Thedford’s OT Catch Lifts SMU Past Navy
Hunter Thedford caught a 2-point conversion pass in the first overtime on a play that led to several minutes of discussion by officials and a review before it was held up, and SMU beat Navy 31-30 on Saturday in Dallas for its first win over the Midshipmen in 20 years.
After Ben Hicks threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to James Proche, new coach Sonny Dykes decided to go for his first win at SMU right then. Offensive lineman Chad Pursley went in motion from the tight end spot on the left to the slot right, and Hicks threw to Thedford over leaping linebacker Taylon Heflin in the end zone.
The officials met for several minutes as players slowly returned to the sidelines. Not too long after that, he announced the play was legal.
Navy (2-2, 1-1 American Athletic) started overtime with a nine-play possession that ended with quarterback Garret Lewis' plunge from inside the 1-yard line.
In other games: Jordan Cronkrite had a go-ahead 80-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and South Florida beat East Carolina 20-13 in the AAC opener for both teams at Tampa, Fla. East Carolina relocated to Orlando, Fla., by bus Sept 12 as the Hurricane Florence approached the North and South Carolina coastlines. Cronkrite finished with 129 yards on 15 carries. ... Desmond Ridder led host Cincinnati on a 92-yard fourth-quarter drive to take the lead, then the defense stopped Ohio at the Bearcats' 1-yard line with 52 seconds left on James Wiggins' interception in Cincinnati's 34-30 win. Michael Warren's 3-yard run brought the Bearcats all the way back from a three-touchdown deficit for Cincinnati's fourth straight win to start the season. ... At Columbus, Ohio, Dwayne Haskins Jr. threw for 304 yards and five touchdowns in the first half as Ohio State won a 49-6 rout of Tulane to mark coach Urban Meyer's return following a three-game suspension. Haskins was nearly flawless, completing his first nine passes. He was 21-for-24 before giving way to backup Tate Martell in the second half. ... D'Eriq King ac- counted for four touchdowns as Houston scored on its first six possessions and routed Texas Southern 70-14 at Houston. The Cougars (3-1) put up a program-best 671 yards of offense against Texas Southern (1-3).