South Florida 38, SMU 14: What We Learned

[caption id="attachment_18553" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Mike Williamson Photo by Mike Williamson[/caption] SMU couldn't find any traction in their 38-14 loss at South Florida on Saturday. What did we learn? DCTF's Mike Craven breaks it down. SMU remains winless in AAC play after a loss in South Florida. The Mustangs led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, but South Florida took over in the second and third quarter to coast to a win. SMU’s defense was solid early, but the offense couldn’t get in rhythm and offered no help for a defensive unit that eventually gassed. SMU’s defense had no answer for South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers. The dual-threat showed off his legs throughout the game, racking up over 200 yards of rushing and three touchdowns. His 67-yard run in the second quarter set up a touchdown and allowed the Bulls to retake the lead for good after SMU’s only touchdown drive with starting quarterback Matt Davis on the field. Davis has been the architect of Chad Morris’ offense throughout Morris’ first year as head coach at SMU, but it wasn’t the signal-caller’s best day. Davis, a dual-threat quarterback in his own right, managed 17 yards rushing on 15 carries. That stat includes sacks and Davis ran for his life throughout the contest. Some of it is on a young, inexperienced offensive line, but Davis is indecisive with the football and doesn’t quite yet understand the system or trust the system. The entire rushing offense struggled and that put a lot of pressure on Davis’ arm. SMU, as a team, rushed for 121 yards on 39 carries. Xavier Jones led the team with 54 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Through the air, Davis was 9-of-24 for 106 yards and an interception. He was replaced in the fourth quarter and redshirt freshman Darrel Colbert Jr. led the offense to its second touchdown drive of the game. The key for Colbert was finding was including wide receiver Courtland Sutton. Sutton, SMU’s best wide receiver, was a ghost for the first three quarters, but came alive with Colbert on the field and finished with three catches for 57 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown catch. Colbert was 7-for-7 for 80 yards and a touchdown. The former Lamar High School product was leading an SMU drive late in the game before the clock ran out. Colbert looked good down the stretch, which is good news for SMU moving forward. It may not be time to move past Davis completely, but Morris is in this for the long run and Colbert’s comfort at quarterback is a good sign for the Mustangs moving forward.