Week 1 was easy for both BYU and SMU, but things will different when the teams link up Friday night in Dallas.
Fans looking to watch this college football game on ESPN2 can do so for free on fuboTV, which offers a free trial (as well as RedZone, for you NFL fans) or on DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV has promotional offers available, as well. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET.
SMU beat Southern Illinois 41-13 and SMU rolled past Houston Christian 59-7. It was SMU’s first home game since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Mustangs also played in Week 0, a game in which they beat Nevada, so this will be their third game of the season already.
Who: SMU Mustangs vs. BYU Cougars
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, September 6, 2024
Where: Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Stream: fuboTV (free trial); or Sling; or DirecTV Stream
Tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats
Gear: Shop around for jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies and more at Fanatics.com
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How they did last week:
SMU rolls past Houston Christian 59-7 in 1st home game since joining ACC
By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) — Brashard Smith ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns, 348-pound nose tackle Anthony Booker Jr. returned a fumble for a score and SMU routed FCS member Houston Christian 59-7 on Saturday night.
Preston Stone threw for two TDs and Kevin Jennings had one passing and one rushing as the quarterbacks split time in the first home game for SMU (2-0) since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After starting with a three-and-out, the Mustangs scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions of their own — and one of Houston Christian’s.
Jahfari Harvey crunched CJ Rogers in the chest late in the first quarter, the ball squirted loose as the QB was being slammed to the turf and Booker scooped it up and rumbled 16 yards for a 28-0 SMU lead.
The lead was 42-7 with five minutes left in the first half a week after the Mustangs were three-touchdown favorites but didn’t lead until the final two minutes of a 29-24 victory at Nevada.
“It was a great start. The defense had a lot to do with that,” coach Rhett Lashlee said after SMU’s ninth consecutive home victory. “The second quarter we had a little bit of a lull. We told them at halftime we’ve got to be a finishing team. They did a nice job of finishing and not letting their guard down.”
The Huskies (0-1) got a 10-yard touchdown catch from Deuce McMillan but averaged just 3 yards per play with 10 first downs and had three turnovers in coach Jason Bachtel’s debut.
“I think the biggest thing that our kids said is that it was just a faster speed of the ballgame,” Bachtel said. “The same kids who went to Western Kentucky last year and played came out to this field and said, ‘Coach, this is the fastest thing we’ve seen.’ And it should be. They’re going to a quality ACC football team.”
Jordan Hudson, Jake Bailey and Key’Shawn Smith had a touchdown catch apiece, starting with Hudson’s 28-yarder a play after Brashard Smith’s 47-yard run. Key’Shawn Smith’s 35-yard score was his only catch.
The takeaway
Houston Christian: Rogers, a transfer who started his career at Baylor and played two seasons at Texas State, didn’t return after going down hard on his lost fumble. Rogers won a Texas high school championship at Argyle in 2020 with Bachtel as his offensive coordinator. Cutter Stewart started before Rogers played two series and was 10 of 25 for 118 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
SMU: The Mustangs didn’t really need anything from TE RJ Maryland. So he had a quiet night (one catch for 11 yards) after setting career highs with eight catches for 162 yards and the go-ahead 34-yard TD with 1:18 remaining against Nevada. SMU had at least seven receivers catch a pass in a 19th consecutive game.
Running away
The Mustangs finished with 595 yards total offense, including 369 rushing. It was their most on the ground since 2019. Freshman Derrick McFall was one of four with at least 50 yards rushing, getting 69 and a touchdown on 16 carries in the first game of his career.
Up next
Houston Christian: Home opener against Tarleton State next Saturday.
SMU: A visit from BYU on Friday is the second of four consecutive home games.
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Jake Retzlaff’s three TD passes guides BYU to 41-13 romp over Southern Illinois in opener
By JOHN COON Associated Press
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Jake Retzlaff threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns to lead BYU to a 41-13 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday night.
Retzlaff earned his first career victory as the Cougars’ starting quarterback after beating out South Florida transfer Gerry Bohanon for the job in fall camp. The redshirt junior went winless in four starts last season but helped BYU rack up 527 total yards this time around.
Chase Roberts led the Cougars with 108 yards on seven catches. BYU (1-0) has not lost to an opponent outside the FBS since 1960.
“It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t even our best, but there’s some moments that we had some really good things going,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think the experience and the leadership showed up.”
DJ Williams threw for 98 yards, while adding 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, to lead the Salukis. Southern Illinois (0-1) failed in its bid to defeat a third straight FBS opponent.
The Salukis averaged just 4.5 yards per play. They allowed BYU to go 7-of-15 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down.
“We have to find a way to get off the field,” Southern Illinois coach Nick Hill said. “(BYU) caught us in coverage and I thought (Retzlaff) played well. He put that ball out there really well and they hit us on some deep throws to break the game open.”
Big plays led to a big first quarter for the Cougars.
Retzlaff completed a pair of fourth-down passes to set up a 1-yard scoring plunge from Hinckley Ropati on BYU’s 13-play opening drive. Then he capped off the Cougars’ second drive with a 57-yard strike down the middle to a wide-open Jojo Phillips that gave BYU a 14-0 lead.
“We were ready to take shots,” Retzlaff said. “Big plays make offense a lot easier. Thirteen-play drives are really hard. … Being able to have the big plays to shorten those drives makes a huge difference.”
Southern Illinois sliced the deficit to 14-6 when Williams broke a tackle and scored on a 4-yard keeper just before halftime. Williams connected with Keontez Lewis on a 43-yard dart to get into BYU territory and set up the touchdown.
The Cougars pulled away after halftime.
Keelan Marion shook off three defenders to haul in a 52-yard pass, setting up a 7-yard scoring strike to LJ Martin for BYU’s third touchdown. Then, after foiling a fake punt, Retzlaff tossed his third touchdown – a 19-yarder to Mata’ava Ta’ase – to extend the Cougars’ lead to 31-6 midway through the third quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Southern Illinois: Outside of a few solid QB runs, the Salukis struggled to do much else on offense against the Cougars. They had only two receptions longer than 10 yards through the first three quarters.
BYU: The Cougars made strides at pressuring the quarterback, tallying a pair of sacks and seven tackles for loss. Jakob Robinson also snagged an interception. BYU registered only 11 sacks a year ago, tied for last with Virginia among FBS teams.
FOURTH DOWN SUCCESS
BYU converted 50% of its fourth-down attempts in its debut Big 12 campaign. The Cougars are already showing a willingness to be equally aggressive on fourth down this season.
Fourth-down conversions kept scoring drives alive in the first quarter and the third quarter, opening the door for BYU to stay a few steps ahead of Southern Illinois at critical junctures.
“I just hope to never see the punt team or the field-goal team run on the field,” Retzlaff said. “I love to go for it on fourth down. I’ve always loved to go for it on fourth down.”
HILL HEALING
BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill experienced a major scare when he suffered a heart attack on Thursday after practice. Hill was discharged from a Utah County hospital early Saturday after two stents were inserted into his arteries.
He watched the game from the press box. While Sitake officially assumed Hill’s usual responsibilities for the game, that didn’t stop Hill from donning a headset and consulting him throughout the game.
Hill’s heart attack weighed heavily on Sitake’s mind, and he expressed relief that he made a quick enough recovery to leave the hospital less than two days after being admitted.
“That was kind of hard for me to hear,” Sitake said. “All I cared about is if he’s okay. Is my friend okay? So that was a huge scare. I’m glad they were able to get him on the right path to recovery and take care of him.”
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois: Travels to play Austin Peay on Saturday.
BYU: Travels to play SMU on Friday.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article
