SMU 31, North Texas 13: What We Learned

[caption id="attachment_18553" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Mike Williamson Photo by Mike Williamson[/caption] SMU got its first win of the Chad Morris era, beating in-state rival North Texas on Saturday. What did we learn about the Ponies and the Mean Green? DCTF's Thomas Bingham breaks it down.A Half of Missed Opportunities SMU led North Texas 7-6 at halftime, but don’t let the close score mislead you. It wasn’t a defensive brawl like many of the meetings between the NFL’s Ravens and Steelers. Both defenses made plays, but it was more about the missed opportunities by each offense. North Texas only scored three points off the three SMU turnovers, and the Mustangs fumbled the ball back to the Mean Green after the lone North Texas turnover. It gave the Mean Green the final possession before halftime, but they could not take the lead. Their 11-play, 56-yard drive was the longest of the half, but Trevor Moore missed a 48 yard field goal, his only miss on three attempts. North Texas finally broke through The North Texas defense was superb throughout the first half, but its production was finally rewarded in the third quarter. The Mustangs carried momentum twice into the red zone, but it was stalled by the Mean Green D twice. The first one appeared on the Ponies’ first drive of the second half. North Texas stopped SMU at the goal line after Chad Davis’ offside penalty gave SMU a first and goal opportunity a few plays before. SMU started its next drive on the North Texas 30 after a bad punt by Eric Keena. Matt Davis put his team in striking distance again with a 25-yard run two plays into the drive, but North Texas forced a field goal. You know the defense is playing well when it is keeping the game close, and making up for team mistakes. The offense also got the ball rolling with a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive. The Mean Green finally found the end zone on Antoinne Jimmerson’s 25 yard score, his third run of the drive. It was North Texas’ first lead since the team’s opening drive. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish As they say, “You win games in the fourth quarter.” SMU flipped the script in the game’s final quarter and won its first game of the season. The Mustangs won the turnover battle and outscored the Mean Green 21-0 down the stretch. The Mustangs scored a touchdown on three of their four possessions, and forced two turnovers. The fumble was a game-changer because SMU had taken the lead early in the quarter, and it stalled the North Texas 10-play drive. The Mean Green never recovered.