Chris Phillips

Photos taken by James Beazley, Manager of Visual Resources/Photographer, University of Tulsa, during the SMU-Tulsa football game on Oct. 25, 2003. For information on ordering photos email him at james-beazley@utulsa.edu.

Mustangs Fall To #17 TCU, 20-13

Frogs Retain Iron Skillet

DALLAS (SMU) - Despite a solid team effort, the SMU Mustangs came up short in their season finale, falling 20-13 to No. 17/19 TCU on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in the battle for the Iron Skillet.

SMU took an early 3-0 lead on a 33-yard Chris McMurtray field goal at the 7:42 mark of the first quarter. TCU rallied for a 10-3 lead, but SMU knotted the game at 10-10 on a 17-yard run by Chris Phillips.

Neither team scored in the third period, but TCU took a quick 13-10 lead at the 14:52 mark of the final quarter. SMU again struck back quickly, tacking on a 22-yard McMurtray field goal less than four minutes later to again tie the game, 13-13.

TCU was able to strike the final blow, unfortunately, as Robert Merrill scampered 20 yards for a TD with just 7:18 remaining.

“There were no moral victories today. We played hard, but we didn’t play well enough to win” said SMU Coach Phil Bennett. "I thought we had an opportunity to win, but TCU is just more seasoned and experienced than we are right now. They deserved to win today.”

Senior Keylon Kincade finished his SMU tenure with 70 yards, going over the 3,000-yard mark for his career. He finishes with 3,038 yards, just six yards shy of fourth place on the Mustang career charts.

On the day, Phillips went 7-for-16 for 116 yards and ran for an additional 53 yards. D.D. Lee led the defensive charge with a game-high 11 stops.

Senior cornerback Jonas Rutledge summed up his feelings after the game, saying, “I’m glad I went to SMU. I’m glad to be a part of what’s happening at SMU. I hope these guys get it turned around next season. I know I’ll be pulling for them.”

BOX SCORE/RESULTS

Rice Downs The Ponies, 41-20

Phillips Throws For 175 Yards In Defeat

SMU Post-Game Quotes

Freshman quarterback Chris Phillips completed 16-of-24 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns as the SMU Mustangs lost to Rice Saturday afternoon at Gerald J. Ford Stadium 41-20.

The Mustangs fell behind early 17-0 before Phillips connected with running back Keylon Kincade on a 47 yard pass and catch. Rice bounced back with a six play, 80 yard drive to begin the third quarter to go up 24-7.

SMU cut the Rice lead to 24-13 on a Blake Warren 63-yard punt return midway through the third quarter, but never could close closer to the Owls. Senior wideout Chris Cunningham caught seven passes for 64 yards in the losing effort for SMU. With his seven catches, Cunningham passed former SMU great Jerry Levias on the SMU all-time receiving list.

The Mustangs close out their season Nov. 29 when they host arch-rival TCU at 2:00 PM at Ford Stadium in the battle for the iron skillet.

BOX SCORE/RESULTS

Ponies Fall To Louisiana Tech, 41-6

McMurtray Connects On Two Field Goals For SMU

RUSTON, La. (SMU) - Luke McCown hooked up twice for touchdown passes with Shawn Piper in the first half as Louisiana Tech rolled to a 41-6 victory over Southern Methodist on Saturday afternoon.

Louisiana Tech (5-5, 3-3 WAC) opened the game with a 63-yard TD pass from McCown to Piper. The Bulldogs tacked on a 7-yard run by Johnathan Holland and a 51-yard field goal in the first quarter to lead 17-0.

In the second, Louisiana Tech scored two more touchdowns -- a 5-yard run by Ryan Moats and a 33-yard TD pass from McCown to Piper -- before giving up a field goal with four seconds left in the half. Louisiana Tech led 31-3 at halftime.

Jerron Wishom scored on an interception return with 13:20 left in the third and Josh Scobee hit his second field goal of the game, a 33-yarder, with 11:14 left in the game to round out Louisiana Tech's scoring.

Chris Phillips was 10 of 19 for 80 yards. He was intercepted and sacked twice each. Keylon Kincade ran for a team-high 93 yards on 25 carries and grabbed three passes for 17 yards.

WIth the loss, SMU falls to 0-10, 0-7 in conference.

BOX SCORE/RESULTS

The following are photos taken by Vladimir Cherry during the SMU-Fresno State football game on Nov. 1, 2003. For information on ordering photos click here.

Fresno State Holds Off SMU, 20-11

Kincade Goes Over 1,000 Yards

DALLAS (SMU) - Despite 136 yards from Keylon Kincade and limiting Fresno State to 245 total yards, the Bulldogs topped host SMU, 20-11, on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

SMU jumped out to a 5-0 lead early on a safety and 37-yard field goal from Chris McMurtray and held a 5-3 halftime edge on the Bulldogs. The first-quarter safety was the second of the season for the Ponies and was just the second safety recorded by the Mustangs since 1982.

Fresno rallied in the second half, scoring 15 straight points to take a 20-5 lead at the 12:23 mark of the fourth quarter.

Back-up quarterback Tate Wallis led SMU back, however, hitting Chris Cunningham on a 61-yard pass to set up a Wallis TD dive with 10:48 remaining to cut the lead to 20-11. The 61-yard completion was SMU's longest play from scrimmage in 2003.

SMU was hounded by turnovers throughout the game, losing the ball three time to the Bulldogs. SMU's defense stepped up, however, and picked off Fresno QB Paul Pinegar twice.

For the game, Kincade had 136 yards on 28 carries, pushing him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, making Kincade just the fourth player in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons joining Eric Dickerson, Reggie Dupard and Alvin Maxson. It was also his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season and his third straight game going over the century mark.

Starting signal caller Chris Phillips was 0-of-2 passing, but was second on the team with 49 yards rushing.

Defensively, Jamey Harper led SMU with a season-high 16 stops from the safety position.

SMU Loses To Tulsa, 35-16

Kincade Runs For 185 On the Ground

TULSA (SMU) - Senior running back Keylon Kincade set a new career high with 185 yards on 36 carries, but it was not enough as SMU fell, 35-16, to host Tulsa Saturday afternoon at Skelly Stadium.

SMU took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to take an early 7-0 lead on an 11-yard run by Kincade. Tulsa struck back quickly, scoring 14 unanswered points to take a 14-7 lead at halftime.

SMU's Jonas Rutledge interception return for a touchdown cut the score to 21-16 in the fourth quarter, but a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by Tulsa secured its victory.

It was somewhat of a "deja vu" game for the Ponies, as Kincade set a new career high in rushing yards, surpassing his 169-yard effort that came at Tulsa in 2001. Rutledge's interception return for a score also marked the first time the Ponies returned a pick for a score since Rutledge returned a pass 31 yards at Tulsa in 2001.

Freshman quarterback Chris Phillips was 2-of-4 passing for 18 yards and rushed for 44 yards in his debut as SMU's starting quarterback. Tate Wallis backed up Phillips, going 4-of-12 for 33 yards