Nov. 14, 2009
Final Stats | Notes
DALLAS (AP) - Kyle Padron completed 17 of 24 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns and added a pair of TD runs to lead SMU to a 35-31 win over UTEP on Saturday.
SMU (6-4, 5-1 Conference USA) gained sole possession of first place in the conference's West Division after Houston lost 37-32 to Central Florida earlier in the day. The Miners (3-7, 2-4) have lost three straight.
UTEP took a 31-28 lead after running back Donald Buckram scored on a 30-yard screen pass from Trevor Vittatoe with 8:57 left in the game.
But Padron threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 4:34 left in the game to give SMU the lead. UTEP drove to the Mustangs' 14-yard line but Vittatoe was sacked by SMU's Taylor Thompson on fourth-and-6 with 26 seconds left.
SMU is 5-1 in now Conference USA, which is the best league record for SMU since a 7-1 league mark in 1983. It is also the most league wins for the Mustangs since joining C-USA.
SMU is 6-4 on the season and bowl eligible for the fifth time since its last bowl appearance.
Margus Hunt blocked a 39-yard FG attempt by UTEP on the final play of the first half. It was his seventh of the season and moves him within one block of the NCAA single-season record.
