Saturday afternoon, SMU fans will be looking to see if Shane Buchele can find Reggie Roberson Jr. or James Proche on plays that equate to passing touchdowns against USF. They will be watching how Xavier Jones runs the ball as he continues to chase the record books in the category of career rushing touchdowns.

Fans also will be watching how well the SMU secondary and linebacker play against a quick group of USF skill-position players. This is a USF team that scored seven touchdowns in its win over South Carolina State -- four via the pass, three via the run.

But like any successful team, wins and losses are generated by the production in the trenches. Quarterbacks are able to find receivers, and running backs are able to find holes with the support of a solid offensive line. And offenses are thwarted with the help of a dominating defensive line.

Last week, SMU's big guys did their part. The result was a memorable win over TCU, the first for SMU since 2011.

"If you want to be good, you've got to be good up front, on both sides of the ball," SMU coach Sonny Dykes said. "Our defensive line really played well, and our offensive line played their best football. That gave us a chance against a Big 12 opponent."

Dykes said the linemen's production was as good as he's seen in his time as SMU's head coach. The offense won battles over a TCU defense that, at the time, was ranked No. 2 in the nation. The defense held TCU's starting quarterback, Max Duggan, to 188 passing yards and no touchdowns. The defense also forced six fumbles and recovered three.

Jaylon Thomas and Beau Morris started at tackle for SMU, while Nick Dennis and Hayden Howerton started at guard. Alan Ali is the team's center. Cobe Bryant also saw playing time.

Defensively, Delontae Scott and Turner Coxe got the starts at defensive end, and Pono Davis and Zach Abercrumbia started at defensive tackle against TCU. Defensive ends Demerick Gary and Toby Ndukwe also saw quality minutes last week.

Collectively, SMU's offense accounted for 406 total yards, and the Mustangs' 31 first-half points were the most allowed by TCU since 2017, when they played Oklahoma. Defensively, SMU held TCU to 282 total yards in the first three quarters.

Chalk it up to the second-year development from Dykes' players. He has a variety of players who have improved since last year -- and players who are looking to show how much they have improved.

"Competition breeds work ethic," Dykes said. "Our practices are much more physical and intense than they were a year ago. Our scout teams are doing a great job for us. We've got some good players on our scout teams making guys in front of them better. When you can have that kind of development in your program, good things are ahead."

SMU now looks to go 5-0 for the first time since 1983. It can happen if both lines perform the way they did last week.

SMU (4-0) at USF (1-2)

3 p.m. CT, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida