SMU Football improved to 6-1 in ACC play with a 38-6 win over Louisville on Saturday, Nov. 22, after the defense recorded its best performance of the season.
The Mustangs held its opponent to zero touchdowns and 228 yards, both season lows, as Louisville scored on just two first half field goals. Head Coach Rhett Lashlee praised his team’s improvement in defending the pass since the start of the year.
“You hold anyone to 100 yards passing, that’s a pretty good day,” Lashlee said. “What we’ve gotten so much better at throughout the season is getting pressure on the quarterback, and most importantly, not giving up those explosive plays.”
The Mustangs benefited from a bye week the previous Saturday, with key contributors such as defensive end Cameron Robertson returning from injury. This wasn’t the case for Louisville, which played without its starting quarterback, Miller Moss, or star running back Isaac Brown.
Lashlee said that quarterback Kevin Jennings was one of the players who benefited the most from the break. Jennings, who has played the majority of the season with an injured ankle, looked sharp against Louisville, throwing for three touchdowns, running for another and reaching 300 passing yards for a third-straight game.
“The bye week came at the right time,” Jennings said. “Before we played two good opponents in Louisville and Cal… definitely got time to recover, let my body chill a bit.”
Jennings and the SMU offense started hot, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game. After running back TJ Harden broke off a 23-yard rush to bring the Mustangs to the goal line, Jennings faked a handoff and ran in the first score of the game, his third rushing touchdown of the season.
Louisville responded with a field goal, but senior wide receiver Jordan Hudson made it 14-3 with an impressive seven-yard touchdown catch at the start of the second quarter. Jennings said he’d been working with SMU Quarterbacks Coach D’Eriq King on giving his receivers chances to make big plays.
“We talk about it a lot,” Jennings said. “Giving [receivers] a chance to run under the ball and make plays for me. It’s just something I’ve been working on in practice.”
Jennings added another on the following drive, dodging a sack and throwing a shovel pass to Harden for a five-yard touchdown. SMU’s defense held Louisville to just one more field goal to give the Mustangs a 21-6 lead at halftime. Jennings only missed on two of his 18 pass attempts in the first half.
Yamir Knight hauled in Jennings’ third and final touchdown pass, completing a jaw-dropping catch in the back of the endzone. Nine different receivers caught a pass for SMU, with Hudson (8 REC, 96 YDS) and Knight (6 REC, 44 YDS) leading the way.
“We don’t force feed the ball,” Lashlee said. “Kevin is just like a point guard, just distributing the ball where it needs to go. Do the [receivers] want stats? You bet, but they’re bought into winning first.”
The defense, led by Brandon Booker (8 TKL, 1.5 TFL) and Robertson (3 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 PD), silenced the Louisville offense in the second half. The Cardinals could only march 93 yards through the entire half, going three-and-out in three straight drives.
Louisville did manage to avoid any turnovers until true freshman Tyren Polley, who had an interception against Boston College, pulled in another one in the fourth quarter. Polley, still recovering from a broken hand, plays with a cast on his right arm. Robertson said the future of SMU football looks promising thanks to Polley and the rest of the freshman class.
“We expected him to play a lot before he broke his hand,” Robertson said. “I can’t lie, [the freshmen] were definitely the deepest class that’s ever come through here. I’m really excited about those guys.”
Running back Shaadie Clayton-Johnson had SMU’s final score, a 50-yard dash to improve the lead to 38-6. Tight end Stone Eby, just as he did against Boston College, kicked and scored the extra point shoeless. Clayton-Johnson and Eby were two of many seniors who received extra playing time in recognition of Senior Day.
In total, 30 seniors were honored prior to the game, and most had the chance to play in their final game at Ford Stadium. Robertson reflected on the drastic change in Ford’s atmosphere over his time at SMU, which set a season average attendance record in 2025.
“Just seeing when we first got here, no one’s in the stands,” Robertson said. “Then that first… ACC game really seemed like an investment in the fans and the students. It’s been phenomenal.”
A select few seniors— RJ Maryland, Isaiah Nwokobia, Isaiah Smith, Ahmaad Moses and Eby- form a special class of players who spent their entire college careers at SMU. Many of them were pivotal in SMU’s ascension to the top of collegiate football, helping the Mustangs compile a 30-9 record over the last three seasons and establish themselves in the ACC.
“They did a good job of balancing the fact that they knew it was their last game here, but they weren’t overly emotional about it,” Lashlee said. “They’ve all contributed to what we’re building, and it’s always great as a coach for them to go out on a high note.”
The road isn’t over for the seniors, nor the rest of the Mustangs. Because Georgia Tech lost to Pitt 42-28 on Saturday night, the Mustangs just have to win their final game to return to the ACC Championship.
“I mean, we just have to do our job,” Hudson said. “It’ll play itself out.”
On Sunday, SMU was announced as the No. 25 team in the AP Poll, SMU’s first ranking since its week two loss to Baylor. The regular season finale is on the road versus Cal Berkeley, who is coming off a 31-10 loss to Stanford. The kickoff time for the Nov. 29 matchup is at 7 p.m. CT.
