Brashard Smith rushed for 127 yards and scored three of his four touchdowns while SMU also had three touchdowns from non-offensive plays, marking the first time in 12 years that happened. They beat TCU 66-42 on Saturday, even after former coach Sonny Dykes was ejected for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Dykes was automatically ejected after receiving two quick penalties at the beginning of the second half, which followed a holding call that took away a touchdown on a kickoff return.
He continued to argue with the officials and was penalized again right after TCU gained 22 yards on their first play after that.
“Two penalties from two different officials. I understood why I got the first one, I thought I deserved it,” Dykes said. “The second one, I really don’t know where it came from. The first one I deserved.”
This was Dykes’ first ejection in his 15 seasons as a college head coach, and it occurred during his 165th game.
SMU (3-1), which recently joined the ACC, scored 17 points in the last 1:28 of the first half, taking a 41-21 lead. This was the highest number of points the Mustangs have ever scored in a half in this long-standing rivalry, which was played for the 103rd time.
This quick scoring included Ahmaad Moses’ 69-yard interception return for a touchdown. “The sequence of events right before half was huge,” said SMU coach Rhett Lashlee.
The Mustangs raced to a 17-0 lead within the first nine minutes of the game, including a 51-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Brandon Crossley and a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown by Roderick Daniels Jr.
Their 66 points are the most scored by either team in this series, which doesn’t have any more games scheduled after next year.
“We felt like to win, from the first play to the last play we needed to just leave no doubt that we’re the most physical team on the field,” Lashlee said. “That was literally our only thought process coming into the game on offense, defense, special teams and credit our guys for carrying it out.”
