It’s been an extremely painful season for fans of the SMU Mustangs, but Saturday may have featured the most excruciating moment in a year of seemingly endless disappointments.
After getting blown out in nearly every game so far in 2014, the Mustangs finally competitive last weekend against South Florida. While this certainly is a positive for SMU, its newfound competitiveness led to a defeat that came in just about the most heartbreaking way possible.
One week after losing a hard-fought contest to Tulsa, a game that saw the Mustangs take a lead for the first time all year, SMU came the closest it has all year to finally getting into the win column. Tom Mason’s team took a lead into halftime thanks to a 13-point second quarter, which featured a Matt Davis touchdown pass to Justin Lawler and a pair of field goals by Cody Rademacher.
Davis’ touchdown pass to Lawler came with just 26 seconds remaining in the half, but South Florida fumbled the ensuing kickoff, allowing Rademacher to kick a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
After a scoreless third quarter, it looked like SMU might finally be on its way to picking up a victory. However, it just was not to be.
South Florida quarterback Mike White threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes rally the Bulls, including a four-yard pass to Andre Davis with just four seconds left. Following the resulting extra point, South Florida had the lead and the win in hand.
The Bulls’ game-winning drive, which lasted nearly six minutes, featured a trio of fourth-down conversions, including the go-ahead touchdown. The Mustangs’ defense came agonizingly close to making the stop they needed to get the win, but just couldn’t seal the deal.
Of course, the fact that SMU put itself in a position to nearly win is without question a huge step forward for the team. Davis had a solid day under center, completing 22 of his 31 passes for 189 yards and no interceptions. The defense, which had given up at least 38 points in every game this season, held the Bulls scoreless for three quarters and looked much better than usual, even if they did give up a pair of late touchdowns against a less-than-stellar South Florida offense.
SMU’s next two games (at UCF, vs. Houston) are certainly tough, but this loss, as heartbreaking as it may have been could potentially give the team something to build off of. Plus, with a game against UConn still on the schedule, a win may still yet be possible for the Mustangs.
But if SMU fails to win any of its three final games, this particular defeat will be the one that’s remembered most from a season of futility and failed expectations.
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