Boston College Football Familiar With Play Style of SMU Quarterback

Saturday's contest between the Eagles and the Mustangs marks the third all-time matchup between BC and SMU.

Nov 1, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) drops back to pass against the Miami Hurricanes during the second quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Boston College football is no stranger to SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings. In fact, for some of the Eagles’ defensive starters, Saturday's Red Bandanna contest against the Mustangs will be the third time they have to face the Oak Cliff, Texas, native in the last three years.

That includes BC safety KP Price, who made his first-ever collegiate start against Jennings, also making his first-ever start, in the 2023 Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

At the time, Jennings was just a true freshman backup to then-redshirt-sophomore Prestone Stone, who was on track toward completing one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Mustangs’ football history within the 21st century.

Stone started and appeared in 12 games for SMU in 2023, manufacturing 3,197 passing yards, good for 26th in the nation, along with 28 pass touchdowns, which ranked 11th in the NCAA.

But Stone suffered a season-ending broken fibula injury before the Mustangs’ postseason game against the Eagles in Boston, Mass., and the Jennings era kicked off.

According to BC head coach Bill O’Brien, Jennings is an elusive passer who can attack the field with an array of different arm slots. There is not much to worry about in terms of Jennings’ rushing ability, but he is able to make off-schedule plays look simple, O’Brien said.

Jennings is only six feet tall, but he makes up for his lack of size with a high-level understanding of where to place the ball depending on the coverage he faces. So far this year, Jennings has accumulated 2,484 passing yards—which ranks second in the ACC behind Duke’s Darian Mensah—18 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions.

“Some guys just have the ability to see through the trees, right?” O’Brien said. “And he can change his arm angle. … He can make all kinds of different throws. He makes a lot of off-schedule plays. He does a great job of doing that. … He's a dangerous player.”

Containing Jennings in the pocket will be key, along with making sure the secondary and linebacker unit stay within close reach of their respective assignments.

“They run a high tempo offense, so they do different things in the RPO game and also in the drop-back game,” O’Brien said. “So, I mean, there'll be an empty on one snap, and then the next snap, they'll have two backs in the backfield. So they're very multiple in what they do, which, you know, does a great job of accentuating his skillset.”

Price, who leads the Eagles in tackles with 68 and has generated two interceptions and a fumble recovery, said that SMU is slowly becoming a favorite opponent of his to play because of the rivalry-esque atmosphere between the Mustangs and the Eagles.

The schools have one played twice in the all-time series, but those two matchups, which occurred in 2023 and 2024, showcased the type of animosity Price talked about when it comes to how the programs view one another.

“We love playing SMU, so we hyped about it, excited about it,” Price said. “[It’s] 100 percent [a] rivalry. We [were kind of] their first ACC competition, my freshman year, Jennings’ freshman year. Before they were in the ACC, we were, you know, in the Fenway Bowl [against SMU]. That just brought up a lot of hype last year, [and] brought up a lot of hype this year.”