No. 21 SMU knocks off Boston College 25-16 in ACC Home Opener

The No. 21 SMU Mustangs (4-1, 2-1 ACC) beat the Boston College Eagles (2-3, 0-2 ACC) 25-16 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs battled through scattered showers and a persistent Boston College team to stack back-to-back wins at home and the team's first conference win in Dallas this season.

The Mustangs racked up 218 yards of total offense while holding the Eagles to 3.5 yards per carry in the run game after all four quarters in the program's 16th conference win. After the win, SMU Head Football Coach Rhett Lashlee praised his team, putting the spotlight on the defense, which tallied five or more sacks for the second straight game and a season-high 14 tackles for loss, along with one turnover.

"Really proud of our defense. I thought defensively start to finish, it was our most complete game,” said Lashlee after the Mustangs' 9th straight ACC win at home. “For the most part, that was a group that was going to bleed us out and run the ball. We did a really nice job not letting them be explosive and stopping the run. I was just really proud of our defense.”

On a rainy day atop the Hilltop, the Mustangs opened up the scoring on their first offensive series of the game. Senior quarterback Kevin Jennings led the offense downfield in eight plays in less than four minutes. Jennings finished his day with 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a rushing score as the fifth-year senior was 20/30 from the pocket. Senior running back Kendrick Raphael capped off the first drive by rushing into the end zone from a yard out to open up the scoring and his fifth score of the season.

However, a combination of the weather and a mishandled snap led to the Mustangs missing the first extra point of the game. SMU was without senior kicker Nick Reed, who was questionable all week with a hip injury that he re-aggravated in the Mustangs' win vs. Missouri State in week four. Nevertheless, after the trademark rapid start for the Mustangs, Boston College responded.

In their first offensive series, the Eagles drove downfield, but the Mustangs forced two fumbles on the same drive. Boston College was forced to attempt a 52-yard field goal, which senior and 2026 Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List kicker Luca Lombardo knocked down in the rain to get the Eagles on the board. Even with the Mustangs' fast start, the weather became a bigger factor in the opening half as the game clock ran down.

SMU was forced off the field quickly after the Eagles' first points. Boston College regained possession of the football on offense and took the lead for the first time when junior quarterback Mason McKenzie found junior running back Evan Dickens, who got lost coming out of the backfield, and he caught a 43-yard pass for a score, putting the Eagles up 10-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Mustangs would respond instantly in the next quarter.

SMU would have its longest drive of the opening half in the next offensive series, where two defensive penalties on the Eagles helped the Mustangs maintain possession, eventually getting into the red zone, where Jennings rushed into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the season, giving his team another lead. Senior kicker Brendan Baird knocked down the second Mustangs extra point, his only kick of the afternoon, to give SMU a 3-point lead over Boston College.

Baird saw his first action as a placekicker in college football last week after Reed re-injured his hip early against Missouri State he knocked in all three of his extra points last week after missing a 42-yard field goal in that game.

Both teams would have a series of punts to end the quarter. Boston College, in combination with the weather, would hold SMU to just 138 yards of total offense in the first half, with just 68 yards through the air.

Heading into halftime, junior running back Derrick McFall spoke about how, in the locker room, the team discussed correcting some minor miscues on offense from the first half to keep the momentum going.

“We capitalized on those mistakes, and we corrected them at halftime,” said McFall after the game. “We came out on top, and that's all that matters at the end of the day.”

Nevertheless, the Mustangs took a 13-10 lead into the locker room after two quarters, and momentum swung in their favor after the break following a series of big plays.

Coming out of the locker room, the Mustangs defense made a handful of plays on the first Boston College offensive drive of the half. SMU had two tackles for loss and two sacks straight out of the locker room. On the second sack, senior edge rusher Marques White forced McKenzie to lose the football, which was scooped up by senior edge rusher Aakil Washington for the first turnover of the game.

The fumble led to the Mustangs getting prime field position inside the Eagles' 15-yard line, where Jennings found senior tight end Randy Pittman Jr. from 14 yards out for the first SMU passing touchdown of the game. However, another special teams miscue, this time on a botched snap, forced the Mustangs to miss the extra point. Even with the mistake, SMU took its largest lead of the game, up nine, which lasted until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.

Both teams would have a series of punts until the Mustangs got positive field position thanks to a 34-yard return from senior wide receiver Yamir Knight, which set up SMU’s second scoring drive of the quarter. After the big return from Knight, it looked like Boston College was about to get SMU off the field after a sack that set up a third and long on the third play of the drive. However, SMU was granted a new set of downs after the Eagles were penalized for roughing the passer on 3rd and 16. Right after the penalty and the new set of downs, Jennings found McFall for his third touchdown of the game and McFall’s second score of the season.

Yet even with an extended lead, the Mustangs still were not able to pick up extra points after the score. SMU went for two points, the third score of the game, but McFall was just short of breaking the plane of the end zone. Still, SMU was able to take its largest lead, up by 15 points, with a score of 25-10 and a handful of minutes left in the final quarter.

Boston College would get a late consolation score to cut the lead back to single digits after McKenzie found sophomore tight end Danny Edgehille for his second catch of the game and first score from six yards out. Even with the late score, SMU would hold and pick up its first conference win of the season while stacking three straight wins at home through the first few weeks of college football.

SMU now heads into a bye with yet another win under its belt. Lashlee has harped all season on his team becoming tough to beat. After the win, Lashlee spoke about his team, combining the rest of the season's stretch as an explosive offensive team with being a team that is hard to beat.

“For four weeks we were explosive, but there were two or three plays here and there that kind of hurt us,” said Lashlee. “This week we were not explosive, but I think it proves if you make yourself hard to beat more times than not, the other teams beats themselves. So now its can we do them both, can we be explosive and make ourselves hard to beat.”

Lashlee went on to express how his team will manage the bye after some notable names were added to the injury report, including senior center Josh Bates and Kendrick Raphael, among others, after the win. The Mustangs stare down seven straight games after the bye.

“We have to use this week for what it is. Now there are some things we have to fix. There are some areas we got to get better at. We will not do nothing,” said Lashlee. “It's a fine line, offensively can we continue to play like we did today in terms of making ourselves hard to beat, but go back to being that explosive group, defensively can we gain some momentum, and from a special teams standpoint can we take all the positives from today and continue to grow.”

Coming out of the bye, the Mustangs will host Virginia, one of the ACC's rising teams this season. Kickoff time has not been announced; nevertheless, both teams will face off in what's sizing up to be another big conference clash for the Mustangs on Saturday, October 17th, at Ford Stadium.

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