Story by
SMU fans tear down goalpost after win over Miami, university president offers to pay fine
- Story by
- SMU fans tear down goalpost after win over Miami, university president offers to pay fine
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with new information and a new photo.
SMU football is partying it up like it's 1983.
An interception by Ahmaad Moses off Carson Beck in overtime and a 1-yard rushing touchdown from T.J. Harden helped the Mustangs come up with one of the biggest upsets of the Week 10 slate: a 26-20 overtime win over No. 9 Miami. It's the first-ranked win of the season for SMU .
The celebration of the Mustangs' first top-10 win in 42 years didn't take long to commence, as fans immediately stormed the field at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Fan then broke one of the goalposts on the field and took it on a joy ride out of the stadium.
REQUIRED READING: Miami football rankings: Where will Hurricanes fall after SMU upset loss?
Advertisement
Following a brief walk-through on campus, the goalpost was then brought to its resting place at the fountain at Dallas Hall on SMU's campus, according to The Dallas Morning News' Lia Assimakopoulos.
To no surprise, fans did not leave much of the structure in the stadium, as the crossbar and the piece attached to the post that is drilled into the field were just left:
For its postgame celebrations immediately on the field, SMU violated the ACC's newly updated event security policy. The Mustangs will now have to pay $50,000 fine to the ACC's Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account as a first-time violator of the conference's policy.
Advertisement
While it's a hefty fine, it's one that SMU president Jay Hartzell seems to be happily paying.
"I neither condone nor support it, for the record, but I'll pay the fine…," Hartzell said on X shortly after the game.
The win for SMU keeps the Mustangs in contention for a spot in the ACC championship game with a 4-1 ACC record. It also provides them a nice resume booster going into the first College Football Playoff rankings, which are set to be released on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET.
"Hope there's one (goalpost) in Deep Ellum and one in Downtown Dallas," SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said in his postgame news conference, according to Billy Embody of On3's SMU affiliate, OnThePonyExpress. "Probably don't need to take them through the Park Cities."
Advertisement
Here's another look at the goalpost that SMU snapped and broke following the win over Miami:
The Mustangs' win also comes hours after SMU formally announced that it has signed Lashlee to a two-year contract extension that will keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future, and remove his name from consideration for the open Power 4 head coaching jobs in the country.
Up next for SMU will be a trip up to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to face Boston College at noon ET on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast . Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SMU football fans remove goalpost from stadium after upset over Miami
