SMU's Kevin Jennings Knows Importance Of Wake Forest Win - 'Got To Have It!'

Gerald J. Ford Stadium will be rocking on Saturday as the SMU Mustangs welcome Wake Forest, an 8-1 team tearing through college football right now.

With the Demon Deacons averaging a ridiculous 43.3 points per game as they are blowing teams off the field in these past few weeks, and the defense suffocating teams, allowing just 15.9 points per game, the Mustangs are going to have their hands full.

Head coach Rhett Lashlee called Wake Forest a "complete" team, and it is hard to argue based on what it has shown through nine games.

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And for Kevin Jennings, he'll be going up against a defense that has only given up 14 points or more just once in the last five games, while holding offenses to seven points or less in the other four games.

So yeah, it's going to be a tough outing.

"Yeah, I mean, last year, it's kind of the same defense, they show the same look for the most part," Jennings said. "Last year was a tough game. A game that slipped away from us that we should have had, and it's much bigger than now.

"We got to have this one. Them coming in our stadium and just get an opportunity to play a great team like that. We got to have it, and we prepare right and go out there and execute."

Jennings is right. SMU has to have this game on Saturday, given where they sit in the college football rankings.

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Last season, Wake Forest managed a 13-12 win over the Mustangs, with Jennings going without a touchdown and the offense committing three turnovers.

Jennings completed only 53 percent of his passes in a tough outing, and many expect the same this time around.

But this Wake Forest team has weapons on both sides of the ball that can make life hell for SMU, with receiver Carlos Hernandez (945 yards, 7 TDs) set to be a focal point for the Mustangs' defense.

Plus, quarterback Gio Lopez has thrown 18 TDs and just one interception, so turning the ball over isn't going to be easy either. Just add it to the list of things SMU has to do if they are to win this game.

Lashlee knows how crucial this game is, Jennings too. 

Can the Mustangs hand Wake Forest just their second loss of the season? Fans sure hope so.