ANNAPOLIS, Md. _ SMU had been 5 of 5 on fourth down in its last game. It had made its only fourth-down attempt of this game. In a game against Tulsa, it needed six straight fourth-down conversions to complete a magical comeback.
This time, with the season on the line, SMU needed to convert on a fourth-and-4 to James Proche in the end zone. This one, he couldn't catch. And, as a result, SMU lost, 35-28 to Navy. The loss eliminates the Mustangs from AAC title contention.
SMU's defense started to feel the ill-effects of a long day on the field. Navy's offense had the ball for two-thirds of the entire game. And it started to show up in the second half, as SMU was outscored 25-7 after the break.
It finally seemed as if SMU's defense was feeling fatigued early in the fourth quarter. A 13-yard pass over the middle, and Ryan Mitchell jogged into the end zone to give the Midshipmen the lead in the early moments of the fourth quarter.
That capped a stretch where SMU allowed 18 points without recording a net positive yard on offense. But early in the game it was all SMU.
C.J. Sanders returned his second kickoff for a touchdown this season. Xavier Jones ran in his 21st TD of the season. James Proche and Rashee Rice also got in the end zone.
On defense in the second quarter, two consecutive sacks sent Malcolm Perry all the way back to Navy's 3-yard line, SMU got the ball back at the Midshipmen 42 on the punt. It took just two plays for SMU to score its second TD in less than three minutes. Jones ran it in from nine yards out.
But the third quarter is where the SMU defense started to relent. A six-minute TD drive by Navy to start the third quarter continued a trend of quick SMU drives and elongated Navy possessions. Within a minute, Navy got the ball back and used up another four minutes to kick a field goal.
Even after another TD and two-point conversion fully erased SMU's 11-point lead, the Mustangs came back.
Rice scored on a 61-yard screen pass early in the fourth quarter. It was the first touchdown of his career and it tied the game. To that point in the second half, SMU had a total offensive output of negative one yard.
SMU's season has been full of games like this. Close, dramatic _ games where the final play still matters. It's because SMU has won games like this that it was in the midst of a magical season.
But in this game, with an opportunity to come back in the final moments as it has before this year, the Mustangs came up just short. And in a season where SMU appeared to be the class of the conference, it's two one-score losses that eventually eliminated it from contention.
