DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — No.
22 SMU forced an incompletion on a winning two-point conversion attempt to seal a 28-27 road victory in overtime against Duke late Saturday night. It's the fifth consecutive win for the Mustangs (7-1, 4-0 ACC), who got 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns — including the winner in overtime — from Brashard Smith. Mustangs' quarterback Kevin Jennings had 299 yards of total offense, rushing for a score and throwing for another.
The Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2) lost despite winning the turnover battle 6-0. Maalik Murphy completed 27-of-48 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, while Star Thomas rushed for 65 yards and a score. The game started anew with nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter when Duke capped off a 10-play, 64-yard yard drive with Thomas muscling his way into the end-zone for a touchdown.
Late in the fourth quarter, Jennings fumbled on a second-and-6 scramble, which was scooped up by Duke linebacker Ozzie Nicholas and returned 21 yards, putting the Blue Devils in the red zone. But Duke failed to take advantage of a possession gifted to them by SMU, and a walkoff 30-yard field goal by Todd Pelino was blocked by SMU’s Isaiah Nwokobia as time expired in regulation. In overtime, the Mustangs scored quickly on a 24-yard run from Smith, and Duke countered with a passing touchdown to Eli Pancol.
When Duke went for the win, SMU's defense stepped up. SMU: The Mustangs entered this matchup with the 11th-best scoring offense in FBS, and.
