Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Red Wolves drop shootout to SMU
JONESBORO — The tempo was unrelenting. The offensive firepower seemed just too much to handle.
And by the end of the night, the Red Wolves’ defense looked gassed.
SMU and Coach Sonny Dykes’ high-powered air raid offense rolled into Centennial Bank Stadium on Saturday night and put on a show in a 37-30 victory, dropping ASU to 0-1 in interim head coach David Duggan’s debut.
Despite a lethal connection between ASU junior quarterback Logan Bonner and senior wide receiver Omar Bayless, SMU’s offense outdueled the Red Wolves by racking up 508 yards of offense.
SMU quarterback Shane Buechele, making his Mustangs’ debut after transferring from the University of Texas, threw for 360 yards on 30-of-49 passing. Xavier Jones rushed for three touchdowns, and Reggie Roberson caught 11 passes for 180 yards for SMU.
Trailing 37-30 with 2:27 remaining, ASU had a chance to tie the game on the final possession. Bonner marched the Red Wolves to SMU’s 23 with seven seconds left. A shot at the end zone fell incomplete, then on the next and final play, Bonner fumbled, ending ASU’s hopes.
After Buechele gifted the Red Wolves with an interception on the first series of the game, which was returned inside SMU’s 10 by Darreon Jackson, Bonner and Bayless struck first with a 7-yard touchdown connection on the ensuing play to put the Red Wolves up 7-0.
For the rest of the first half, ASU’s offense stagnated, and the Red Wolves’ only other score came on a safety early in the second quarter.
Bonner committed multiple mistakes in the first half, the biggest coming late in the second quarter when he lost grip of the ball while trying to make a pass, and it was intercepted in midair by SMU nose tackle Terrance Newman. That led to a 29-yard field goal by SMU, which pushed its edge to 13-9.
The Mustangs tacked on a 25-yard field goal to take a 16-9 lead at halftime.
After the break, a wild third quarter ensued.
Bonner and Bayless connected on touchdown passes on back-to-back drives — the first from 8 yards and the second from 29 yards — to start the second half, giving the Red Wolves a 23-16 lead.
Moments after Bonner and Bayless connected on their third touchdown, SMU receiver CJ Sanders took back the ensuing kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown to make the game 23-22 in ASU’s favor.
Later in the quarter, another special-teams gaffe again cost the Red Wolves.
Senior safety B.J. Edmonds coughed up the ball near midfield on a punt return, which led to SMU driving down the field in nine plays and punching in a 1-yard touchdown run. The Mustangs then converted a two-point conversion off of a wide receiver reverse pass to take a 30-23 lead with just 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, each team added a touchdown. Jones put SMU up 37-23 with a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 9:11 to play. Minutes later, Bonner hit Bayless for a 34-yard touchdown — their fourth scoring connection of the game.