ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Tanner Mordecai threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns and No. 24 SMU (6-0, 2-0 in the AAC) rallied from a 14-point second-quarter deficit to beat Navy (1-4, 1-2 in the AAC) 31-24 on Saturday.

Bryan Massey scored on a 95-yard kickoff return to begin the comeback for the unbeaten Mustangs.It was the third time in the last four years that SMU returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the Mids. 

"Hats off to SMU on a hard-fought win. That was heart-breaking for our young men and the program to play the 24th ranked team here and be up 21-7," said Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. "We were feeling pretty good about where we were at. It is heart breaking. You have to give them credit. They are a good team. Sonny is a good coach. We felt like we had our chances. I thought our defense played well enough to win. We were sporadic on offense. Obviously, that kickoff killed us."

SMU  had the game tied by halftime and went up 31-24 on a 22-yard TD pass from Mordecai to Jordan Kerley with 8:19 remaining in the final quarter.

Mordecai now has 26 touchdown passes on the season. He also threw a 66-yarder to Reggie Roberson on fourth-and-1 to open the scoring, but Navy answered with the next 21 points.

Chance Warren tied the game with a 23-yard scoring run, then Tai Lavatai threw the first touchdown pass of the season for the Midshipmen, 37 yards to Kai Puailoa-Rojas on a flea-flicker.

Then a couple big turnovers went Navy's way. Mordecai was intercepted in the end zone by junior linebacker Johnny Hodges, and later in the second quarter, he fumbled - and Diego Fagot returned that turnover 20 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

Navy never had a chance to get comfortable, though. Massey took the ensuing kickoff all the way back for a touchdown, and then Tre Siggers scored on a 2-yard run to tie it with 1:54 left in the half.

After Kerley's catch in the end zone put the Mustangs ahead, Navy turned the ball over on downs twice, the second time inside its own 20.

THE TAKEAWAY

SMU: The Mustangs struggled on third down, going 2 of 11, but they did enough to win. After giving up the long touchdown pass, the SMU defense kept Navy's offense pretty much under control. Over the last 43:45 of the game, the Navy offense managed just 83 yards on 41 plays.

Navy: The Midshipmen have made strides since losing their first two games of the season. Navy's defense mostly hung tough against a dangerous offensive team, but after going up 21-7, the Midshipmen couldn't move the ball consistently.

UP NEXT

SMU: The Mustangs are off next weekend before an Oct. 21 home game against Tulane.

Navy: The Midshipmen have a short week. They play at Memphis on Thursday night. It will be the first time since 2004 that Navy has had to play on a Thursday after playing on Saturday.

-