMU last week, the Ponies looked lost and bewildered. Against the heavily favored Red Raiders, SMU traded punches with Tech all night and showed the crowd at sellout crowd at Gerald J. Ford Stadium that there is considerable reason for optimism.

True, the Ponies fell to 0-2. But after last week's game, the Mustangs seemed shellshocked. None would admit any hint of pessimism, but they would have been forgiven had they felt it. After Saturday night's loss to Tech, the Ponies were encouraged by their improved performance, and disappointed that they didn't produce the victory.

"We were both disappointed with the way last week turned out," SMU middle linebacker Vic Viloria said of SMU's loss to Navy and Tech's season-opening rout at the hands of Ohio State. "We both say this game as an opportunity to redeem ourselves.

"And we got some things done today, but we're by no means satisfied. That's the old SMU, being satisfied with improvement. This is the new SMU, and we're not satisfied with losses."

After Texas Tech took a 3-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Robert Treece with 11:57 remaining in the first quarter, the SMU offense, which had appeared tentative and confused in its loss to Navy, mounted a lengthy, methodical scoring drive that resulted in sophomore tailback Keylon Kincade racing around the left end of the line and into the end zone. The snap on the ensuing extra point was low, leaving SMU with a 6-3 lead with 2:34 remaining in the game's opening stanza.

Tech came back in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, who is being touted by school officials as a Heisman Trophy candidate and who threw for 369 yards (and three scores) to become the school's all-time leader in passing yards, hit Mickey Peters over the middle, and Peters lunged toward the goal line with two SMU defenders on his back, just stretching the ball over the goal line for a touchdown with 13:27 remaining in the half. Tech could have increased its lead before halftime, but a would-be 32-yard field goal by Treece was blocked by SMU's Kevin Garrett, leaving the score 10-6 at the half.

On Tech's first possession in the second half, Kingsbury marched his team down the field and appeared poised to add to its lead when Kingsbury's short pass over the middle was intercepted by Viloria.

"I was really just trying to bat it down," Viloria said. "It kind of hit me in the facemask, and I ended up catching it. I kind of got lucky."

SMU took over at its own 3-yard line, and quarterback Tate Wallis and Kincade keyed a 13-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. At the Texas Tech 1-yard line, Kincade was stuffed just outside the goal line. On fourth down, Wallis was stopped on a quarterback sneak.

"That was my call," Bennett said after the game. "Tate wanted to sneak it, and I thought, having been a defensive coordinator that if you can get even a small seam in the defense, you can get in."

Tech increased its lead to 17-6 in the fourth quarter when Kingsbury hit running back Taurean Henderson with a shovel pass that Henderson took 8 yards for the score with 13:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.

SMU could have trimmed the Tech lead less than three minutes later, but the first field-goal attempt of redshirt freshman Chris McMurtray's career was wide left.

"I think one of the biggest plays was the missed field goal," Bennett said. "I expect Chris McMurtray to make those field goals. There's still a lot of competition at some positions."

Bennett added that backup kicker Trent Stephenson will get some opportunities next week against TCU, on kickoffs and on extra points and field goals.

The SMU defense was exceptional all day, keeping the Ponies in the game. After forcing another Tech punt, Wallis cut the Red Raiders' lead to 17-14 on SMU's next play when he lofted a long pass down the left sideline that senior wide receiver Cody Cardwell caught over double coverage and raced untouched into the end zone.

Again the SMU defense held, and the Ponies got the ball back. But Wallis threw his second interception of the game, and with 5:06 remaining, Kingsbury hit Nehemiah Glover with a 17-yard touchdown pass for the game's final points.

Wallis was vastly improved in his second collegiate start, throwing for 144 yards and the touchdown to Cardwell, and seeming much more relaxed at the helm of the SMU offense. Kincade led the Mustangs in rushing, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive week with 160 yards. His 37 carries were two short of the school record set by Mike Richardson in 1968 against Texas A&M.

Kincade said that prior to the game, he had no indication he'd shoulder such a load of carries.

"I had no idea," he said. "I felt good. As the game went along, I wasn't tired. I got stronger. We'll see how I feel tomorrow."

Bennett, who has said that Kincade and 2001 freshman sensation ShanDerrick Charles would split the majority of carries for the SMU offense, said Kincade is running so well right now that he's the team's first ground option.

"I remember Jim Brown saying that a running back isn't a great running back until (about) 12 carries into the game, because that's when he's running on instinct," Bennett said. "Keylon is running on instinct, and he's seeing the field really well."

Bennett also said that while he's please with the improvement the team showed between its first two games, he is far from satisfied.

"I just told the guys that I'm proud of their effort, but that we can't leave this building satisfied when we lose a game we had a real chance to win," he said. "When people walk up to them and say 'y'all played hard' -- that's what people say to a team that just lost, 24-14. I want people to walk up and tell them 'what a great win'."

[BleedingRed+Blue]

Yall did a good TCU preview, and this is a real good write up of a real good game. The only thing that would make it better is if it was a WIN for SMU.
That's coming this week in Fort Worth!

[SMUFan]

Coach Bennett seems like a really standup guy. That's the second time in two weeks that something's gone wrong (the defense against Navy, and the QB sneak this week) that he's taken the blame for, rather than pointing fingers at his players.
His actions are a far cry from what we'd gotten used to hearing.

[sam]

How can you say he is a stand up guy.Earlier in the paragraph he said the biggest play of the game was the missed field goal and he practically laid the blame(for the lost) on a freshman who was kicking his first field goal, when everyones knows that the biggest play of the game was 4th and one inch and we can not convert,we should have kicked that field goal and on the next possession we could have tied the game. If you ask me he is no better,or maybe worst than the last two coaches we have had

[Silk]

sam, you're kidding I hope. Bennett could coach a bunch of girl scouts past any team the previous coach threw out there.

[sam]

Yeah,he did a great job last week against Navy who got beat 65-19 this week and he called a great game going for it two times on the goal line from 1 inch with two calls in the middle when everyone on Gods green earth knows our weakness is the O-line and if you have to why not once over Sterling he is our BEST lineman, and you know it.If we had kicked on that possession the pass to Cody would have tied the game.This is bad coaching,take the points when you can get them,this is Coaching 101 and this is why Bennett was an assistant for so long I do not think he has game mgmt. skills

[JustAFriend]

Finally someone else who questions the worth of the new coach, who everyone else sees as the messiah. I agree Sam, there has been some big letdowns on Bennett's part.

[Charleston Pony]

before you start crticizing the coach, as has been happening for years around here...remember this: the coach with the better players is going to win 90% of the time. Let's wait and see if Bennett and his staff will do a better job recruiting and whether that will suddenly make him a better coach. Right now, we don't have a lot of size or speed to compete successfully outside the WAC, but let's see how we do in conference play before judging this coaching staff.