 played from ahead and kept it that way in a second straight game with more than 1,000 combined yards. SMU had fallen behind and failed to close the gap last week in a 54-48 loss to No. 19 Memphis. Tight end Kylen Granson caught three touchdowns, including a 31-yarder on fourth-and-20 with SMU leading 45-44 midway through the fourth quarter. Granson had 138 yards on seven receptions, while James Proche finished with 14 catches for 167 yards. ''We've got a great quarterback, we've got great skill players, we've got great tight ends,'' said Granson, who had career highs for yards and TDs. ''The fact that he was willing to go for a fourth-and-long like that, I feel a little big for my boots. He trusted me. '' On the ensuing kickoff, East Carolina's Jsi Hatfield couldn't pick up the loose ball around his 15-yard line and SMU recovered. That led to Proche's second touchdown catch. Proche, a senior, had broken Emmanuel Sanders' school record with his 35th career touchdown catch on his first score of the day. Buechele threw for 414 yards as the Mustangs finished with 636 total yards to 644 for the Pirates (3-7, 0-6). Jones, who ran for 157 yards, had three rushing touchdowns for the third time this season, giving him 18. His total touchdowns reached 20, one more than the Pro Football Hall of Famer Dickerson had in 1981 - all on the ground. SMU started 8-0 for the first time since Dickerson was leading the Pony Express in his final season in 1982. But the loss to Memphis left the Mustangs needing help to reach the AAC championship game even if they win their final two regular-season games. ''Our guys showed up on Sunday and had the exact frame of mind we wanted them to have,'' coach Sonny Dykes said. ''We didn't have to beg them to practice. They showed up and handled their business. '' East Carolina's Tyler Snead caught 19 passes for 240 yards, both career highs. Snead's previous best was six catches, and at one point he caught seven straight passes from Holton Ahlers. The Football Bowl Subdivision high for receptions in a game this season coming in was 16. Ahlers threw for 498 yards a week after setting a school record with 535 yards when the Pirates lost to No. 17 Cincinnati 46-43 on a field goal on the final play. ''I hurt for our kids because they fight,'' coach Mike Houston said. ''I'm just really, really, I'm hurting for them. They're fighters. They're winners. And it's only a matter of time. '' THE TAKEAWAYEast Carolina: When his first season is over, Houston could easily point to this two-week stretch as the most significant progress for a program with a 4-26 conference record going back to 2016. The Pirates showed well against consecutive Top 25 opponents. SMU: Defense is suddenly an issue for the Mustangs, who have allowed at least 500 yards four times in five games after posting mostly respectable numbers early in the season. UP NEXTBoth teams are off next weekend before playing their final road games Nov. 23. East Carolina goes to UConn, and SMU will be at No. 25 Navy. ---More college football: http://apnews. com/tag/Collegefootball and http://www. twitter. com/-Top25)
Nov 06, 2019East Carolina and No. 25 SMU enter their game Saturday with different mindsets coming off close losses against ranked teams last week. The Pirates (3-6, 0-5 American Athletic Conference) were losers of three straight games by double-digits before losing on a last-second field goal last week against visiting then-No. 17 Cincinnati. The Mustangs (8-1, 4-1) lost their first game of the season last Saturday in a 54-48 shootout at then-No. 24 Memphis. Both teams took the losses hard, but East Carolina came away from its setback to the Bearcats feeling more confident of their potential. "Our locker room is very quiet," Eastern Carolina coach Mike Houston said after the game. "They invested a lot. When you invest a lot, it hurts when you don't achieve what you set out to achieve. But that's part of sport. I told them this continues to validate everything we're doing. The kids had a great week of practice. They pushed themselves to get better every day. We're leaning on our core principals to get better. " SMU coach Sonny Dykes, in only his second season, led the Mustangs to their first 8-0 start since 1982 season. They are ranked in the top 25 for the first time since the program received the NCAA's death penalty in February 1987. Dykes will learn how his team handles a loss when the Mustangs host East Carolina on Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium at University Park, Texas. "You don't know until you deal with it until you have to deal with it," Dykes said. "So we'll see how our guys respond. I think they'll respond well. We talked a little bit about it in the locker room. " SMU's "Air Raid" offense played to form with quarterback Shane Buechele completing 34 of 54 passes for 456 yards, James Proche having 149 yards receiving and Rashee Rice producing a career-high 122 receiving yards. The Mustangs rank eighth nationally, averaging 509. 6 yards per game. Buechele is also the No. 8 quarterback in the nation, averaging 309 passing yards per game while throwing for 2,781 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions. "The season's not over from this loss," said safety Rodney Clemons. "We've got to focus on what we do. We've got to come out, beat ECU, beat Navy, and then beat Tulane, the last game of the season. And if we do that, we'll look up and see where we're at. " East Carolina's 46-43 loss to Cincinnati marked the most points the Bearcats have yielded this year, other than the 42-0 loss to current No. 1-ranked Ohio State in the Bearcats' second game. Sophomore quarterback Holton Ahlers set an East Carolina record with 535 yards passing and true freshman C. J. Johnson had 283 yards in receiving, setting both school and conference records. "We had some incredible individual performances. The thing that you focus on is what a great effort by our kids," Houston said. "We talked about believing in ourselves, not hesitating, and going and making the play. Take our shot. It's been a theme and we hammered it this week, justifying the things we believed in. And the kids went out and did that. " --Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
East Carolina
SMU
Pick Center
NCAAF
FINAL (11/9/2019)
LiveSportsTradingDude
