By Mitchell Northam, Associated Press and Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

Durham, N.C. — DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — No. 22 SMU forced an incompletion on a winning two-point conversion attempt to seal a 28-27 road victory in overtime against Duke late Saturday night.

It’s the fifth consecutive win for the Mustangs (7-1, 4-0 ACC), who got 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns — including the winner in overtime — from Brashard Smith. Mustangs’ quarterback Kevin Jennings had 299 yards of total offense, rushing for a score and throwing for another.

“It’s always tough when you feel like you were in the right position in the game. And, overall, it’s tough to lose games like that, especially in the fourth quarter. But I feel like we are strong enough team. We have a great bond and culture. We will bounce from this,” Duke defensive tackle Kendy Charles said.

The Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2) lost despite winning the turnover battle 6-0. Maalik Murphy completed 27-of-48 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, while Star Thomas rushed for 65 yards and a score.

“An extraordinary contest. Certainly, one for the neutral, that would be very appealing. But for those guys in that locker room, the emotion is sadness, anger, confusion. Whatever you can feel, they feel,” head coach Manny Diaz said after the game. “I think that’s because there’s another emotion – there’s immense pride to be a part of a team that will battle like our guys will. Proud to be their head football coach.”

The game started anew with nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter when Duke capped off a 10-play, 64-yard yard drive with Thomas muscling his way into the end-zone for a touchdown.

Late in the fourth quarter, Jennings fumbled on a second-and-6 scramble, which was scooped up by Duke linebacker Ozzie Nicholas and returned 21 yards, putting the Blue Devils in the red zone. But Duke failed to take advantage of a possession gifted to them by SMU, and a walkoff 30-yard field goal by Todd Pelino was blocked by SMU’s Isaiah Nwokobia as time expired in regulation.

“Just one of those games where the rare oddities of things that you could never imagine and couldn’t count on happening,” Diaz said. “It’s unfair. It’s unfair to Todd because he has had a great career here. He’s going to finish and he’s going to come back from this, just like everyone else on our team will. I would back him to make that kick 100 times out of 100.”

In overtime, the Mustangs scored quickly on a 24-yard run from Smith, and Duke countered with a passing touchdown to Eli Pancol. When Duke went for the win, SMU’s defense stepped up.

The takeaway

SMU: The Mustangs entered this matchup with the 11th-best scoring offense in FBS, and gashed Duke’s defense for 469 yards of total offense, the most the Blue Devils have allowed this season. Still, because of its turnovers, it needed some late-game magic to remain undefeated in conference play.

Duke: The Blue Devils failed to capitalize off turnovers. SMU fumbled three times and tossed three interceptions, but Duke never turned those giveaways into points.

Up next

SMU hosts No. 19 Pittsburgh next Saturday, while Duke travels to No. 6 Miami next week.

Source: wralsportsfan.com