DALLAS (AP) — Shane Buechele threw three touchdown passes, Ulysses Bentley IV ran for two scores and No. 22 SMU rebounded from its first loss with a 51-37 victory over Navy on Saturday night.
The Mustangs (6-1, 3-1 American Athletic) scored 30 consecutive points from late in the second quarter to early in the fourth, a run that started with 10 points in the final 7 seconds of the first half.
After the first of Buechele’s two scoring tosses to Rashee Rice, Nelson Smith fumbled and SMU’s Gary Wiley won the scramble for the loose ball at the Navy 18 with a second remaining. Chris Naggar’s 34-yard field goal made it 31-17.
The Mustangs should have been pinned inside their 5 for their first possession of the second half, but Navy’s Devin Mathews stepped on the goal line while batting a bouncing punt back toward the field. SMU took over at the 20, and Buechele later connected with Austin Upshaw for a 42-yard TD.
A week after finishing with a passer efficiency rating below 100 for the first time in two seasons at SMU, Buechele was at 207.5 after completing 23 of 28 passes for 300 yards with no interceptions.
Smith had 55 yards rushing and a touchdown by early in the second quarter but finished with 54 for the Midshipmen (3-4, 3-2) as SMU controlled the triple-option attack in the second half a week after giving up 313 yards rushing in a 42-13 loss to No. 7 Cincinnati.
Bentley finished with 149 yards on 25 carries and set up Rice’s second TD with a 61-yard catch when he came out of the backfield as Buechele was faking a run up the middle and the quarterback hit his lead back in stride over the middle.
Tyler Lavine put SMU in front for the first time at 21-14 on a 10-yard run midway through the second quarter. He had another TD on a 48-yard run when his knee never touched the ground as he rolled over a pile. Lavine popped up and ran the final 40 yards untouched and finished with 74 yards. Rice had 46 yards receiving.
SMU finished with 255 yards rushing to 191 for Navy, the first time the Mustangs have had more yards on the ground than the Midshipmen since 1998.
The Mustangs slowed Navy’s vaunted running game with several big plays in the backfield against the option. SMU finished with 12 tackles for loss.
Perhaps the biggest came from Trevor Denbow on the first drive of the second half. Navy had a first down at the SMU 36 when the linebacker dropped Carlinos Acie for a 6-yard loss. Navy ended up punting, and SMU soon had a three-touchdown lead. Denbow was one of four SMU players with two tackles for loss.
