Two starters hurt early for No. 16 SMU, a receiver on 1st play and a linebacker on strange pick-6

By Canadian Press on August 30, 2025.

DALLAS (AP) — SMU middle linebacker Alexander Kilgore was injured while returning an interception 10 yards for a touchdown after the ball ricocheted off his foot without hitting the ground when deflected by a teammate for the 16th-ranked Mustangs against FCS team East Texas A&M on Saturday night.

Kilgore, one of the team’s captains, appeared to injure his left leg when he tumbled into the zone at the end of that strange play with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter of the season opener.

SMU had already lost top returning receiver Jordan Hudson to an apparent shoulder injury on his 7-yard catch on the game’s first offensive play.

Kilgore tumbled into the end zone after quarterback Will Madonna made a desperate attempt to tackle him. Kilgore was limping when he got up to celebrate with teammates and then went into the medical tent after getting to the sideline.

Madonna’s pass first hit the hands of 6-foot-4 defensive end Cameron Robertson, who was reaching over an offensive lineman but couldn’t get control of the ball before 5-8 running back EJ Oakmon made contact. The ball was falling toward the ground when it instead bounced up off the foot of Kilgore, who grabbed it and ran into the end zone.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The Associated Press

10
-9