Brashard Smith ran 24 yards for a touchdown on the second play of overtime and No. 22 SMU stopped Duke’s two-point conversion pass attempt in a 28-27 victory Saturday night in Durham, N.C.
SMU (7-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) committed six turnovers, but survived because of Duke’s kicking woes.
Maalik Murphy threw 25 yards to Eli Pancol on Duke’s first snap of overtime before the Blue Devils opted to go for the win.
SMU blocked Todd Pelino’s 30-yard field goal attempt on the last play of regulation, the second kick to go awry for the Blue Devils in the second half.
Smith finished with 117 rushing yards and two scores on 26 carries. Kevin Jennings threw for 258 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions.
Duke (6-2, 2-2) was trying to rally from a double-digit second-half deficit to win for the second time after overcoming a 20-point hole in last month’s one-point victory against North Carolina. Murphy threw for three touchdowns and 295 yards on 27-for-48 passing.
Duke’s Ozzie Nicholas recovered Jennings’ fumble and returned it 21 yards to the SMU 14 with 58 seconds to play before the blocked field goal.
Tre Freeman’s interception gave the Blue Devils the ball at SMU’s 37, but Pelino’s 42-yard field-goal attempt was wide left with 5:38 to go.
Duke got the ball back on Chandler Rivers’ interception but ended up punting before the Jennings fumble.
It took SMU just two plays to score with five minutes left in the third. Jennings connected with Roderick Daniels Jr. for an 81-yard touchdown play as the margin grew to 21-7.
The Blue Devils responded by going 75 yards in nine plays, capped by Murphy’s 12-yard pass to Jordan Moore. The extra-point kick was off the mark.
Duke scored on its next possession on Star Thomas’ 1-yard run on third down, with Murphy’s two-point conversion pass to Pancol tying the score at 21-21 with 9:02 remaining.
SMU led 14-7 at halftime, rolling up 232 yards of total offense but committing the only three turnovers to that juncture.
Duke got on the board first when Murphy connected with Que’Sean Brown on a 43-yard touchdown throw.
The Mustangs, who lost a fumble after reaching the Duke 4 on their first drive, then went 75 yards in 12 plays to score on Smith’s 1-yard run. SMU took its first lead with 3:56 left in the first half when Jennings recovered his own fumble for a 3-yard scoring play on a drive that covered 85 yards, consumed more than seven minutes and used 17 plays.
–Field Level Media
