SMU’s Red-Zone Returns Couldn’t Outlast Syracuse’s Fourth Downs

SMU’s red-zone finishing was good enough to build a 27-20 fourth-quarter lead. It was the possessions outside that narrow territory, and especially Syracuse’s willingness to keep them alive on fourth down, that turned Saturday’s game into a 30-27 loss for the Mustangs at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The University Park program converted all four of its red-zone opportunities: Brendan Baird made one field goal, and Jalen Hale, Yamir Knight and Kendrick Raphael each finished a touchdown drive. That is a substantial finishing return for an offense that lost. Those trips supplied a field goal and three touchdowns; the safety contributed the remaining two points to SMU’s total.

Its first trip did require a field goal rather than a touchdown, but the failure was specific. SMU moved 52 yards in nine plays and reached the Syracuse 6. On third-and-6, Kevin Jennings was sacked for a 17-yard loss, pushing the ball back to the Syracuse 23 before Baird made the 40-yard kick.

That was a damaging play. It was not a sequence of wasted red-zone chances.

The next drive supplied the counterexample. Beginning at its own 12, SMU traveled 88 yards in 12 plays. Jennings converted third-and-3 at midfield with a 5-yard completion to Hale, then found Yannick Smith for 32 yards to the Syracuse 13. Hale caught the 9-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the first quarter, putting SMU ahead 10-7.

After Syracuse moved in front 20-10, SMU answered with an 85-yard, 10-play march. Raphael opened it with runs of 9 and 5 yards. Jennings added a 13-yard keeper, and Knight capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown reception. The touchdown was the product of sustained execution, not a single rescue play.

The strangest scoring sequence came early in the fourth quarter. Syracuse was backed up at its own 6 when an intentional-grounding penalty on third-and-12 in the end zone produced a safety for SMU, trimming the Orange lead from 20-17 to 20-19. The free kick gave the Mustangs the ball at their own 32.

Seven plays and 67 yards later, Raphael scored from 13 yards, and the successful two-point conversion made it 27-20.

That arithmetic deserves attention because it explains the shape of the comeback. The safety awarded two points to SMU, and the subsequent touchdown and two-point conversion created a 10-point swing from a three-point deficit to a seven-point advantage. SMU had turned an awkward moment into control of the scoreboard.

It still needed to defend that lead or take enough time off the clock to protect it.

Syracuse kept finding another down. On its opening touchdown drive, Steve Angeli completed a fourth-and-1 pass to Noah Meyers at the SMU 31. One play later, Angeli ran 26 yards for the score.

In the second quarter, the Orange converted fourth-and-1 at the SMU 16 with Ahmad Miller, then stayed on the field again at fourth-and-1 from the SMU 1, where Miller ran for the touchdown.

Those were four successful fourth-down attempts across three scoring drives: the opening touchdown possession, the second-quarter touchdown possession and the final march. The number matters because Syracuse’s third-down performance was ordinary. It converted 4 of 16 third downs, while SMU converted 6 of 13. Syracuse’s offense became dangerous when third down failed to end the series.

The late turning point arrived after Woody made his third kick for three points. Syracuse drove 67 yards in 10 plays before settling for a 26-yard kick, cutting SMU’s lead to 27-23. The Mustangs then gained minus-6 yards on three plays: Jennings ran for no gain, took a 6-yard sack and threw incomplete on third-and-16. The punt came with 3:36 remaining.

Syracuse needed 11 plays and 3:19 to go 68 yards. Angeli connected with Daunte Bacheyie, Umari Hatcher and Darius Johnson before the critical fourth-and-1 at the SMU 39. The pass to David Clement was caught at the SMU 40 and gained seven yards, moving the ball to the SMU 32.

Calvin Russell III and Bacheyie carried the drive inside the 10, and Meyers caught the winning 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining.

SMU’s two lost fumbles also shaped the margins, including the fumble on its final possession after Syracuse took the lead. One earlier turnover gave Syracuse the ball at the SMU 22, and Woody made a 25-yard field goal. Syracuse finished with three field goals; SMU made one. Those points belong in the accounting, as do the turnovers.

SMU’s defense could take encouragement from its third-down stops, but Syracuse repeatedly gave itself another chance on fourth. Jennings passed for 351 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and the Mustangs produced 421 total yards. They repeatedly finished when the field shortened. Syracuse kept extending the field until one final fourth-down conversion made all that red-zone efficiency irrelevant.

Sources

SMU: official game book and play-by-play

ESPN: final game record and play-by-play

SMU: Dallas campus location