Chris Johnson scores twice and SMU gets 96-yard pick-6 in 34-10 win over Stanford

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DALLAS (AP) — Chris Johnson Jr. ran for an 87-yard touchdown and took a short pass 42 yards for a score after a nifty escape from quarterback Kevin Jennings as SMU beat Stanford 34-10 on Saturday.

Justin Medlock returned an interception 96 yards for a clinching TD in the fourth quarter of the 19th consecutive regular-season conference victory for the Mustangs (4-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast).

SMU is 10-0 in the ACC in the regular season since returning to a power conference last season for the first time since 1995. The Mustangs lost to Clemson in the ACC championship game last year.

“There's no way a team has ever entered a conference and won their first 10 games in the regular season,” coach Rhett Lashlee said. “It's just kind of hard to believe. It doesn't mean we've gotten anywhere near where we want to go, but I think it shows that we belong here.”

The Cardinal (2-4, 1-2) answered Johnson’s long rushing score with 35 seconds to go before halftime by driving 75 yards in four plays and 33 seconds to get within 17-7 at the break.

“I'm not walking out of here thinking that these guys are in a different league than us,” interim Stanford coach Frank Reich said. “Where the Mustang program is going, I have a lot of respect for where that program is going. But I'm not walking out of here thinking, 'Well, they're just better than us.'”

Stanford cornerback Aaron Morris was immobilized and taken off the field in an ambulance in the first quarter after tackling SMU receiver Jordan Hudson. Morris cleared precautionary tests and was allowed to rejoin the team before the end of the game.

Five plays after Morris' injury, Derrick McFall took a short pass from Jennings 19 yards for the game's first points. Johnson was 22 of 30 for 247 yards and two scores.

On the TD to Johnson, Jennings escaped immediate pressure from Tevarua Tafiti by pivoting out the tackle, then lobbing the pass to Johnson just before he was crunched by several defenders. Johnson was alone along the sideline before cutting toward the middle of the field.

“We brought CJ here for what you saw today,” Lashlee said of the Miami transfer. “He's still young. He's a redshirt freshman that hasn't played a ton of running back at the college level.”

Stanford: Ben Gulbranson threw for 278 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to CJ Williams on the quick drive before halftime. The Cardinal were in position to get within a TD before the interception by Medlock, who ran untouched down the Stanford sideline. Gulbranson also had trouble with SMU's pressure, getting sacked six times.

“I put him in a bad position on that last interception,” Reich said. “That was a bad call on my part. It was something I had a conviction that I thought looked good and worked on it, and it didn't. Not only did it not look good, they had the thing wired.”

SMU: Johnson had just one carry for zero yards after the third rushing TD of his three partial college seasons. He finished with 96 yards on five carries. The receiving TD was also the third of his career.

Stanford: No. 25 Florida State at home next Saturday.

SMU: At Clemson next Saturday.

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