The decline of the rushing game remains a matter of concern for SMU.
The downturn continued with only 83 yards on 39 tries during a 48-20 loss at No. 12 Central Florida on Saturday. SMU needed to run the ball often and well to keep it away from the Knights' high-powered offense.
"The thing we needed to do was run the ball,'' coach Sonny Dykes said after the loss. "We've got to do a better job of running the ball than we did tonight.
"We didn't run it particularly well and had to throw it, and we struggled to throw it.