SMU Mustangs Report Card: Grading every Major position group in the No.16 Mustangs win 56-10 vs UC Davis

DALLAS, Texas – The No. 16 SMU Mustangs picked up a second win in their home opener Saturday evening vs. the U.C. Davis Aggies, 56-10, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park.

Head football coach Rhett Lashlee and his side put on an explosive display atop the Hilltop for the first time this season. With that, the grade book is out, and the report cards are locked for every major position group from this weekend's win for the Mustangs.

Quarterbacks: A

Sep 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs wide receiver Jalen Hale (2) and quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) and wide receiver Yannick Smith (3) during the second half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In game two, Kevin Jennings continues to maintain his excellent play to start the season. The fifth-year senior only needed a half of football to put on a show during the Mustangs' home opener. Jennings went 14/16 for 337 yards through the air, tossing up five touchdowns in the opening two quarters for SMU. He also broke the all-time total offense yardage record for the Mustangs against the Aggies in the second quarter. The Mustangs' passing attack looked as explosive as ever with Jennings at the helm through the air vs. the Aggies.

Coming out of the half, sophomore quarterback Ty Hawkins led the offense as they came out of the locker room. Hawkins was 11/13 for 104 yards while tossing two touchdowns of his own. The sophomore quarterback saw his first true snaps in a Mustangs uniform after not seeing any action as a freshman. Nevertheless, Hawkins had a very solid performance with the second unit.

On one of his first snaps, he was able to draw a defender offsides with his cadence. On some others, Hawkins did a good job with his presence in the pocket and delivered strikes downfield. Nevertheless, there were times he hung in the pocket and was hit, but from the tape Hawkins delivered a nice performance throughout his time in the later quarters. Lashlee said after the game it was “nice” to see others run the offense and “good” for the sophomore quarterback to do so. Hawkins saw significant snaps with the first team in the offseason early in SMU’s fall camp while Jennings dealt with a finger injury. The sophomore quarterback looked comfortable in the offense during his first significant snaps.

Hawkins was not the only quarterback to see action, as senior quarterback Charlie Fiser and freshman quarterback Cole Leinart, son of former USC and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, also saw action as the game went on. Both quarterbacks saw limited snap numbers but did well to close out the win for the Mustangs. No quarterback for SMU had any turnovers in the win, which, with so many different faces under center on Saturday, along with great welcomes, was a nice grade for the Mustang quarterback room after another big win.

Running Backs: B

The Mustangs had seven different ball carriers carry the rock for SMU in the win Saturday afternoon. Across multiple ball carriers, the Mustangs put up 93 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry as a unit with a lone score on the ground. As with the quarterbacks, many of the running backs saw limited snap counts as the score inflated and more time came off the clock. Senior running back Kendrick Raphael was limited to just three carries for three yards on the day. Raphael punched in the game's first score from five yards out. Raphael did suffer a shoulder injury early in the week in SMU’s win over Florida State, but it did not impact his status in that win. Nor did Lashlee say it would be a long-term issue midweek leading into the home opener. The biggest culprit for the lack of carries, when reading into the tea leaves, is simply the involvement of other backs and the quickly ballooning score that saw a majority of the starters pulled coming out of the half.

Junior running back Derrick McFall led the Mustangs in carries with six carries for 46 yards with 7.7 yards per carry on the ground. McFall transitioned to running back from wide receiver this offseason and was one of the most impactful players of the afternoon for SMU. The 5'11" junior from Tyler, Texas, also had the second most yards in the receiving game. With two receptions for 57 yards with a touchdown through the air. Sophomore running back Dramecko Green finished second on the team in rushing yardage with 19 carries for 4.8 yards per rush. While the quarterback is rushing, Jennings and Hawkins are also contributing. This total also included a five-yard rush from tight end Randy Pittman Jr. Overall, on a day that the run game saw limited action, the efficiency among a ton of different ball carries showed the depth to the SMU rushing attack and unit that anyone could have a big day on the ground.

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends: A+

It was another big day for the Mustangs’ pass-catching group as a whopping 15 different passes were caught in a grab as seven touchdowns were thrown and caught in SMU’s win. Senior wide receiver Yamir Knight led the Mustangs with three receptions for 62 yards, averaging 20 yards per catch. Senior tight end Theo Melin Ohrstrom tied Knight with team highs in receptions with three while leading SMU with two scores after not getting a catch in the win over Florida State. Melin Ohrstrom spoke after the game about how Lashlee spoke with him during the week that they would try to get him the ball more heading into the home opener.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Lashlee as a Coach,” said Melin Ohrstrom. “He tried to get the ball to me last Monday. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. You call the plays, and they are just not there. He came up to me on Tuesday when we got back and he was like I’m going to make sure we get you involved. He held to that and that was very real by him.”

With the starters seeing only two full quarters of action, there were still a plethora of big plays from the Mustangs' pass catchers. Junior wide receiver Yannick Smith’s lone catch was a touchdown score after he took it 44 yards and attempted to hurdle two defenders before getting into the end zone for the second-longest catch of the day. The longest went to senior wide receiver Jalen Hale, whose only catch was a 51-yard one-handed snag that set up Raphael's rushing touchdown on the first drive.

In the second half, some of the younger pass catchers got involved with the starters pulled. Freshman tight end Zack Turner hauled in three grabs and his first score for 53 yards, flashing chemistry with Ty Hawkins. Sophomore wide receiver Carterrious Brown, freshman wide receiver Aljour Miles II, and others all had a nice showing through the air.

The Mustangs currently lead the nation in total passing yards, while just being just one of two ACC teams along with Miami in the top six in the nation in total offense throughout the first few weeks of college football. The Mustangs have a clear early argument to start the year as one of the most explosive offenses in the sport. A big offensive performance through the air for a second week in a row may add more fuel to that fire.

Offensive Line: B-

Sep 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs tight end Randy Pittman Jr. (5) runs with the ball against the UC Davis Aggies during the second quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The SMU offensive line only allowed one sack against U.C. Davis, the unit's first of the season. Nevertheless, the starting unit performed well in pass protection, the running game, and short-yardage situations during the Mustangs' victory. With a plethora of different units coming in and out of the game as more time came off the clock Saturday afternoon in University Park. A majority of the second and third units that came into the game did well to keep the offense flowing. There were a couple of blemishes as the game went on; nevertheless, another nice day for the multiple combinations of front fives for Mustangs in the home opener.

Defense: A+

The Mustangs rallied with 48 total tackles, two sacks, six tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, an interception, and a forced fumble that was recovered. SMU’s defense only allowed two scores, with the only touchdown given up at the start of the fourth quarter. The unit also allowed less than 200 yards through the air for the second week in a row and allowed just 2.6 yards per carry to the Aggies' ground game. The unit continues to create pressure on opposing offenses while rallying to the football to force stops on money downs. Even with the win, senior defensive back Jarvis Lee, who had the lone interception for the Mustangs in the first half, mentioned after the game that even though the Mustangs have been very good on defense, there are still areas the unit wants to be even better on throughout the season.

“Honestly, first we want to get off the field. We harp all the time get off the field on third down,” said Lee after the win. “We want to be the best team on third down. It was looking good against Florida State, but today it obviously wasn’t to our standard. To be honest, for us they caught too many balls, they gave up too many third downs and first downs also. So it was like we had to be better today we felt we had to be better to move forward. We good on third down right now but we want to be better on first and second down too. So that's what we need to improve on mainly.”

Nevertheless, the secondary continues to make plays and bow up when needed while the defensive line continues to get pressure to get stops or force tough situations for opposing offenses.

The Mustangs will be back on the road this week in a top-25 ACC matchup against No. 23 Louisville at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium at 2:30 CT on Saturday, September 19th.

Great SMU Mustang content found here

• A Deep Dive Break Down SMU Footballs First Four Opponents

•SMU Mustang Report Card: Grading each Major Position Group in Mustangs win 27-24 over Florida State

•Reasons why SMU Football wins the ACC and goes to the CFP in 2026

• No. 19 SMU rallies through a technical delay and turnovers to beat Florida State 27-24 on the road

Stay up-to-date on SMU athletics by bookmarking SMU on SI and follow us on X/Twitter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google