Three SMU Players to Watch Against Virginia Tech on Friday

The Hokies get the home version of SMU on Friday, a much cleaner team than the one that lost at Syracuse.

Oct 31, 2026; Syracuse, New York, USA; Southern Methodist University Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) runs with the ball during the second half against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

SMU has turned the ball over nine times in three road games this season. In five games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, it has done it twice.

That’s the version of the Mustangs Virginia Tech gets Friday. SMU (6-2, 4-2 ACC) is 5-0 at home this season and 11-0 against ACC opponents at Ford since joining the league in 2024. The Hokies (6-2, 3-2) come off a bye after their 20-16 win at Clemson on Oct. 24. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Three Mustangs will decide whether that home streak gets to 12.

Kevin Jennings, quarterback

James Franklin has already seen Jennings at his worst. In the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21, 2024, Franklin’s Penn State team intercepted him three times in the first half and returned two of them for touchdowns on the way to a 38-10 win.

Jennings is a different quarterback two years later. The fifth-year went over 10,000 career passing yards at Syracuse last week and holds SMU’s career records for passing yards and touchdown passes (76). He’s completing 73.7% of his throws, third-best in the country, with 21 touchdowns.

And at home, he doesn’t give the ball away. Four of his five interceptions came on the road at Florida State and Louisville, and he has thrown one in five games at Ford.

That’s a problem for a Virginia Tech defense with two interceptions all season. Eight games is a small sample. It still says the Hokies shouldn’t count on Jennings to hand them a short field.

Kendrick Raphael, running back

Raphael has already scored three touchdowns against Virginia Tech. He did it at Lane Stadium last October as a Cal running back, on 20 carries for 71 yards. His third score tied the game 27-27 with 2:34 left in regulation, and the Hokies won 42-34 in double overtime.

He averaged 3.6 yards a carry that night and still accounted for three of Cal’s four touchdowns.

The senior came to SMU by way of NC State and Cal, and he has kept doing the same thing in Dallas. He has 692 yards at 5.1 per carry, three 100-yard games and nine rushing touchdowns. Nine of SMU’s 14 rushing touchdowns belong to him, and the Mustangs have finished 27 of 38 red-zone trips in the end zone.

Marques White, edge rusher

White is on his fourth college program. He started at Dartmouth, made stops at McNeese State and UMass, and committed to SMU in January.

Last season at UMass, he had five sacks in 12 games. At SMU, he has 5.5 sacks in eight games, more than twice as many as any teammate, along with eight tackles for loss. Three of those sacks came in one game, an Oct. 3 win over Boston College that earned him ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

The whole defense is built to get off the field: SMU holds opponents to 27% on third down, third-best in FBS.

Which brings it back to Virginia Tech’s protection. Clemson sacked Ethan Grunkemeyer six times on Oct. 24, and the Hokies spent the bye trying to get linemen healthy. Every third-and-long on Friday is a snap built for White.