Here are four takeaways from SMU's 31-24 loss to No. 18 UCF.
1. Missed opportunities. That's what this game will be remembered for. There were drops by Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn in the fourth quarter, Ke'Mon Freeman's fumble, overthrows by Ben Hicks and missed tackles by the defense. The uneven effort was not enough to beat a top-20 team.
2. Inconsistent. You were never really sure which version of the SMU defense was going to show up on any given drive. There was the defense that stopped a fourth-down conversion and intercepted a third-down try on the opening two drives, with safety Mikial Onu making both key plays.