UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas _ You can talk about the missed opportunities, of which there were several. But if you want to get to the root of SMU's failed upset attempt against CFP No. 18 Central Florida on Saturday, it goes back to something that has plagued the Mustangs for the last four games.
Run defense.
The Knights rushed for 203 yards on 36 carries en route to a 31-24 victory over the Mustangs.
The loss dropped SMU to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in American Conference play. Now if SMU is to win the West Division, it will need victories in its final three games of the season and hope that Houston loses one more time down the homestretch.
It was the fourth game in a row that SMU has allowed an opponent to run for over 200 yards. Sophomore Adrian Killins alone rushed 14 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
The Mustangs struggled to make tackles at the line of scrimmage, which left defensive backs in unenviable positions in the open field. It wasn't uncommon to see two or three missed tackles on a single carry.
But the blame does not lie solely on the defense. The group limited UCF to three points in the fourth quarter, giving the Mustangs a chance to win.
The offense couldn't deliver, though. Sure-handed wide receiver Trey Quinn dropped a fourth-and-3 pass with 5:22 to play and the Mustangs trailing by seven. The LSU transfer was wide open past the first-down marker but turned to run before he secured the ball. Quinn dropped to the turf and banged his hand on the field afterward.
The defense responded with a stop punctuated by a third-down sack by Delontae Scott, who body-slammed UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton into the turf. SMU got the ball back on its 20 with 2:55 to play. SMU would only gain 14 yards, though, with Ben Hicks throwing incomplete passes on third and fourth down to turn the ball over to the Knights for the victory formation.
SMU squandered two opportunities for touchdowns in the second quarter. On third-and-2 from the UCF 10, Ke'Mon Freeman rushed nine yards to give the Mustangs a favorable goal-line situation. But as he went to the ground, Freeman lost control of the ball and fumbled into the end zone, where UCF's Tre Neal recovered the ball.
Then in the final minute of the half, SMU was driving with a chance to tie the game. Hicks had done a good job to that point of picking up small chunks of yardage as he worked the two-minute offense. On second-and-5 from the UCF 25, Quinn created some space in the end zone.
Hicks' pass, however, sailed over Quinn's head. Two plays later, Josh Williams missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt and SMU went into the locker room down, 21-14.
In the third quarter, Hicks overthrew open receiver Courtland Sutton on a deep route in a drive that ended with a 45-yard field goal from Williams. In the fourth, with SMU driving and down 31-24, Sutton dropped a pass that would have secured a conversion on third-and-11.
Things had started well on offense for SMU. James Proche made seven UCF defenders miss on the Mustangs' opening play for an 86-yard touchdown pass. On the ensuing three drives, though, SMU gained only one first down and 31 yards total in 10 plays.
