UNIVERSITY PARK – SMU craved power conference football, and its first meeting with a heavyweight opponent this season was no disappointment.

The Mustangs (2-1) fought with BYU (2-0) until the end, but ultimately suffered their first loss of the season (18-15) after BYU scored a last-minute field goal and the Mustangs could not answer with 1:58 minutes left.

SMU couldn’t find the end zone all night.

Here are five thoughts on SMU’s loss to BYU:

Mustangs fail to find the end zone and let BYU take a late lead

SMU has learned that you can’t win football games against a strong conference opponent by scoring field goals alone.

Although the game was exciting until the end and SMU still had a chance to win with two minutes left, the Mustangs were unable to gain a single yard on their final drive.

After BYU took the lead with a field goal just before the end, SMU needed either a sixth goal from Collin Rogers to send the game into overtime or the first touchdown of the day to win.

BYU’s defense applied pressure and was able to secure the win.

SMU hasn’t beaten a power conference opponent at home since 2010.

SMU makes changes at quarterback

The Mustangs had planned to play with two quarterbacks all season, and they did so again Friday night.

But the signal caller who took the most snaps wasn’t the one they had planned.

Preston Stone made his third start for SMU this year, but faced tremendous pressure in the pocket from BYU’s strong defensive line. In three first-half drives, he was sacked three times for a total of -21 yards.

The Mustangs alternated between Stone and Kevin Jennings early in the game, giving each quarterback two drives and then a third each before keeping Jennings in the game. This was a departure from the strategy SMU used in its other close game against Nevada in Week 0, in which Stone played the entire second half.

Jennings was more effective Friday night, as the RPO forced BYU to hold back against Stone, which wasn’t necessary. The South Oak Cliff sophomore led 10 drives for the Mustangs and finished 15 of 32 passing for 140 yards and one interception while rushing for another 38 yards.

It shouldn’t have been a huge surprise for SMU after BYU allowed the Cougars to rush for 121 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback DJ Williams in their season opener against Southern Illinois. Jennings was simply a better fit for this opponent.

SMU’s defense proves it’s ready for a power conference

SMU’s offense has shown inconsistency in its first three games this year, but its defense has been reliable – and it showed again Friday night.

After BYU scored the game’s first touchdown, SMU’s defense forced four consecutive three-and-outs, allowing the offense to get back into the game through Rogers’ leg.

This limited the performance of quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener. On Friday night, he completed just 15 of 28 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

And the defense made some key big plays. Defensive lineman Elijah Roberts made his first big play this season, forcing Retzlaff to fumble and recovering the ball in the first quarter.

After SMU lost the ball to BYU after a botched punt, Kobe Wilson made a great stop on fourth down and prevented further points by just a few inches.

On the first drive of the second half, BYU had its biggest play of the game, a 57-yard gain, but immediately afterward, Cale Sanders put pressure on Retzlaff, who threw the ball, which was intercepted by Wilson and returned 34 yards.

After BYU regained the lead in the fourth quarter, SMU failed to score and gave the ball back to BYU, but Jared Harrison-Hunte intercepted the ball from Retzlaff and nearly scored a point.

Each team had three takeaways.

The Mustangs’ defense has demonstrated its strength and built up important confidence in the face of increasingly tough competition.

Collin Rogers has career day

In SMU’s biggest game of the year so far, the starting kicker showed that he is already in top form at the start of the season.

The junior set a program record Friday night with five made field goals from 53, 52, 38, 28 and 45 yards, single-handedly keeping SMU in the game as the offense continued to falter.

With his 53-yard throw, he surpassed his previous career high.

Rogers also set the SMU career record with 44 field goals. He has now started the season 6 of 7.

Necessary game-free week is approaching

The Mustangs are through the first quarter of the season and are getting a much-needed week off to regroup before the toughest three-week stretch of the season.

SMU hosts rival TCU in two weeks before beginning ACC play at home against Florida State and away against No. 22 Louisville.

SMU showed on Friday that it can compete with a power conference opponent, but it still has a long way to go, especially on offense, before it can compete with the best in college football and the ACC. The break will give them a chance to prepare for even bigger challenges on the horizon.

For more SMU coverage from the Dallas Morning News, click here.