SMU Snubs Fresno State, 24-14
Oct 14 | Football
The SMU Mustangs (1-5, 1-2 WAC) snapped their five-game losing streak with a solid 24-14 victory over WAC preseason favorite Fresno State (4-3, 1-1) Thursday night in the Cotton Bowl and in front of a national television audience. The win marked SMU's first triumph over a California school in the Cotton Bowl since October 23, 1948, when the Ponies toppled Santa Clara, 33-0.
SMU's offense controlled the clock with 38:11 of possession time. Senior running back Rodnick Phillips rushed for a season-high 119 yards on 26 carries. Phillips also registered his first touchdown of 1999 in the second quarter to put SMU ahead 13-0.
"This was a total team effort by all the players and coaches," said SMU head coach Mike Cavan. "It was a game we really needed. It was about finding something positive at UTEP last week and carrying it over into tonight."
SMU never trailed in the game. The Ponies were efficient, converting 11 of 21 of their third down opportunities and both of their fourth downs. The Mustangs found their running game Thursday, rushing for 194 yards on 58 carries. When it got the ball back with 3:37 remaining in the game, SMU ran eight consecutive running plays to kill the clock.
"I have to say hats off to the offensive line," said Phillips. "They made it happen. They always play hard, and tonight they executed well. They opened up a lot of holes for me."
The game was televised nationally by FOX Sports Net. SMU won its first nationally televised game since November 21, 1996, when the Mustangs defeated TCU, 27-24, on ESPN.
Fresno State vs SMU - Box Score
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Fresno State........ 0 7 7 0 - 14 Record: (4-3,1-1)
SMU................. 7 14 0 3 - 24 Record: (1-5,1-2)
Scoring Summary:
1st 03:09 SMU - Blueitt, D. 12 yd pass from McCown, J. (Walterscheid, A kick), 4 plays, 27 yards, TOP 2:22, FS 0 - SMU 7
2nd 13:34 SMU - Phillips, R. 1 yd run (Walterscheid, A kick failed), 9 plays, 37 yards, TOP 3:44, FS 0 - SMU 13
08:56 FS - Wright, R. 14 yd pass from Volek, B. (Hanna, J. kick), 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:38, FS 7 - SMU 13
03:58 SMU - McDearman, B. 19 yd pass from McCown, J. (Cardwell, C. pass), 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:58, FS 7 - SMU 21
3rd 08:29 FS - Wright, R. 83 yd pass from Volek, B. (Hanna, J. kick), 4 plays, 98 yards, TOP 1:36, FS 14 - SMU 21
4th 06:02 SMU - Walterscheid, A 37 yd field goal, 10 plays, 59 yards, TOP 4:42, FS 14 - SMU 24
FS SMU
FIRST DOWNS................... 16 18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 23-65 58-194
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 299 157
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 37-26-1 20-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 60-364 78-351
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-26 1-9
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 2-44 2-49
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 1-7
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-37.8 5-40.6
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-2 4-1
Penalties-Yards............... 5-58 9-61
Possession Time............... 21:49 38:11
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-11 0-0
RUSHING: Fresno State-Gaines, P. 11-39; Volek, B. 4-19; Ward, D. 3-7;
Davis, M. 2-4; Fox, V. 1-1; Armstrong, M. 1-minus 1; Tillman, J. 1-minus 4.
SMU-Phillips, R. 26-119; Briggs, K. 12-31; McCown, J. 9-19; Freeman, J.
5-11; Pennington, J. 5-9; Woods, J. 1-5.
PASSING: Fresno State-Volek, B. 26-37-1-299. SMU-McCown, J.
10-19-0-100; Phillips, R. 1-1-0-57.
RECEIVING: Fresno State-Smith, C. 7-64; Wright, R. 5-123; Mahdi, S.
4-39; Gaines, P. 4-39; Davis, M. 1-13; Berrian, B. 1-8; Harris, A. 1-5;
Branstetter, V. 1-5; Armstrong, M. 1-3; Volek, B. 1-0. SMU-Cardwell, C.
3-76; Cunningham, C. 3-30; McDearman, B. 2-29; Blueitt, D. 1-12; Brown, M.
1-12; Pennington, J. 1-minus 2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Fresno State-None. SMU-Aldridge, K. 1-7.
Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 8211
Kickoff time: 6:07 pm End of Game: 9:06pm Total elapsed time: 2:59
Officials: Referee: Gene Semko; Umpire: John Bradley; Linesman: Stu Ross;
Line judge: Robert Baker; Back judge: Scott Allen; Field judge: Jeff Lamberth;
Side judge: James Hatfield; Scorer: Steve Selby;
Temperature: 90 Wind: SE, 7mph Weather: 21 % Hum.,clear
SMU wins first game of the season. Now 1-2 in WAC.
SACKS (UA-A): Fresno State-Harper, A. 1-0; Battle, F. 0-1; Burley, N.
0-1. SMU-None.
TACKLES (UA-A): Fresno State-Nicholas, A. 2-8; Edwards, C. 5-4;
Harper, A. 6-2; Fox, V. 6-2; Rodriguez, M. 3-5; Huff, O. 3-4; Williams, P.
3-2; Saafir, R. 3-1; Torresdal, B. 3-1; Battle, F. 1-3; Burley, N. 2-1;
Lockhart, T. 1-2; Chiaramonte, G. 1-2; Sams, T. 2-0; Limbrick, A. 0-2;
Gatrell, R. 1-0; Brown, T. 1-0; Marsh, D. 1-0; Banks, D. 0-1; Harrington, G.
0-1; Stewart, J. 0-1. SMU-Orr, J. 4-3; Hart, T. 2-5; Brown, R. 3-3;
Williams, J. 2-3; Simonton, J. 0-5; Aldridge, K. 2-2; Johnson, L. 1-3;
Garrett, K. 1-3; Schavrda, C. 2-1; Pratt, Markus 1-2; Ford, B. 1-2;
Williams, B. 1-2; Croy, L. 1-1; Dorsey, T. 1-1; Vadheim, C. 1-0; Birdwell,
W. 1-0; Beard, K. 0-1; Patman, J. 0-1; Gardner, T. 0-1; Johnson, D. 0-1;
Coats, R. 0-1; Briggs, B. 0-1.
