Shane Buechele passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns, and added another score on the ground, as the visiting SMU Mustangs roared to an early lead and dominated North Texas 65-35 on Saturday in Denton, Texas.

Ulysses Bentley IV ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, including an 84-yard fourth-yard score for SMU (2-0), which rebounded from a ragged, albeit winning, performance in its opener to control its Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex rivals for the second consecutive season.

Buechele finished 24-for-33 in 3 1/2 quarters of play. Reggie Roberson Jr. racked up 103 yards on nine catches, two of them for touchdowns, and Rashee Rice had five catches for 102 yards for the Mustangs.

SMU outgained the Mean Green 710-517, including 366-212 on the ground, and racked up 33 first downs.

Buechele passed for three touchdowns over the first 15 minutes, finding Roberson on a 15-yard TD, Danny Gray on a 62-yard catch-and-throw, and Kylen Granson for a 7-yard score to cap a productive first quarter. SMU added to its advantage on the third snap of the second quarter on Chris Naggar's 37-yard field goal.

The Mean Green (1-1) answered midway through the second quarter when Jason Bean connected with Jaelon Darden for a 12-yard touchdown to pull to within 24-7.

Naggar then kicked a 22-yard field goal with 3:02 to play before halftime, and Buechele added a 2-yard rushing score with eight seconds left in the first half to give SMU a 34-7 lead at intermission.

The Mean Green clawed back to 34-14 early in the third quarter on DeAndre Torrey's 7-yard scoring run at the end of a 34-yard drive. But SMU responded, moving 36 yards in four plays, capped by Bentley's 4-yard scoring rush, after a 64-yard kickoff return by Gray.

North Texas found the end zone again midway through the third quarter on Austin Aune's 5-yard quarterback keeper. Buechele then took any further wind out of the Mean Green's sails with 2-yard scoring pass to Roberson with 5:42 left in the third.

Bentley staked the Mustangs to a 55-21 lead with his second score of the game on a 9-yard touchdown run just before the third quarter ended.

Aune led North Texas with 235 yards and two passing scores while Oscar Adaway III ran for 104 yards on 20 carries. Darden had 66 yards and two touchdowns on five catches to lead the Mean Green receiving corps.

--Field Level Media