SMU uses dominating first half to rout USF

The offense absolutely dominated the first half, and the defense made life miserable for USF, all of which culminated into a 48-21 SMU victory over USF in front of an announced crowd of 28,850 Saturday evening at Raymond James Stadium. It was an outstanding performance for an SMU team competing in its American Athletic Conference opener.

Everything that could go right for SMU on Saturday, did go right. The Mustangs recorded 497 total yards of offense. They also accounted for 10 total sacks on defense.

By the first 18 minutes of the game, SMU (5-0, 1-0 AAC) already had a three-touchdown lead over the Bulls. Before the first half ended, SMU added two more touchdowns on offense.

Additionally, the Mustangs kept USF (1-3, 0-1) scoreless. The Bulls only had 96 total yards in the first half, and starting quarterback Jordan McCloud was sacked six times.

The end result was SMU reaching its best start since 1983. The team is now one win away from being bowl eligible.

SMU opened with a 7-0 lead after Xavier Jones scored on a 9-yard run with 9:58 in the first quarter. That touchdown gave him his ninth on the season and, more importantly, his 31st for his career.

Jones, with that touchdown, tied Doak Walker for fourth all-time on SMU's career rushing touchdowns list. Safety Rodney Clemons ended a potential USF scoring drive with an interception -- his first of two for the quarter -- on a McCloud pass in the end zone.

From there, SMU capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 36-yard touchdown run by Jones with 1:56 in the first quarter. Jones, with 32 career touchdowns, now chases Reggie Dupard for third place all-time. Dupard, who played from 1982-85, has 41 career rushing touchdowns. Jones finished the game with 155 yards and two scores on 15 attempts -- all in the first half.

SMU extended its lead to three touchdowns with less than 13 minutes in the second quarter when Shane Buechele connected with James Proche for a 6-yard pass. That lead was extended to four touchdowns when Buechele hit Reggie Roberson Jr. for a 31-yard strike at the 9:22 mark before halftime.

With 7:30 in the second quarter, SMU scored once again. Buechele found Proche again, this time on a 19-yard touchdown reception. SMU added points to take a 41-0 lead in the second half when Buechele found a hole on the left side of the field and scored on a 10-yard run. The score capped a nine-play, 50-yard drive that lasted four minutes for the Mustangs.

Buechele completed his first 13 passes on Saturday. He finished completing 21 of 25 passes for 226 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for the day.

USF finally got on the board with 26 seconds left in the third, as Jacob Mathis caught a 24-yard pass from backup quarterback Blake Barnett. On its next series, USF scored again, as Barnett found Bryce Miller for a 13-yard touchdown pass, trimming the SMU lead to 41-14.

SMU tacked on its seventh touchdown of the game with 5:01 left to play. Freshman Tyler Lavine scored his first collegiate touchdown with a 1-yard run, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive that lasted nearly six minutes.

Of SMU's 497 total yards of offense, 364 came in the first half. The Mustangs had 31 first downs, 20 of which came in the first 30 minutes. Defensively, SMU had 10 sacks from 10 different players. Toby Ndukwe was the only player with multiple sacks, and Richard McBryde and Elijah Chatman shared a sack in the final seconds of the game.

McBryde, who is taking over the starting middle linebacker position for the injured Richard Moore, had a team-high nine tackles on Satuday. Delano Robinson had five of his six tackles in the first half.

SMU will return home next Saturday as it faces Tulsa. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.