The SMU Mustangs went into Friday’s match knowing the only way to beat Navy would be to stop the option run. The team did so by bending, but not breaking, and keeping Navy out of the endzone until the offense had built a solid lead.
SMU opened up with a 13-point lead first quarter, then 19 points in the third highlighted by a 60-yard touchdown run by Mustangs quarterback Tanner Mordecai on the team’s first possession after halftime.
Mordecai looked sharp against the Midshipmen, completing 20 of 27 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Mordecai also added 74 yards on six carries and a touchdown to lead SMU on the ground.
Dylan Gaffney was the leading receiver for the Mustangs as Rashee Rice was largely a non-factor through much of the game. Gaffney caught four passes for 116 yards that included a 44-yard reception that set up the Mustangs’ final score. Mordecai also hit Rice for 68 yards on the first play of the game, but Rice finished the day with only three receptions and 74 yards. Moochie Dixon also caught a 47-yarder on the same drive that saw Jordan Kerley haul in a 33-yard touchdown catch.
The Navy defense held strong against the run all night, with the difference maker being the scamper by Mordecai in the third quarter. The Mustangs only gained 105 yards on the ground on 21 attempts. Minus the 60-yarder by Mordecai, the Midshipmen did a phenomenal job stopping the ground game.
Everyone knows what Navy will bring. Since 2002, the program has rushed for more than 70,000 yards, nearly 20,000 more than the next college. Stopping the run against Navy is no easy task. In the option, quarterback Tai Lavatai can hand off, pitch out, or take off and run himself, which he did to great effect at times during the game.
Lavatai finished the day as the leading rusher for the Midshipmen, accounting for 120 of the 372 yards Navy put up on the ground. Lavatai scored two of the three rushing touchdowns for Navy. Through the air, Lavatai completed only nine passes on 21 attempts and was picked off one time on a fourth-and-long desperation heave under duress.
Jayden Umbarger was the only Navy receiver with more than one catch, collecting five and scoring a touchdown on a 26-yard completion late in the game as the Midshipmen were looking for a comeback attempt. Lavatai also hit speedy receiver, Vincent Terrell Jr., for a 24-yard score. A late-game rally by Navy likely had SMU sweating under the collar as they looked to end a three-game losing streak at home. Two onside kick attempts by Navy were recovered by the Mustangs including the final kick to end the game.
The most amusing drama of the evening came in the third quarter, when SMU mascot Peruna, the miniature stallion, defecated on the field, forcing a stoppage of about 15 minutes while maintenance cleaned up the mess.
SMU is now 3-3 overall and is 1-1 in the AAC competition. The Mustangs play next against No.21 Cincinnati on October 22.
