SMU Report Card: Grading every major position group from this weekends loss to Louisville

DALLAS, Texas—The No. 22 SMU Mustangs lost their first game of the season to the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals, 41-31, on the road. Nevertheless, the grade book is closed, and the report card is out. Here are all the grades from this weekend's game for every major position group.

This was one of the more anticipated early-season meetings in the ACC. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, SMU lost a close game on the road. Nevertheless, the grade book is closed, and the report card is out. Here are all the grades from this weekend's game for every major position group.

QUARTERBACK: B

Sep 19, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) passes the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Carter-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this weekend's loss, senior quarterback Kevin Jennings threw for over 200 yards, going 24/35 with a 68% completion percentage and a lone touchdown through the air. Jennings was excellent at throwing the football and nevertheless had three turnovers in this game, two interceptions, and a fumble. Historically, turnovers have been Jennings' Achilles heel, but his three turnovers vs Louisville were a part of the momentum swing for the Cardinals.

His first came midway through the second quarter, yet the SMU defense was able to force a punt and get Louisville off the field following the turnover. His next turnover came just after Louisville scored late in the fourth quarter to make it a 10-point game. Jennings fumbled after attempting to rush into the end zone and respond to the Cardinals' scoring drive. He was wallooped by Louisville junior defensive back Brycen Scott while attempting to break the plane of the end zone. Initially on the field, the rush was called a touchdown but was overturned by video review. Nonetheless, the turnover didn’t result in another score for Louisville but did take some time off the clock. Ultimately, the fumble could be chalked up to an unlucky play for Jennings and the Mustangs.

You could easily put Jennings' final turnover and second interception of the game into that boat as well. He was intercepted for a second time by Louisville defensive back Kaleb Beasley while throwing up a 50/50 ball to get the Mustangs downfield on third and long with a minute and change left in the game. The interception sealed the win for the Cardinals, who had never beaten the Mustangs dating back to the 1980s and since SMU joined the ACC.

Even with the turnovers playing a key role, Jennings' play still helped keep SMU in a close contest with the Cardinals for most of the game. After the game, SMU Head Football Coach Rhett Lashlee mentioned that if they wanted the narrative surrounding turnovers to go away, they had to stop turning over the football. Jennings himself mentioned that limiting his turnovers was one of the big changes he needed to make following the loss. Nevertheless, the Mustangs have a guaranteed nine games left in the season. On paper, through three games the loss at Louisville was Jennings' worst game of the season. However, Jennings and SMU still have plenty of football left to adjust turnovers.

RUNNING BACKS: A+

The SMU rushing attack probably had the biggest bright spot of this weekend's game, showcasing a strong performance on the ground. Senior running back Kendrick Raphael led the Mustangs with his best game in an SMU uniform. Raphael rushed for 197 yards on 24 carries and three scores on the ground, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. While Jennings and sophomore running back Dramecko Green both had nine carries, they gained 35 and 23 yards, respectively, on the ground. Lashlee spoke during the week about how having a balanced attack was going to be crucial in the game plan for this game on offense. Raphael was one of the Mustangs' key additions in the offseason.

His efficiency running the football was a big reason SMU was able to stay close with Louisville for most of the game. He was given nearly double the number of carries as he had over the last two games.

SMU has wanted to establish the run for some time now, especially to start the season. Against Florida State, they did and ran the football well, and against UC Davis, the game played out where they didn’t have to lean on the starters or lean on the run for a majority of the game. Saturday night the run game was a key part of the Mustang’s offensive machine. Raphael had three games over 100 yards at CAL last season, with six over 80 yards on the ground. He had his first 100-yard game with a Mustang on his helmet against Louisville as the SMU back made it well known what he can do running the rock.

WIDE RECEIVERS & TIGHT ENDS: B

Despite the stellar run game, the SMU passing attack still had a solid outing against Louisville. Senior wide receiver Yamir Knight led the Mustangs in receiving yards once again with seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Knight averaged 10.0 yards per catch, which was second on the team in pass catchers who caught more than three passes. Junior wide receiver Yannick Smith also had a nice day with three catches for 50 yards. The tight end duo of senior Theo Melin Ohrstrom and senior Randy Pittman was also pivotal in moving the chains.

Both had a combined nine catches for 69 yards. The unit only had one passing touchdown through the air, which was Knight’s lone score in the first half. Lashlee spoke on the athleticism of the Cardinals' secondary during the week and the challenge it posed in throwing the football. Combined with the Louisville defensive line's play creating pressure in the pocket, it made third downs all the more critical for the Mustangs, as SMU was 5-14 on those attempts. Nevertheless, the biggest knocks in this grade were the two crucial drops in the fourth quarter in the end zones by sophomore wide receiver Jalen Cooper and junior running back Derrick McFall. Nonetheless, drops are going to happen. The Mustangs were still able to move the football well. The passing attack was a big part of SMU keeping up with Louisville, which felt like a box match for most of the game.

OFFENSIVE LINE : B-

Louisville’s defense got close but couldn’t block this field goal attempt from SMU in the second half Saturday. The Cards' defense pressured SMU quarterback for most of the second half. Sept.19, 2026 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Overall, the SMU offensive line held up particularly well against the Louisville defense. The offensive line helped open up run lanes for the SMU running backs, particularly Raphael. As a unit, the Mustangs' run game averaged 257 yards on the ground at 5.7 yards per carry. Nonetheless, in pass protection, the unit did well against a challenging Louisville unit. The Mustangs lost right tackle Andrew Chamblee during the game, which made pass protection a lot tougher for SMU. Nevertheless, Louisville was only able to put up two sacks and four tackles for loss Saturday afternoon. Even with a key loss during the game along the front five, the unit still did well to hold up to move the offense downfield and open up gaps in the run game.

DEFENSE: B

In an offensive scorefest like this weekend between SMU and Louisville, it's always difficult to grade a defensive unit. The Mustangs allowed the most points at 41 this season, but on the positive side, there were multiple big stops, including after the first interception and fumble, that the defense was able to get the Cardinals offense off the field. The biggest loss for the defense was the lack of sacks and defensive turnovers. This was the first game this season that the Mustangs did not record a sack against an opposing offense.

When facing a dual-threat quarterback like Louisville’s junior quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, the threat with his legs is always tougher to defend. Lashlee spoke about it before the game, noting that Kienholz did some of the things that frustrated defensive coordinators. There were a couple of times that the Mustangs' defense looked to have a sack where Kienholz would use his leg to evade or escape. However, the pass defense, despite giving up over 150 yards, did limit some of the explosive plays for Louisville for a majority of the game. Overall, the unit racked up eight tackles for loss on the day but did allow 7.2 yards per carry on the ground. Lashlee spoke about tackling better, and it was a big emphasis to clean up after the loss in the run game. The season is still early for that and other things to get cleaned up, but in a game where every possession mattered, the Mustangs did well to get Louisville off the field at times.

Overall: B

The Mustangs faced a significant challenge in the fourth quarter after SMU had been even with Louisville in the three previous quarters. A giant part of the game was the Mustangs' aggressiveness on fourth down. Lashlee’s team was 3-5 on fourth down Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs did not convert two fourth downs both led to Louisville touchdowns the very next series. Lashlee took ownership of the fourth-down calls that the Mustangs failed to convert. The go-ahead touchdown for the Cardinals came after SMU failed to convert on fourth down for the second time. With such a narrow margin, that score put Louisville in control of the game. Ultimately, the margin in a top 25 matchup is always thin. Turnovers and miscues led to SMU falling to Louisville on the road.

SMU will have a chance to get back on track against Missouri State on Saturday at 8 pm CST at Gerald J. Ford Stadium before going full steam ahead into ACC play.