The first play of the Sonny Dykes era at SMU? A fumble. The Mustangs then followed that up with an interceptions on their next drive... and then another that turned into a pick-six after that. They would throw another to open the second quarter for good measure.
Safe to say that is not how the team and their new head coach envisioned things going at the Frisco Bowl on Wednesday night, as the team just down the Dallas Tollway from the stadium where the game takes place trailed 42-10 at halftime thanks to five turnovers to Louisiana Tech.
The Bulldogs managed to take a three-score lead after the first quarter thanks in part to those turnovers -- and would have made it a full three touchdown margin had they not shanked a short field goal on the first drive. Either way, quarterback J’Mar Smith finished the half with 131 yards passing and three touchdowns through the air while also punching it in on a fourth and inches at the goal line as well. His and running back Boston Scott’s numbers were far from gaudy in terms of yardage but they certainly did the trick given the short fields and easy chances to score against a defense that missed several tackles early on and couldn’t cover anybody in the secondary.
While Skip Holtz’ side was having a grand ol’ time in the game as they seek their seventh win of the year, the same could not be said for the Mustangs as they play their first game with a somewhat makeshift staff that took over just eight days ago. Signal-caller Ben Hicks might want to burn the tape of this game after throwing three interceptions in the first half (two that went for touchdowns... to LaTech) and 105 yards. Top wideouts Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn combined for 10 receptions and a score, while Xavier Jones ran for 56 yards but it didn’t make much of a dint in the scoreboard thanks to a whopping five turnovers.
To make matters even worse the Bulldogs get the ball to start the third quarter.
If SMU winds up coming back to win this one, it might be one of the biggest comebacks ever given how they started this game. More likely, however, is that they can start engraving Louisiana Tech’s name into the Frisco Bowl trophy and nobody will think twice about doing so.