Will Ferrin made a 26-yard field goal with 1:58 remaining after BYU had two crucial fourth-down runs, leading the Cougars to an 18-15 victory over SMU on Friday night and ending the Mustangs’ nine-game home winning streak.
The winning kick came on the same drive when Miles Davis took a quick pitch on a fourth-and-1 near midfield and ran 37 yards to the Mustangs’ 15-yard line.
“Just felt good about it. I didn’t look at analytics and things like that. I just felt good and looked at our guys,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about the fourth-down play. “I liked the look in the eyes of our guys.”
Enoch Nawahine scored a 9-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play and added a 2-point conversion late in the third quarter to give the Cougars a 15-12 lead, although BYU (2-0) did not take advantage of two SMU turnovers in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs (2-1) had not lost a home game since October 22, 2022, against Cincinnati.
During their longest home winning streak since 1948, they averaged 53.9 points per game, with scores of 69 points twice and 77 in another game. Their lowest score in that streak was 34 points.
Collin Rogers set a single-game school record with five field goals for all of SMU’s points, including a 45-yarder with 6:17 left that tied the game. He also made kicks of 53, 52, 38, and 28 yards, bringing his career total to 44, tying him for the most in Mustangs history.
“Just allow them to settle for field goals, I think it helped us win this game,” Sitake said.
Jake Retzlaff threw for 202 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for BYU. Tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase had a 16-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
SMU starting quarterback Preston Stone played only three drives, all resulting in three-and-outs before halftime, losing a total of 24 yards and getting sacked once on each drive.
