SMU punted once Friday night. It came on the Mustangs’ 11th possession, with a backup quarterback in the game and 51 points on the scoreboard.

The first eight times SMU had the ball, it scored. Kevin Jennings threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns, the Mustangs piled up 569 yards and SMU beat Virginia Tech 51–28 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. That’s 16 more points than the Hokies had allowed in any game this season, and the loss drops them to 6–3 and 3–3 in the ACC.

Virginia Tech’s offense kept pace for a half. The pass defense struggled again, and this time the run defense- the one part of the unit that had held up all season- broke with it. That’s the film Miami gets to study before Nov. 21.

Winners

Jeffrey Overton Jr.

Overton ran 13 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. It was the sophomore’s first 100-yard game since his 209-yard day at Boston College on Sept. 26. In the four games between, he totaled 230 yards.

His 22-yard touchdown run in the second quarter pulled Virginia Tech within 20–14. His 38-yarder in the third quarter moved a drive that started at the Hokies’ 10 to near midfield.

Through three quarters, he had 121 yards on 12 carries. That’s what made the third quarter’s biggest call so hard to understand. Down 30–14 on fourth-and-1 in SMU territory, Virginia Tech handed off to Marcellous Hawkins Jr., lined up at fullback, and Brandon Miyazono dropped him for a 1-yard loss.

Overton is up to 762 yards and six rushing touchdowns on 126 carries.

Ethan Grunkemeyer’s toughness

Grunkemeyer completed 28 of 38 passes for 291 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, and he scored Virginia Tech’s first touchdown on a 1-yard tush push. SMU sacked him four times.

The fourth quarter is what stood out. Grunkemeyer limped through much of the drive that made it 44–22, waved off backup Bryce Baker and stayed in. He finished that drive by scrambling in for the two-point conversion, then threw a jump ball that Que’Sean Brown came down with for a touchdown on the next possession.

Losers

Brent Pry’s defense

Defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s unit came in allowing 93.4 rushing yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry. SMU ran for 219 yards at 6.1 yards per carry. Christian Rhodes had 92 of them on seven carries, including a 59-yarder in the third quarter to set up SMU inside the red zone.

The pass defense was worse. Jennings averaged 10.9 yards per attempt, and SMU went 8-of-12 on third down. A front that came in averaging 3.4 sacks per game, sixth in FBS, got Jennings down once.

The one early takeaway didn’t count. Cornerback Jaquez White picked off Jennings in the first quarter, but defensive tackle Kemari Copeland was flagged for offside, and SMU turned the drive into a 47-yard field goal.

In October, coach James Franklin said the secondary’s problems against motion and shifts came down to “getting all 11 on the same page.” Friday, SMU receiver Yamir Knight caught three touchdown passes, and his 46-yarder came off another miscommunication.

Safety Tyson Flowers was also ejected just in the second quarter due to targeting.

The offensive line

Four more sacks make it four straight games in which Virginia Tech has allowed at least three: three at Cal, five against Georgia Tech, six at Clemson, and four on Friday. Grunkemeyer has been sacked 27 times this season.

The first came on Virginia Tech’s opening possession, when Aakil Washington came through untouched after a miscommunication between Aidan Lynch and Overton. The costliest came in the second quarter. Left guard Michael Troutman III, a sophomore Penn State transfer, was flagged for holding as SMU defensive lineman Marques White strip-sacked Grunkemeyer. White recovered at the Virginia Tech 46, and Knight scored on the next snap. On the next series, fifth-year Brody Meadows was at left guard instead.

The third quarter, again

Virginia Tech had led at halftime in all five of its ACC games before Friday. It trailed SMU 23–14. Then the Mustangs won the third quarter 14–0 and averaged 11 yards per snap in it. Virginia Tech’s three possessions went three-and-out, turnover on downs, three-and-out.

In six ACC games, the Hokies have now been outscored 58–10 in third quarters.

Virginia Tech’s ACC title hopes

A third conference loss leaves Virginia Tech at 3–3, with Stanford, Miami, and Virginia left, so 6–3 is the ceiling. Six ACC teams already have fewer league losses: Miami (6–0), Wake Forest (5–1), SMU (5–2), Louisville (4–2), Duke (3–2) and Clemson (3–2). The Hokies own the head-to-head win over Clemson, but they’d still need nearly every team on that list to stumble.

Stanford (4–5, 2–4 ACC) visits Lane Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14. A week later, Virginia Tech goes to No. 1-ranked Miami.