No. 22 SMU returns home for Family Weekend, looking to bounce back from Louisville as Missouri State visits Ford Stadium Saturday night.
No. 22 SMU returns to Ford Stadium on Saturday night needing a response after its first loss of the season, and Missouri State arrives at a good time for a Mustangs team trying to clean up mistakes before the schedule gets tougher.
SMU fell 41-31 at Louisville last week despite rolling up 479 yards of offense and getting a monster performance from running back Kendrick Raphael, who rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. The Mustangs also lost the turnover battle 3-0, a combination head coach Rhett Lashlee knows can erase a lot of otherwise good football.
“We won everything but the score and the turnover battle,” Lashlee said after the loss.
Now SMU, ranked No. 22 in the AP poll, returns home for Family Weekend against a Missouri State team that enters at 1-2 after a 30-24 loss to Marshall.
The matchup also gives quarterback Kevin Jennings a chance to get the offense back into rhythm. Jennings has thrown for 989 yards through three games this season and remains one of the ACC’s most experienced quarterbacks, with 21 career wins as SMU’s starter.
Ford Stadium has been one of the biggest advantages in the country for the Mustangs.
SMU has scored 1,003 points over its last 22 home games, averaging 45.6 points per game while going 20-2 during that span. Under Lashlee, the Mustangs are 33-5 when scoring at least 30 points.
The defense has also quietly been elite in one important area. SMU has held opponents to just 7-of-38 on third down, a conversion rate of 15.5 percent that ranks among the best marks nationally.
This will be only the second meeting between SMU and Missouri State. The Mustangs won last year’s matchup 28-10.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, with the game televised on ACC Network.
For SMU, the assignment is straightforward: protect the football, reestablish the offense and turn one bad Saturday into a one-week problem.
