UNIVERSITY PARK — Five games into the season with conference play underway, most teams know what their identity is.
Through SMU’s first three games of the season, a different team with different struggles took the field each night, sometimes coming away with a win and others not.
But over the last two weeks in SMU’s toughest two games of the season so far, the Mustangs have shown the type of team they can be when they play to their full potential — a well-rounded group that can win in many ways and one that belongs in a power conference.
SMU earned its first win in the Atlantic Coast Conference Saturday night at Ford Stadium, knocking off Florida State, the conference’s reigning champions, 42-16. The Mustangs saw the offense click again while their defense made some critical plays to help put the game out of reach.
“I just told the team I’m in awe of them,” Lashlee siad. “I thought last week we set a standard for how we can play, and I thought maybe they exceeded that tonight.”
SMU’s defense has looked consistent since the first game of the season. On Saturday, it held Florida State to 297 yards of offense and forced three turnovers, bringing its total to 14 in the last four games. Those turnovers led to 21 points, one of which was directly returned 82 yards by linebacker Kobe Wilson for the touchdown.
SMU now leads all FBS teams with five non-offensive touchdowns this season.
“That’s just our culture right there,” Wilson said. “We take pride in celebrating our culture.”
The offense, on the other hand, showed a more balanced look than it had in the first four games. While Brashard Smith eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards for the fifth time this season, SMU passed for more than it ran.
Since Kevin Jennings filled in for Preston Stone as starting quarterback, SMU has relied more on the run game to move the offense. But due to a depleted running back room, which even saw Smith miss a few drives with an injury, the pass game had to become more of a factor.
Jennings had a career day, passing for his personal best 254 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He hit tight end RJ Maryland in the end zone twice and wide receiver Jordan Hudson once. Despite not being known to air it out, Jennings had six passes for over 15 yards, including a long of 42 yards to Hudson on the score.
“It shows different teams a different look,” Jennings said. “We can run the ball. We can pass the ball, so they don’t know what to prepare for.”
Both SMU’s offense and defense have now been consistent across the last two games. Arguably the team’s biggest struggle has been on special teams — particularly the punt unit — but it should be a simple fix.
Still, SMU has shown it’s a complete and consistent team. Even though SMU didn’t play its best game against BYU in the 18-15 loss, that loss doesn’t look as bad with the Cougars now ranked No. 22 after wins over Kansas State and Baylor.
Entering a four-game stretch where SMU faced BYU, TCU, Florida State and Louisville next week on the road, the Mustangs were just eager to show they could compete.
Against BYU, they showed they could compete at the power-conference level. Against TCU, they showed they could win at it. Against Florida State, they showed they can win in the ACC, and against No. 15 Louisville next week, they’ll get the chance to show if they can compete with the nation’s best.
“We feel like we can compete with anybody,” Wilson said. “We’re not only trying to show that we belong but that we’re here to compete with everybody.”
