Mustangs escape with unlikely OT win, setting up crucial ACC matchup

DURHAM, N.C. – When you're losing the turnover battle 6-0, it's hard to win football games.

Many may have even thought it was impossible before Saturday evening.

But SMU accomplished the improbable feat Saturday night when the No. 22 Mustangs (7-1, 4-0) defeated Duke (6-2, 2-2) 28-27 in overtime.

Despite SMU's sloppiest performance all season – with quarterback Kevin Jennings turning the ball over a total of five times – SMU's defense came out swinging and blocked Duke's game-winning field goal attempt with three seconds left, resulting in the The game went into overtime.

In overtime, after each team scored a touchdown, the SMU defense made one last stand as Duke scored twice to win the game, securing the one-point victory.

With the win, SMU has now won five straight, four straight in conference play and nine straight on the road.

Here are five thoughts on victory.

Street Fighters ends October in stunning fashion

The Mustangs' schedule hasn't done them any favors this year.

The month of September looked daunting due to its opponents, as SMU had to play at home against teams like BYU, TCU and Florida State as their first three power conference opponents in this new era.

The month of October was a different challenge as SMU played three straight road games against Louisville, Stanford and Duke.

The game against Duke was by far the most challenging and ended with SMU needing overtime to beat the Blue Devils.

But they succeeded. Brashard Smith scored the first touchdown of overtime. As Duke responded, the defense forced an incomplete pass from quarterback Maalik Murphy on a two-point conversion attempt.

But SMU fought from coast to coast, outscoring every opponent that stood in its way, handing Duke its first home loss of the season.

SMU has now extended its road winning streak to nine games before returning home for three of its final four regular-season contests.

Uncharacteristic performance from Kevin Jennings

SMU has relied on quarterback Kevin Jennings for much of this season, but his performance on Saturday put the Mustangs in a tough spot.

Although Jennings threw for 258 yards on 13 of 24 passes and scored two total touchdowns, he turned the ball over five times – three interceptions and two fumbles. He fumbled a total of four times on Saturday, including three times in the red zone.

The turnovers started on SMU's first drive of the game. After driving to the Duke 4-yard line, Jennings and running back LJ Johnson Jr. prevented the handoff and Duke recovered the fumble, leaving SMU scoreless on its first drive for the first time since the BYU loss .

Toward the end of the first half, Jennings threw his first interception. He added a second score in the fourth quarter when he spun the ball down the field and passed it to Duke in SMU territory. His third goal came not long after, when SMU had the ball with less than four minutes left and tried to tie it up.

Jennings fumbled a second time with 1:17 left, giving Duke the ball on the SMU side of the field with a chance to score the game-winning field goal. SMU blocked the kick to save Jennings again.

It was the quarterback's first multi-turnover game of the season, where he showed some regression after vastly improving his ball security earlier in the year.

In fact, he had only turned the ball over twice in his first six games before turning it over six times in his last two games.

SMU's turnover problems extended beyond Jennings. The Mustangs lost the turnover battle 0-6 and failed a total of five times (three losses). Tight end Matthew Hibner also fumbled late in the first half.

SMU's defense saves the offense time and time again

SMU turned the ball over six times on Saturday, but the Mustang defense didn't give up a single point due to turnovers.

Let that sink in.

SMU's defense has been underperforming all season, and despite being put in countless near-impossible situations on Saturday, it helped the Mustangs reach overtime.

The defense's successes included three stops in the last eight minutes of the game. Duke started three consecutive drives in SMU territory at the SMU 24, 38 and 13 yard lines, but did not score a single point.

Jahfari Harvey also blocked Duke's game-winning 30-yard field goal attempt.

SMU couldn't have asked for anything better from its defense, which held Duke to just 27 points.

Duke's kicking problems play a key role

Sometimes you need a little luck in college football.

Whether SMU deserved it or not, the Mustangs reached overtime with the Blue Devils thanks to some trouble from Duke kicker Todd Pelino.

Pelino missed an extra point in the third quarter, but it ultimately didn't matter as the Blue Devils later converted a two-point turnover.

He missed the go-ahead field goal from 41 yards out with 5:38 minutes left. He then blocked a goal with three seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

Those missteps may have been factored into overtime when Duke opted to attempt a two-point conversion instead of shooting the extra point to tie the score at 28-28.

SMU kicker Collin Rogers, however, was 4 for 4 on extra points. He didn't attempt a field goal.

There is a threat of a massive clash with Pitt

Could ESPN College GameDay be coming to Dallas for the first time next week?

That's the question SMU fans will be waiting to hear answered in the coming hours. Whether the Mustangs play next week or not, their upcoming game against Pitt will be the most important thing left on their schedule.

It will be SMU's first and likely only game with both teams ranked in the AP Top 25. Undefeated Pitt (7-0, 3-0) ranked three spots ahead of No. 19 SMU last week.

With just a month left in the regular season, the competition keeps one team in the driver's seat to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game and sends another team's chances of reaching Charlotte skyrocketing to a loss of three would require other teams.

After a month away from Ford Stadium, SMU heads into its homecoming with full momentum.

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