DALLAS — Brashard Smith ran for 161 yards with a 71-yard sprint for the first his two rushing touchdowns and made a nifty tiptoe catch for another score as No. 20 SMU overwhelmed previously undefeated and 18th-ranked Pittsburgh 48-25 on Saturday night to remain tied for the conference lead in their Atlantic Coast Conference debut.
The Mustangs (8-1, 5-0 ACC), last year’s champions in The American, are the first team to start 5-0 in their first season in a power conference after moving up from a Group of Five league.
Kevin Jennings was 17-of-25 passing for 306 yards with two touchdowns. He hit tight end Matthew Hibner for an 80-yard score on his final pass, one play after Jonathan McGill’s interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Pitt (7-1, 3-1) was trying to open 8-0 for the first time since 1981 — when Dan Marino was quarterback of the Panthers. Redshirt freshman QB Eli Holstein, who left late in their previous game with an undisclosed injury, completed 29 of 47 passes for 248 yards, and didn’t play the final 9 1/2 minutes because of the lopsided score.
The losses Saturday night by Pitt and No. 11 Clemson left the Mustangs tied with No. 5 Miami (9-0, 5-0) for the lead in the expanded 17-team ACC. SMU doesn’t play the Hurricanes during the regular season.
SMU went ahead to stay on LJ Johnson’s 2-yard TD run to cap the game’s opening drive. Roderick Daniels Jr. added 3-yard TD on a reverse, getting around a defender in the backfield and leaping another to get over the goal line.
Smith’s long TD run came on the first play after Ben Sauls, who had already made a 44-yard field goal, was wide right on a 47-yarder for his first miss in 16 attempts since last season. The Mustangs led 28-3 after Jennings rolled right on third-and-goal from the 3 and threw to Smith, who kept his feet inbounds while reaching out to make the catch at the far side of the end zone.
On the ensuing kickoff, SMU cornerback AJ Davis stayed face down on the field, and video of the play showed his head making contact with the returner while lunging trying to make a tackle. Davis was immobilized on a stretcher before being put into an ambulance that drove onto the field.
SMU officials said later in the game that Davis had full movement, and was at a hospital.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pittsburgh: The Panthers didn’t finish some early tackles, resulting in big plays that helped set up touchdowns, and were down 34-3 before scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter. Three of their wins this season were by four points or fewer.
SMU: Jennings had an impressive rebound a week after accounting for five of SMU’s six turnovers in an overtime win at Duke. The Mustangs have won five in a row since an 18-15 home loss without a touchdown against still-undefeated BYU. That is their only loss in their past 13 home games, a stretch when they have averaged just more than 50 points a game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Pitt went into the weekend as the lowest-ranked undefeated Power Four team. The Panthers were 5-0 before getting in this season, and one loss could have them on the verge of falling out of the poll. The Mustangs will certainly move up, and could challenge the No. 15 ranking they reached in 2019, their highest since being third in 1985.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh’s next two games are at home, next Saturday against Virginia and Nov. 16 against No. 11 Clemson.
SMU has an open date before hosting Boston College on Nov. 16.
