Wildcats fall to record-setting SMU passing attack

Box Score DALLAS - Transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai threw for 317 yards and an SMU-record seven touchdowns, and the Mustangs turned a 7-0 first quarter lead to a 56-9 win over ACU on Saturday night in Gerald J. Ford Stadium.  

Mordecai, who joined tight end Grant Calcaterra in transferring from the University of Oklahoma following last season, made the Mustangs (1-0) big winners in their season opener over the Wildcats (0-1), a Football Championship Series opponent they last played in 1925.
 
The ACU offense was directed by redshirt freshman quarterback Stone Earle, who completed 13 of 28 passes for 160 yards and a TD, and rushed for 43 yards in only his second collegiate start. Peyton Mansell spelled him in the fourth quarter, and the former University of Iowa quarterback scrambled for 33 yards on two carries to lead the Wildcats in rushing. Wide receiver Kobe Clark caught six passes for 89 yards and a TD.
 
Calcaterra, who was first-team All-Big 12 Conference in 2019 as a sophomore, caught two of Mordecai's scoring passes. The seven TDs by Mordecai, thrown in his first collegiate start, broke the SMU record of six by Shane Buechele against Temple in 2019.
 
The Mustangs of the FBS American Conference opened last season 5-0 and were 8-0 to start 2019. They are ACU's only FBS opponent this season after the Wildcats faced UTEP, Army and Virginia in a pandemic-shortened 2020.
 
Abilene Christian played the Mustangs close until Mordecai's 28-point second-quarter blitzkrieg blew open the first meeting of these two teams in more than nine decades.
 
Following an ACU punt, SMU began the game on ACU's 44 and three plays later, tight end Calcaterra caught a 21-yard TD pass over the middle from Mordecai to put the Mustangs up 7-0 with 11:19 left.
 
ACU passed midfield on its second possession when SMU seemed to stop a 4^th-and-1 run but was flagged for illegal substitution. A second Wildcat punt pinned the Mustangs on their 10-yard line, and their drive stalled there until a 67-yard punt by Matt Fraange flipped the field.
 
SMU forced a third Wildcat punt on the ensuing drive and moved quickly downfield, settling for a 33-yard field goal try by placekicker Blake Mazza that sailed wide left with 3:06 left. 
 
The Wildcats were forced to punt again, and after ACU gifted SMU a roughing-the-passer penalty deep in its territory early in the second quarter, Mordecai again found Calcaterra in the end zone, this time for an 8-yard TD with 10:55 on the clock.
 
Mordecai tossed his third scoring pass of the half on the Mustangs' next drive, a 30-yarder to wide receiver Danny Gray with 7:41 remaining that made the score 21-0. And his fourth went to Gray again 31 seconds later, a 27-yarder following a tipped Earle pass and interception on ACU's end of the field.
 
On the strength of a 59-yard pass from Earle to tight end Remington Lutz on the ensuing drive, ACU scored its first points of the season when Blair Zepeda kicked a 47-yard field goal to cut the Mustang lead to 28-3 with 3:06 left.
 
But Mordecai struck again just before half, hitting wide receiver Rashee Rice on a 30-yard TD pass over the middle with 29 seconds on the clock to make the midway score 35-3.
 
SMU picked up where it left off after the half, with Mordecai tossing his sixth TD of the night on an 8-yarder to wide receiver Nolan Matthews at the 10:33 mark.
 
The 42-3 lead seemed to inspire ACU's most methodical drive of the night, resulting in an 11-yard TD pass from Earle to wide receiver Kobe Clark. A two-point conversion fell short but the Mustang lead was trimmed to 42-9 with 4:38 remaining.
 
Mordecai's SMU-record seventh TD pass went 31 yards to a wide-open Matthews with 48 seconds left in the third quarter, making the scoreboard read 49-9. 
 
ACU's Darius Lewis dropped an SMU punt at his 13-yard line that the Mustangs recovered on the 2, then converted into seven more points when running back Brandon Epton Jr. rushed for a TD on the ensuing play to make the home team's lead 56-9. 
 
One play later, Earle suffered his second interception of the game when safety Isaiah Nwokobia stepped in front of a pass at the 37 and returned it to the 35 to put SMU in scoring position again. ACU's defense stiffened, however, and SMU's Brendan Hall – the nation's tallest placekicker at 6-foot-8 – missed a 49-yard field goal with 10:14 left in the game. 
 
Mansell took over for Earle on the Wildcats' next possession.
 
ACU running backs Tyrese White (25 yards on six carries) and Jermiah Dobbins (14 yards on seven carries) were stopped nearly cold by the Mustang defense, other than the scrambling of its two quarterbacks.
 
SMU totaled 168 yards rushing, led by Ulysses Bentley IV with 48 yards on 10 carries. Gray led the Mustangs in receiving with four catches for 72 yards and two TDs. Matthews and Calcaterra each caught a pair of scoring passes. Mordecai completed 24 of 30 passes without an interception or a sack.
 
The Mustangs outgained the Wildcats in total offense (490 to 332), passing (319 to 213), rushing (171-119) and first downs (26 to 15).
 
ACU hosts Louisiana College for its home opener next Saturday in Wildcat Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. CST on Anthony Field.
 
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
1Q – Tanner Mordecai threw a 21-yard TD pass to Grant Calcaterra with 11:19 left in the opening quarter. Blake Mazza's successful PAT kick gave SMU the early advantage, 7-0. Scoring drive: 3 plays, 44 yards, 1:04
2Q – Calcaterra caught his second scoring pass from Mordecai, an 8-yarder with 10:55 left in the half. Mazza's PAT increased the SMU lead to 14-0. Scoring drive: 14 plays, 65 yards, 4:51
2Q – Mordecai's third TD pass on the night was a 30-yarder to Danny Gray to build the lead to 21-0 with 7:41 left. Scoring drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 1:47
2Q – Mordecai's fourth TD pass covered 27 yards, again to Gray, and increased the lead to 28-0 with 5:01 remaining. Scoring drive: 4 plays, 31 yards, 1:16
2Q – Blair Zepeda kicked a 47-yard field goal to put ACU on the scoreboard with 3:06 left in the half. 5 plays, 60 yards, 1:50
2Q – Mordecai's fifth scoring pass of the half went to Rashee Rice, covering 30 yards and giving SMU a 35-3 advantage with 21 seconds left. 9 plays, 65 yards, 2:37
3Q – TD No. 6 tonight from Mordecai capped SMU's opening drive, an 8-yarder to Nolan Matthews with 10:33 remaining to make the score 42-3.
3Q – Kobe Clark caught an 11-yard TD from Stone Earle with 4:38 remaining, but the two-point attempt failed, cutting SMU's lead to 42-9. 16 plays, 75 yards, 5:55
3Q – Mordecai's seventh TD pass went 31 yards to Matthews with 48 seconds left. 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:52
4Q – Brandon Epton Jr. ran 2 yards for a TD to make the SMU lead 56-9 with 11:44 remaining. 2 plays, 65 yards, :04
  
STAT CORNER

• Neither team converted a third- or fourth-down play in the first quarter, which ACU led in time of possession (9:48 to 5:12) but trailed in total yards (103-58).
• SMU had potential TD passes sail through the hands of its receivers twice in the first half. Five others found success in building a 35-3 lead at intermission.
• At the half, SMU led in total offense (314-141), first downs (16-5), rushing yards (59-13), passing yards (255-128) and on the scoreboard (35-3). ACU led in time of possession (15:03 to 14:57).

 
QUOTABLE

• "We want to use the first few weeks to get us ready for WAC play, and we got a chance to evaluate a lot of our players tonight. We had a lot of guys playing in their first college football game tonight and we saw a very good football team, so we want to use this to try to grow. In my experience, you have your biggest gains from Week 1 to Week 2, so we've got to have a good week of practice and get ready for our home opener. We've talked to our guys about having a growth mindset even when you don't want to or are disappointed." - head coach Adam Dorrel 

 
NOTABLE

• The Wildcats are playing in their 100^th season in 2021. Vernon McCasland was head coach of the first ACU team in 1919, which finished 2-2. Abilene Christian did not play football from 1943-45 because of World War II.
• ACU and SMU's last game was their first – in 1925, when the Mustangs of the Southwest Conference prevailed 52-7 on Oct. 3. The Wildcats also played TCU (a 21-9 loss) and Texas Tech (a 10-7 loss) that season for A.B. Morris, its head coach and director of athletics.
• SMU has two senior administrators with Abilene Christian undergraduate degrees and deep ties. Dr. R. Gerald Turner, president since 1995, graduated in 1968 from ACU with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Brad Cheves, J.D., vice president for development and external affairs, graduated in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance, and was featured speaker at ACU's 2021 May Commencement.
• SMU head coach Sonny Dykes is the brother-in-law of former ACU head basketball coach Joe Golding ('99). 
• Former President George W. Bush occasionally visits SMU football practice. The Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the university's campus.
• SMU received votes in the USA TODAY and AFCA Coaches Poll to open the season. The Mustangs have been ranked or received votes every week in at least one poll since Week 4 of the 2019 season. They were ranked as high as 16^th in the Associated Press and Coaches polls in 2020.
• ACU has 10 captains this season: quarterbacks Stone Earle, Peyton Mansell and Sema'J Davis; wide receiver Kobe Clark; offensive lineman Truett Knox;  defensive back Brian Bullock; linebackers Greg Green and Hunter Kier; defensive back Koy Richardson; and defensive lineman Quent Titre.