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DALLAS -- Robert Nyakundi scored 14 points and Southern Methodist opened the game with a 25-7 run en route to a 57-48 victory over UTEP on Saturday.

The Mustangs (13-18, 4-12 Conference USA) will enter next week's conference tournament as either the 11th or 12th seed, while UTEP (14-16, 7-9) will be the No. 8 or No. 9 seed.

Nyakundi opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers and a two-point basket as SMU took a 10-2 lead. Rodney Clinkscales finished off the opening-game surge with back-to-back 3-pointers that put the Mustangs ahead 25-7 with 6:38 remaining in the half.

DALLAS -- Damier Pitts scored 20 points and Marshall defeated SMU 73-68 on Saturday.

Three other Thundering Herd players were in double figures. DeAndre Kane had 14 points, Nigel Spikes scored 13 and Dennis Tinnon added 12 points for Marshall (16-10, 7-5).

The Thundering Herd never trailed and led by as many as 20 with just over 10 minutes left before the Mustangs rallied, but they couldn't get closer than four points.

SMU (11-16, 2-10), coming off the lowest point total ever in a Conference USA game in Wednesday's 47-28 loss to UAB, also started poorly on Saturday with just 14 points in the first half. SMU scored 39 points in the last 10 minutes on Saturday.

London Giles, who missed the UAB game due to a concussion, returned Saturday and led the Mustangs with 17 points. Jalen Jones scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

DALLAS -- Alabama-Birmingham held SMU to the lowest scoring output ever in a Conference USA game, defeating the Mustangs 47-28 Wednesday night.

The 28 points was fewer than the 36 points scored by UAB against Southern Miss on Jan. 12, 2002, in conference play. Overall, it was the lowest ever scored by SMU in the shot-clock era and its second-lowest since 1950 -- barely surpassing the 26-point total against TCU on Feb. 15, 1956. The Mustangs' 12 first-half points Wednesday also set a record for futility in Conference USA play -- their previous low for a half was 14 against Memphis on Feb. 18, 2009.

SMU (11-15, 2-9 Conference USA) made just 8 of 46 shots (17 percent) against the Blazers, including 3 of 29 3-point attempts. Robert Nyakundi led the Mustangs with nine points.

For UAB (11-14, 6-6), K.C. Whitaker scored 17 points, Cameron Moore added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan Swing also had 11 rebounds.

HOUSTON -- Tamir Jackson scored 12 points and Arsalan Kazemi added 11 points and 10 rebounds as Rice defeated SMU 43-39 on Saturday night.

Kazemi had his 42nd career double-double for the Owls (15-11, 6-5 Conference USA) to tie the league record of Kelly Wise of Memphis from 1999-2002.

Shawn Williams scored 11 points and Robert Nyakundi and Rodney Clinkscales nine each for the Mustangs (11-14, 2-8). SMU was without point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas, who suffered an ankle sprain during practice on Friday.

Both teams shot miserably.

Rice, which did not register a field goal in the last 9:48, when Jackson made a 3-pointer to give his team a 39-30 lead. The Owls made 15 of 46 (32.6 percent) shots from the floor; SMU was 13 of 40 (32.5 percent).

After Kazemi gave Rice a 42-37 advantage with two free throws with 4:40 remaining, neither team scored until SMU's Ryan Manuel made a jumper with 23 seconds left.

On the heels of its third straight bowl appearance, SMU has announced its 2012 football schedule, which is highlighted by seven home games -- including matchups against Texas A&M, TCU and Houston -- and a road game against Baylor.

Sept. 1: at Baylor
Sept. 8: vs. Stephen F. Austin
Sept. 15: vs. Texas A&M
Sept. 29: vs. TCU
Oct. 6: at UTEP
Oct. 13: at Tulane
Oct. 20: vs. Houston
Oct. 27: vs. Memphis
Nov. 3: at UCF
Nov. 10: vs. Southern Miss
Nov. 17: at Rice
Nov. 24: vs. Tulsa

Time to take a look at recruiting needs for ...

SMU

Offensive line. This is an area that coach June Jones has worked at to create depth, but the Mustangs have to continue to build. They lose six seniors of the 2011 team -- including all five starters.

Defensive back. Of the eight players listed on the depth chart, four seniors are gone -- including starters Chris Banjo and Richard Crawford. The other four will be juniors or seniors.

Receiver. In the offense Jones likes to run, you can't have too many athletes or receivers. Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson are gone, Darius Johnson will be a senior and Jeremy Johnson and Keenan Holman will be juniors. One of the Mustangs' top commitments is athlete Daijuan Stewart.

SMU and Nike have entered into a five-year agreement that will make Nike the official provider of apparel, footwear and equipment for the Mustangs' athletic teams, it was announced Tuesday. The agreement will be effective beginning with the 2012-13 school year.

"We are excited to announce this partnership between SMU Athletics and Nike," athletics director Steve Orsini said in a statement.

Eamon McAnaney and June Jones discuss SMU's 28-6 win over Pittsburgh in the Compass Bowl and the Mustangs' move into the Big East.

SMU beat Pitt 28-6 in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday. Here is an instant analysis.

How the game was won: Pitt looked uninspired from the outset, and was totally outplayed in every aspect of the game. After SMU jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, you had to figure the game was just about over because the Panthers' anemic offense is simply not equipped to come from behind. The Pitt offensive line struggled once again, particularly left tackle Greg Gaskins, and so did quarterback Tino Sunseri -- who had two turnovers. Though Pitt was able to get pressure on SMU quarterback J.J. McDermott, he was able to avoid major sacks and find holes in the man-to-man defense to find wide open receivers.

Turning point: First quarter. This is all you need to know about how the first quarter went. Total yards: SMU 159, Pitt minus-5; First downs: SMU 7, Pitt 0; Time of possession: SMU 10:56, Pitt 3:49.

Stat of the game: 7. Total rushing yards for Pitt in the game.

Player of the game: SMU DE Margus Hunt. Pitt has now given up over 60 sacks on the season after the Mustangs got seven in the game. Hunt had four as he simply overpowered Gaskins all game long.

Second guessing: Pitt was terrible inside the SMU 25 today. In four opportunities, the Panthers came away with two field goals, a missed field goal and an interception. The interception was a fluke, as it bounced off Isaac Bennett's hands, then off a helmet and into the arms of Stephon Sanders. On several of the other possessions, Sunseri took sacks at the worst possible time. Sums up the story of the season. Pitt also had two opportunities on special teams taken away -- one was a recovered onside kick negated by an inadvertent whistle; another was a fake punt for a first down negated because of a false start. SMU also blocked one Pitt punt.

Well wishes: SMU running back Jared Williams broke his left leg on a scary hit with Pitt safety Andrew Taglianetti. Williams was carted off the field on a stretcher with an air cast on his leg, and Taglianetti was visibly distraught over the hit.

What Pitt learned: There is plenty of work for new coach Paul Chryst to do. As has been the case in 2011, quarterback and offensive line play are two of the biggest issues that have to be fixed. Good thing Chryst and incoming offensive coordinator Bob Bostad have the experience needed to make these two areas better. Pitt is going to be a more traditional offense in the future, and to be able to do that, the offensive line has got to be better. One thing has to be said about the coaching in this game -- the Panthers only had five full-time coaches on the sideline, and interim coach Keith Patterson was put in an extremely difficult position to lead this team.

What SMU learned: When the Mustangs are able to hold onto the football and make plays in the pass game, they win. SMU went into the game with the worst turnover margin in the nation (minus-17) but was plus-2 in this game. McDermott hit Darius Johnson for a 50-yard touchdown early in the game, and was able to pick apart a Pitt defense that at times had linebackers on the Mustangs' fastest receivers. Johnson ended up with seven catches for 121 yards -- and he returns next season along with injured running back Zach Line, Hunt and many other standouts on offense and defense.

You saw the preview and prediction. Now here are three keys for Pitt and SMU in the BBVA Compass Bowl:

Pitt

1. Focus. The same question has to be asked again this year heading into the BBVA Compass Bowl: What will be the motivation for the Panthers, who are playing in this game for the second straight season under an interim head coach? There is no doubt these players and this program were rocked hard by the way former coach Todd Graham left. They must put those negative emotions behind them and play for themselves and each other. This is a team that has been maddeningly inconsistent, which led to a disappointing season. Can they pull it together one final time to win their third straight bowl game?

2. Run. Pitt has experienced the most success this season when running the ball. That task got more difficult when Ray Graham was lost for the season. It will be even harder now that backup Zach Brown is questionable for the game with a bruised sternum. True freshman Isaac Bennett and Corey Davis will be relied upon to shoulder the load, so the game doesn't rest on the arm of quarterback Tino Sunseri.

3. Get after J.J. McDermott. Pitt has been terrific with its pass rush all season, tied for fourth nationally in sacks with an average of 3.25 per game. The Panthers have 39 total sacks on the season. The Mustangs have given up 27 sacks on the year, so there should be plenty of opportunity for Aaron Donald and Brandon Lindsey to get after McDermott. That obviously is a huge key if the Panthers want to disrupt their passing game -- the strength of the team.

SMU

1. Limit the mistakes. SMU ranks last in the nation in turnover margin (minus-17) and has at least one interception in 11 of its 12 games this season. Only East Carolina has thrown more interceptions than SMU’s 19 in 2011, according to ESPN Stats & Information. On the bright side, Pitt only has eight interceptions this year. On the down side, Pitt did force six turnovers the last time out against Syracuse.

2. Make Sunseri win it. SMU has some pretty talented players up front. Defensive end Taylor Thompson, who has seven sacks and six forced fumbles on the season, is going to need a big game to slow down the Pitt running attack and to take Sunseri down. Ja'Gared Davis is also an important player for the Mustangs on defense -- he has 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Taylor Reed is a tackling machine and will be key to slowing down the Pitt run.

3. Pass game must get going. There is no escaping this -- SMU has to pass the ball in order to win. The Mustangs went 2-4 in their last six games largely for this reason: Scoring an average of 17.7 points during the stretch, SMU averaged just 223.7 yards through the air and threw six touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Panthers have been much better on pass defense in the second half of the season but will be challenged by Cole Beasley and Darius Johnson -- each has over 900 yards receiving and the duo has combined for nine of the team's 16 touchdowns this season. If SMU can protect McDermott and connect on big pass plays early to take a quick lead, Pitt could find itself in serious trouble. The Panthers are not equipped to play from behind.

Pitt (6-6) and SMU (7-5) will play for the first time in 29 years when they meet in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala, on Saturday. The Panthers and Mustangs last met on Jan. 1, 1983 in the Cotton Bowl. The SMU "Pony Express" backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James beat the Dan Marino-led Panthers 7-3.

The Panthers will try to give the Big East a 4-1 bowl record for the season.

WHO TO WATCH: Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri. It is hard to imagine any quarterback in the country taking as much criticism, and as many shots as he has this season. He was sacked more than 50 times, and former coach Todd Graham essentially blamed him for not making his "high-octane" offense work. Through it all, Sunseri took the high road, kept his head up and kept playing. Say what you will about his football season -- he deserves credit for taking the hits while trying to remain a leader for this football team. Interim coach Keith Patterson said this week tha the offense would slow down a bit to emphasize what Sunseri does best. That would be running the football. Zach Brown (bruised sternum) is most likely out, so the load will fall once again to freshman Isaac Bennett.

WHAT TO WATCH: Pittsburgh defense against SMU offense. The Mustangs have the potential to put up points in a hurry, but the key is being able to limit the pass game. More emphasis will be placed on that with leading rusher Zach Line out for this game. This is really all you need to know about how SMU does when it scores: The Mustangs are 7-0 this season when scoring first and 7-0 when scoring 21-plus points. Slowing down receiver Darius Johnson will be the biggest key. Johnson has five 100-yard games this season, and three games with 10 or more catches.

WHY TO WATCH: This could have been a future Big East game, but alas, Pitt is headed to the ACC when SMU joins up with the Big East. Either way, June Jones has done a remarkable job in turning around the Mustangs, though they probably fell a little short of expectations this season. SMU is playing in its third straight bowl game -- tying a school record. When his offenses are on, they are fun to watch.

PREDICTION: Pitt 28, SMU 17. From my predictions post a few weeks ago: Pitt has to do what has worked best this season -- establish the run and let Sunseri manage the game. The defense has been much improved in the second half of the season, and SMU has struggled to put up points of late. The Mustangs also will be without leading rusher Line, who played a big role in the offense. If the Panthers can continue to get after the quarterback and play well in the secondary, they should be able to win this game.

SMU MUSTANGS

Record: 7-5, 5-3 C-USA

The season appeared as if it would be an improvement over 2010, when the Mustangs won the West Division and played in the Conference USA championship game. They got off to a 5-1 start, including a huge 40-33 overtime win over cross-town rival TCU, their first win over a ranked team since the 1980s. SMU also avenged a loss to UCF -- which beat the Mustangs in the C-USA title game a year ago.

But then things began to fall apart for an offense that is known for its high scoring. J.J. McDermott, who replaced Kyle Padron in the season opener, started to struggle and the Mustangs ended up losing four of their final six games. In three of those losses, SMU scored a touchdown or less, unheard of for a June Jones run 'n' shoot offense. SMU squeaked out a 27-24 win over Rice to get to seven wins in the regular season for the second straight year. But SMU was unable to beat Tulsa and Houston this year, its top competition in the West.

Still, getting to a third straight bowl game tied the school record for consecutive bowl appearances. For a program ravaged by the death penalty, that is a huge measure of how far this program has come.

Offensive MVP: Zach Line, RB. Line led Conference USA in rushing for the second straight season with 1,224 yards and scored a league-best 17 touchdowns in just 10 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. Still, he made the C-USA first team and was dependable all season long for an offense that struggled at times.

Defensive MVP: Taylor Thompson, DE. The Mustangs got a lot of clutch performances on defense, but Thompson was a C-USA first-team selection after leading the team with seven sacks and six forced fumbles -- that tied him for No. 3 in the nation.

Turning point: A 27-3 loss to Southern Miss. SMU only had 330 yards and 14 first downs in the loss, which started the slide at the end of the season. The Mustangs had opportunities in the second half, driving into Southern Miss territory twice, but they came away with no points. They also had nine penalties and were 4-of-13 on third downs.

What’s next: SMU plays Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl, and then it is off to prepare for a new conference home, as the Mustangs are reportedly set to join the Big East for 2013. Coach June Jones has been mentioned as a candidate at several openings, but has reportedly assured his staff he is staying. For how long is always a question that has surrounded him everywhere he has gone.

Erin Andrews and David Pollack discuss Houston's road ahead as the Cougars face SMU on Saturday and host College GameDay.

The No. 19 TCU Horned Frogs put themselves in BCS contention with last week's win at then-No. 5 Boise State. They need help on two fronts and they got it from one Thursday night. No. 20 Southern Miss blew its golden chance with a stunning loss at downtrodden Alabama-Birmingham, 34-31.

That loss, Southern Miss' second of the season, will bump it down the BCS rankings, leaving No. 11 Houston (10-0) as the Frogs' lone hurdle to a possible third consecutive BCS berth. The Cougars play host to SMU Saturday and ESPN GameDay will be there. A Houston loss in either of its two remaining regular-season games (at Tulsa, Nov. 25) or in the Conference USA championship game could be enough to vault the Frogs into position for an automatic BCS berth.

TCU (8-2) has to take care of its own business. The Frogs play at home Saturday against Colorado State (3-6) and then finish the season two weeks later at home against UNLV (2-7).

For a more detailed look at TCU's road to the BCS click here.

Senior quarterback Neal Burcham of Greenbrier (Ark.) High School, the co-MVP at the Elite 11 camp -- the country’s premier high school quarterback competition -- last week committed to SMU over Cincinnati, Arkansas State and Central Arkansas.

Burcham explained his decision during a Q&A with ESPNHS:

ESPNHS: What led you to pick SMU?
Burcham: It was a combination of things. After I went on my official visit a couple of weeks ago, I took some time to think and pray about it. I couldn’t find a negative about the whole visit. The offense definitely helps, and I felt comfortable on the campus. It just all came together. It lifted a little stress off my back.