With each win, SMU is getting closer to playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game in their first season in the league. This could also open the door for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
The 14th-ranked Mustangs are adjusting well after their long-awaited move into a major conference.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Brashard Smith rushed for 120 yards and scored once, leading SMU to a 38-28 win over Boston College on Saturday. SMU took control of the game after the Eagles scored a touchdown to start the second half.
“I think you saw tonight how (the players) are handling it. There’s a lot of pressure, more probably put on by themselves, and they just want to win, they want it,” said SMU’s third-year coach Rhett Lashlee. “When the game was the tightest tonight, we played our best. And so I think that’s the best evidence I can tell you for how they’re handling it.”
SMU (9-1, 6-0 ACC) is the only team in the ACC without a conference loss, while No. 12 Miami and No. 17 Clemson each have one. The ACC champion is guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Jennings completed 24 of 35 passes, and his 38-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Hudson, who caught the ball in stride behind the defense, gave SMU the lead for good with 8:52 left in the third quarter. Smith’s 2-point conversion run made it 28-21.
“Good teams find a way to win,” Jennings said. “We get preached on all week to put our head down, put our blinders on and just look straight.”
Boston College (5-5, 2-4) briefly took the lead in the third quarter, 21-20, with a quick eight-play, 83-yard drive. New starting quarterback Grayson James finished it with a 20-yard touchdown run, following two 19-yard completions to Reed Harris. James, a transfer from FIU, finished the game with 237 yards on 18-of-32 passing.
Smith also made history, becoming the 12th player in SMU history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. His 4-yard touchdown run just before halftime capped a 92-yard drive, following a pass interference penalty near the goal line on third down.
SMU kicker Collin Rogers made three field goals, including a 41-yard kick at the end of the first half to give SMU a 20-14 lead. There was also a series of turnovers, with both teams exchanging interceptions. SMU’s Isaiah Nwokobia had a crucial interception in the end zone right before halftime.
Boston College had a solid drive late in the first half, with James throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kamari Morales after a 32-yard completion on third-and-20, followed by a 19-yard pass on fourth down.
However, after a Carter Davis interception, SMU’s defense responded and kept BC from taking the lead.
First-year Boston College coach Bill O’Brien made a tough decision earlier in the week, naming James the starter over Thomas Castellanos. This led to Castellanos leaving the team. James, a Texas native, had more than 30 tickets for family and friends in the stands.
“It’s tough not coming out on the winning side… that dims the mood a little bit,” James said.
O’Brien praised James for stepping up. “Grayson did a good job. We just didn’t do enough,” O’Brien said.
