With three seconds left in the first half, Brendan Baird turned a promising SMU possession into a 50-yard field goal and a 23-14 lead over Virginia Tech. That kick did not tell the whole story of Friday night in Dallas, but it explained why the Mustangs could afford to be patient early and ruthless later.
SMU ultimately beat Virginia Tech 51-28, and Baird finished with 15 points: three field goals and six extra points. His kicks did not replace touchdowns. They kept scoring possessions from becoming empty ones while the offense was still finding the shape of the game.
The 50-yarder was the cleanest example. Virginia Tech had answered SMU’s 46-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Jennings to Yamir Knight with Jeffrey Overton Jr.’s 22-yard touchdown run, cutting the margin to 20-14 with 2:22 remaining. SMU then covered 42 yards on nine plays, reached a distance where Baird could be trusted and took a nine-point advantage into halftime.
That extra three points mattered because the Hokies had already shown they could respond. A 75-yard Virginia Tech drive had produced a touchdown earlier in the quarter, and another score had followed SMU’s 26-yard field goal. The halftime kick extended a six-point advantage to nine.
A touchdown would have been better, of course. It also would have required finishing the possession in the end zone rather than accepting the points that were there.
Baird’s first two attempts had performed the same basic job from different distances. His 47-yard field goal at 3:00 of the opening quarter completed an 11-play, 61-yard drive and extended SMU’s lead to 10-0 after Dramekco Green’s 12-yard touchdown had opened the scoring.
The 26-yarder at 8:32 of the second quarter came after nine plays and 56 yards, restoring a 13-7 advantage after Virginia Tech’s first touchdown.
Those were not touchdown drives, but neither was either possession a quick bailout. SMU moved the ball, reached scoring range and finished with points. The distinction became important because the Mustangs were not asking Baird to rescue a stagnant offense. They were using him to bank production while the next opening developed.
By halftime, SMU had already mixed one rushing touchdown, the 46-yard pass to Knight and three field goals into its scoring. After the break, the touchdowns arrived in heavier waves. Christian Rhodes’ 59-yard run from the SMU 25 to the Virginia Tech 16 set up a short Green run and then a 13-yard Jennings-to-Knight touchdown. That sequence turned field position into seven points almost immediately.
The later drive required a different kind of finish. SMU went 15 plays over 8:04, crossing the quarter break before Jennings found Knight for a 5-yard touchdown at 9:15 of the fourth quarter. That made the score 44-14.
