Last night, the Mustangs ponied up and trampled former Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champions, Florida State University, 42-16, at home in Ford Stadium. Finishing the game with a commanding win, SMU entered the ACC conference with confidence.
SMU recently joined the ACC, giving the Mustangs the opportunity to play nationally-known teams. This is SMU’s first major conference win coming into the ACC.
Ford Stadium was packed with families, students and SMU alumni and NFL royalty Eric Dickerson, SMU President Gerald F. Turner, pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau and former president of the United States George W. Bush.
The game began with the proverbial coin toss by former President Bush which landed on heads; giving the Mustangs the home field advantage.
Head Coach, Rhett Lashlee, was proud and excited for his team as they knew the stakes and exceeded expectations.
“I’m in awe of them. I think last week we set a standard for how we can play and I think they exceeded that tonight,” Lashlee said.“Whether it’s the offense being balanced, running for over 200 yards, throwing over 250 yards and turning the ball over, I have no words.”
Last weekend, the Mustangs defeated their rival, TCU, in the Iron Skillet matchup. The high energy in the stadium resulted in a high scoring game for both teams with a final score of 66-42.
Though the Mustangs’ first ACC game against the Seminoles put up lower numbers than last week’s rivalry game, SMU proved why they’re deserving of their ACC spot.
In the first quarter, SMU scored a touchdown six minutes into the game leaving FSU struggling to maintain the pace for the remainder of the game.
The night wasn’t short of highlights either. The whole team played well but Kevin Jennings, Kobe Wilson and RJ Maryland showed up with standout plays that propelled SMU to their first victory in the ACC.
Maryland broke the record at halftime for most touchdowns received by an SMU tight end.
Jennings played this game with more swagger and confidence than in previous games which gave his team the green light to be aggressive down the field.
Jennings passed 254 yards and scored three touchdowns. Wilson ran a tight defense and Maryland scored two of SMU’s six touchdowns. The Mustangs came out this game in a different mood that Jennings identified as confidence.
“Honestly it’s just confidence in our offense,” Jennings said. “Everyone is believing in themselves and we’re playing with a different swagger than we did against BYU. So we’re gonna keep that up and keep scoring points.”
The Mustangs had a confident first half with the team running the ball more often than not and a dominant second half. Lashlee depended on his players to follow through and they exceeded his hopes and expectations.
The Mustangs delivered major highlights in this first ACC conference game. One of these moments came just three minutes into the fourth quarter when Kobe Wilson intercepted a pass to then score an 82-yard touchdown. Wilson emphasized the importance of communication in this game to help make splashy plays.
“We emulated in practice all week being communicative and extra communication is gonna help us in the long run. When we’re all on the same page, we all play as one and move as one,” Wilson said.
Coach Lashlee, Jennings, Maryland and Wilson all expressed their appreciation for the impact the fanbase had on their performance last night. Lashlee hopes to see the fanbase grow as the Mustangs enter the ACC.
“The stadium reflected the pride and joy the SMU family has in their football program,” Lashlee said.
For the former ACC champions, however, this game proved to be a formidable challenge. The Seminoles didn’t play their best with three fumbles and three total touchdowns.
They went 0-0 in interception passes, and 26-75 in passing yards as opposed to the Mustang’s 51-213.
Coach Lashlee and his team are ready to show the ACC that they’re here, ready and capable of winning against great teams and proving themselves a worthy opponent.
“This has to be one of the bigger moments from our program. Last week was a rivalry game but this is different,” Lashlee said. “We beat a national brand. This [win] isn’t gonna score us one point or gain us one yard next week, but I do think it validates that we feel like we can add value to this league.”
This game gave the team a lot of hope. Going forward in the season, the team hopes to keep proving themselves against formidable teams in the ACC.
“We’re the underdogs coming in, nobody believed in us, but this game, we came in and showed that we can do it,” Jennings said.
The Mustangs hit the road for a series of away games that lasts all of October. The team returns to Ford Stadium to face off against Pitt on Nov. 2 for the Homecoming game.
