College football kicks off in Dallas.

The new era of SMU football began on Friday, September 4 against the Baylor Bears. The Mustangs, coming off a 1-11 year are filled with energy, fueled by a coaching staff that is trying to revive a once dominant school.

The Baylor Bears, meanwhile, are coming off a great last season with an 11-2 record, and boast the number four ranked team in the nation. The expectations of the team are high and they did not disappoint.

In this matchup of David and Goliath, it seemed to all that Baylor would trample SMU, but that was not the case.

The crowd was split down the middle between the Baylor fans and the hometown SMU fans. Early on, the game was neck and neck, each team answering the other touchdown for touchdown in a 28-21 shootout by halftime. The first half was filled with big plays. The two offenses matched each other, and the confidence of the SMU football team grew with every passing minute. When the second half began, the Mustangs seemed to run out of gas, and the superior speed and talent of the Baylor Bears overwhelmed the young team. After two straight 14-point quarters, the Bears won in a runaway 56-21 while racking up 723 yards of total offense versus SMU’s 369 total yards.

The Mustang football team showed an extreme amount of grit and Matt Davis embodied confidence throughout. Davis, the starting quarterback for the Mustangs, threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns while also being the team’s leading rusher with 115 yards. Last season, the offense scored only 12 points in their first four games. Friday, they scored 21 in the first 22 minutes. Defensively, the SMU team forced a single interception, a big focus of the defense this year.

Baylor’s Seth Russell threw for 376 yards and five touchdowns, and the leading rusher for the Bears was Devin Chafin with his 76 yards and one touchdown. The Bears also gained a whopping 10.48 yards per play, a new school record. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears forced Matt Davis into two interceptions and held the Mustangs in check.

“We did give them some [big plays] and we missed opportunities but the effort from start to finish was good.” Defensive Coordinator Van Malone said.

The Mustangs will play against North Texas next Saturday in Gerald J. Ford stadium at 6PM.