FORT WORTH, Texas -- Southern Methodist hasn't enjoyed many stampedes since the days of Eric Dickerson and the Pony Express.
The Mustangs relished one Saturday.
SMU's bench stormed the field after a fourth-down pass from No. 20 Texas Christian fell incomplete in overtime, clinching a 40-33 upset of the Horned Frogs, just the second win over a ranked team for SMU since it was banished from football by the NCAA's so-called death penalty in the 1980s.
It looked as if the Mustangs (4-1) would cruise to their biggest win in four years under coach June Jones, one of college football's most noted turnaround artists. But SMU coughed up a 16-point fourth-quarter lead in the fourth quarter before J.J. McDermott started overtime with a 19-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Johnson, McDermott's fourth TD throw.
SMU won it when TCU quarterback Casey Pachall couldn't get the Frogs into the end zone after throwing three fourth-quarter touchdown passes to rally his team. His toss on fourth-and-2 was tipped and bounced off the chest of TCU's Brandon Carter, prompting a wild SMU celebration that also marked the end of TCU's school-record 22-game home winning streak.
"What a win. It's been a long, long time coming," McDermott said. "We were up. They stormed back. I'm ecstatic, so proud of our guys."
Even though TCU (3-2) scored 23 fourth-quarter points, the Mustangs also were moving the ball behind McDermott and Darius Johnson, who repeatedly teamed for big third-down completions, starting with a 13-yard touchdown on the game's opening drive. The pair hooked up on a 21-yard score to put the Mustangs ahead 33-17 barely a minute after Pachall had thrown his first TD pass, on the first play of the fourth quarter.
TCU pulled a similar rally in the opener against Baylor, scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter to take a 48-47 lead before letting the Bears drive to the winning field goal.
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/tcu-rally-ag ... ml?ref=593
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:36 am