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News Nuggets, 09.11.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

SMU springs milestone upset of No. 22 TCU

DALLAS — DeMyron Martin ran for two touchdowns and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass, leading Southern Methodist past No. 22 Texas Christian 21-10 Saturday night for the Mustangs' most important victory since coming off the death penalty in 1989.

The Mustangs hadn't beaten a ranked team since Oct. 11, 1986, when both SMU and TCU were members of the since-disbanded Southwest Conference. The Mustangs played six more games that season, then the NCAA shut them down in '87 for rampant violations and the school opted to sit out '88, too.

The difficulty SMU has had had re-establishing the once-proud program of Doak Walker, Don Meredith and Eric Dickerson is partly why the death penalty hasn't been used since.

When the game ended a few minutes before midnight, hundred of SMU students — some of them born after that last victory over a ranked team — jumped down a roughly 7-foot wall and streamed onto the field. They created such a huge blob that the Horned Frogs had to go way around them to get to their locker room.

That was only part of the humiliation for TCU, which had vaulted into the rankings following a 17-10 win at Oklahoma the previous weekend.

The Horned Frogs had beaten the Mustangs six straight times, their longest streak in a series that dates to 1915. Now SMU finally gets back the ``Iron Skillet'' given to the winner of this Dallas-Fort Worth matchup — and they can keep it until at least 2007 because the rivalry goes on hiatus next season for the first time since the death penalty.

``We didn't play well enough to win,'' said TCU coach Gary Patterson. ``That's the way it goes.''

SMU's victory is likely to fuel the intensity of the rivalry with TCU, even though the neighboring schools are now in separate leagues — the Mustangs in Conference USA and the Horned Frogs in the Mountain West Conference.

SMU will host East Carolina in a C-USA game on Oct. 15, the first meeting ever between the two teams.

Martin ran 26 times for 118 yards, with scores of 9 and 2 yards. He caught two passes for 30 more. Jerad Romo was 11-of-21 for 101 yards with no interceptions in his first start.

TCU's Tye Gunn was incomplete on his first seven passes — well, his fourth throw was caught by an SMU defender — and he finished 16-of-36 for 134 yards with three pickoffs, two in the closing minutes. He also lost 21 yards on five runs.

The Horned Frogs lost running back Lonta Hobbs to a groin injury in the first quarter after he'd gained 40 yards on six carries. Robert Merrill led TCU with 99 yards on 20 carries.

Even the kicking game let the Horned Frogs down. Peter LoCoco missed three of four field goal tries, including a 31-yarder that could've made it 14-13 in the third quarter.

``We didn't score a touchdown on offense tonight and you're not going to win many games like that,'' Patterson said.

Martin's first rushing touchdown and his TD catch shortly before halftime gave SMU a 14-3 lead. It was already the most points the Mustangs had scored against the Horned Frogs since 1997.

TCU seemed to snap out of it when Cory Rodgers took the opening kickoff of the third quarter 86 yards for a touchdown. Instead, it was false hope. The Horned Frogs were called for offsides on the ensuing kickoff and things only got worse.

LoCoco missed his 31-yarder on the next drive and the following drive ended on downs near midfield. After going three-and-out and punting, the defense gave up its third TD drive of at least 79 yards — and, like the first one, TCU helped SMU with a penalty that kept the Mustangs from having to punt.

Ahead 21-10, SMU struggled to put away its first victory over a non-conference team since the 2000 opener, with Chris McMurtray missing kicks of 42, 43 and 44 yards.

Luckily for the Mustangs, the Horned Frogs kept doing it for them. TCU's final four drives ended on a fumble, two interceptions and an incompletion on fourth-and-7.

Scoreboard: C-USA teams & ECU opponents

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:27 PM