Brashard Smith and No. 20 SMU defeat previously unbeaten No. 18 Pitt 48-25.

DALLAS — Brashard Smith rushed for 161 yards with a 71-yard sprint for his first two rushing touchdowns and made a nifty tip-toe catch for another score as No. 20 SMU defeated previously unbeaten and 18th-ranked Pittsburgh 48- 25 on Saturday night to still lead the conference in their Atlantic Coast Conference debut.

The Mustangs (8-1, 5-0 ACC), last year’s champions at The American, became the first team to start 5-0 in their first season in a power conference after leaving the Group of Five league.

Kevin Jennings was 17 of 25 passing for 306 yards with two touchdowns. He hit tight end Matthew Heebner for an 80-yard score on his final pass, one play after Jonathan McGill’s interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Pitt (7-1, 3-1) was trying to open an 8-0 lead for the first time since 1981, when Dan Marino was the Panthers’ quarterback. Redshirt freshman QB Eli Holstein, who left the team at the end of the previous game with an undisclosed injury, completed 29 of 47 passes for 248 yards and did not play the final 9 1/2 minutes due to a lopsided score.

Saturday night’s losses to No. 11 Pitt and Clemson left the Mustangs tied with No. 5 Miami (9-0, 5-0) for the lead in the expanded 17-team ACC. SMU does not play the Hurricanes in the regular season.

SMU took the lead and stayed on El’s 2-yard line. J. Johnson, ending the first game. Roderick Daniels Jr. added a 3-yard touchdown on a reverse, beating a defender in the backfield and leaping over another to cross the goal line.

Smith’s long TD run came on the first play after Ben Sauls, who had already made a 44-yard field goal, missed exactly 47 yards for his first miss in 16 attempts since last season. The Mustangs led 28-3 after Jennings rolled right out on third-and-goal from three and threw to Smith, who kept his feet in bounds while reaching out to catch the ball on the far side of the end zone.

On the ensuing kickoff, SMU cornerback AJ Davis was left face down on the field, and video of the game shows his head making contact with the returner while lunging in an attempt to make a tackle. Davis was restrained on a stretcher and then placed in an ambulance, which drove onto the field.

Later in the game, SMU officials said Davis was fully mobile and in the hospital.

CONCLUSION

Pittsburgh: The Panthers missed several early tackles, leading to a big play that set up touchdowns, and fell behind 34-3 before scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter. Three of their wins this season have been by four points or less.

SMU: Jennings had an impressive rebound a week after he accounted for five of SMU’s six turnovers in an overtime win over Duke. The Mustangs have won five straight since an 18-15 home loss without a touchdown against still-undefeated BYU. It’s their only loss in their last 13 home games, despite averaging just over 50 points per game.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE SURVEY

Pitt spent the weekend as the undefeated, lowest-ranked Power Four team. The Panthers were 5-0 heading into this season, and one loss could put them on the brink of relegation. The Mustangs will certainly move up and could challenge the No. 15 ranking they achieved in 2019, their highest since third place in 1985.

NEXT

Pittsburgh will play its next two games at home: next Saturday against Virginia and Nov. 16 against No. 11 Clemson.

SMU has an open date before hosting Boston College on November 16th.