It was the same play, and the same result, that led to SMU taking its first lead of the second half. Tyler Page took a short drop off pass, split the field to the opposite side, broke off a tackle and jogged in for a 44-yard touchdown.
The second score of Page’s afternoon gave SMU its first advantage since the opening possession of the game. It also spurred a 34-3 second half run that worked to quell a Temple team that put up its best effort at home.
Ultimately, though, for every one of Page’s spinning, stop-and-start, meandering runs in a 47-23 SMU win, it the first half that will linger the longest for the Mustangs.