No. 19 SMU eyes another ACC run as QB Kevin Jennings’ final season opens with early road tests

No. 19 SMU

DALLAS (AP) — 2025 record: 9-4

Expectations

The Mustangs should again be contenders in the Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU and its hometown quarterback Kevin Jennings immediately made their presence known in the AAC, going to the College Football Playoff in their league debut two seasons ago and coming up just short of another conference championship game last year. They have 20 wins in that span; the only ACC team with more is Miami, last season’s national runner-up that lost at SMU in the regular season.

“Fortunately, we were able to make a good first impression,” coach Rhett Lashlee said. “Last year was important that we backed it up.”

There are some changes around Jennings going into his final season. And the early part of the schedule could very well determine the fate of their championship expectations and the QB’s Heisman Trophy campaign. They open in prime time at Florida State on Labor Day, and go to Louisville two weeks later.

“We’ve got to win games, we’ve got to play well. I think we’ve got a good team around him,” Lashlee said. “He’s going to play well. He’s proven that for two years.”

Strengths including QB, who has new skill players around him

Jennings is 19-7 as SMU’s starter, including a win in his first start in the 2023 American Athletic Conference championship game. His 7,709 yards and 55 touchdowns passing are well within reach of the school’s career records of 9,081 yards and 72 TDs. He completed 300 of 454 passes (66.1%) for 3,641 yards and 26 TDs last season with 13 interceptions. He could run more too after limited last season by a lingering ankle issue.

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The top two rushers and four of the top five receivers from last season are gone, but senior WR Yamir Knight (54 catches, 637 yards and five TDs) returns with some quality additions. Transfer RB Kendrick Raphael ran for 943 yards and 13 TDs last season for Cal, with 111 yards and a 2-yard TD in the final minute of the Bears’ 38-35 win over SMU in the regular-season finale that kept the Mustangs out of the ACC title game. Receivers Yannick Smith (ECU) and Jalen Hale (Alabama) were added from the portal, and 26-year-old freshman Jordyn Adams was a five-star receiving recruit before being a first-round MLB draft pick in 2018. He is adjusting to football again after eight seasons of professional baseball, including 38 big league games.

Weaknesses include pass defense

SMU ranked 133rd out of 134 FBS teams last season giving up 283 yards passing per game, and allowed 26 TDs through the air in 13 games. The Mustangs would get a huge boost if All-ACC safety Ahmaad Moses is able to come back for a fifth season after surgery.

New faces

DB Jarvis Lee (transfer from USF), RB Kendrick Raphael (transfer from Cal), WR Yannick Smith (transfer from East Carolina), CB Jayvon Thomas (Texas A&M), DB Jimmy Wyrick (transfer from UTSA).

Key losses

RB TJ Harden, WR Jordan Hudson, RB Chris Johnson Jr. (transferred to Clemson), TE RJ Maryland, DB Isaiah Nwokobia.

Biggest games for the Mustangs

At Florida State (Sept. 7), at Louisville (Sept. 19), at Notre Dame (Nov 21).

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