SMU's Kevin Jennings Outlines Key Wake Forest Trait Ahead Of ACC Showdown

The SMU Mustangs will welcome Wake Forest to Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday for a monster ACC showdown.

And Wake Forest is the definition of a monster right now.

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Sitting at 8-1 and having curb-stomped everyone they've played in the past five weeks, they loom as a serious test for Rhett Lashlee's team in every phase.

Offensively, Wake Forest is averaging over 40 points per game, so the SMU defense has its work cut out to slow Gio Lopez and Co. down.

Offensively, the Mustangs will be going against a defense that has allowed more than seven points only once in the past five weeks. And the one time they did, it was 14 points against North Carolina State. But it didn't matter because Wake Forest scored 38.

And for SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings, one trait stands out about the Wake Forest defense he'll be facing on Saturday.

"Yeah, I think as a team just play hard," Jennings said. "Everybody swarms to the ball. One person misses a tackle, there's 10 other guys right there. I think that's the main thing, how hard they play. I don't think it's nothing special they do, but they play extremely hard, and we got to be ready for that."

Wake Forest will be coming for SMU's soul, folks.

With the Mustangs at 7-2, this is a crucial game in their season, and one they can't lose. If they do, it's basically season over.

So yeah, no pressure.

But Jennings and the SMU offense are going up against a defense that has collectively allowed 14 points in the last three games.

Not to mention Langston Hardy with a crisp 13.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. But he isn't the only danger. 

Both Zach Lohavichan (7.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks) and Gabe Kirschke (7.5 TFLs, 4.0 sacks) along the defensive line are monsters, and it will be on Lashlee to come up with a game plan to limit their impact.

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Of course, the Mustangs have weapons themselves, but Jennings will need time to get the ball to them, so it might be a Kendrick Raphael day on the ground to limit the exposure of Jennings against the defensive line.

This will be a true test for SMU, and one that if it passes, will be seen in a different light for the reason of the season.