The Mustangs won a crazy game on the road late to start the year 1-0.
The SMU Mustangs, led by quarterback Kevin Jennings, got their season off to a winning start, beating Florida State 27-24 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
In a game where Rhett Lashlee's Mustangs did their best to lose after dominating on offense as turnovers were a theme of the night, it was Jennings who orchestrated a late-game drive with the score tied at 24-24 to set the Mustangs up with a field goal attempt for Nick Reed, which he converted, leaving less than 30 seconds left.
The Mustangs held on to record an incredible win in a game that had storylines everywhere, most notably the power outage, which pushed back the start time.
As for the play on the field, Jennings had a superb night, going 26 of 36 for 430 yards 3 TDs and 2 interceptions, while Kendrick Raphael (12 att, 75 yards), Yannick Smith ( 5 rec, 107 yards, 1 TD), Randy Pittman Jr (5 rec, 74 yards, 1 TD), Jalen Cooper (4 rec, 71 yards, 1 TD), and Jalen Hale (2 rec, 70 yards), helped push the Mustangs to a superb win.
"Getting the dub was amazing," Jennings said. "It's a tough crowd environment on the road, against Florida State, which is a great team. Crowd was going crazy. So, it was just super great to get out there with my guys and get a road win."
Leading up to the game, Lashlee had stated the unknowns that would await him and his players, given this was their first game of the season, and that meant seeing the chemistry Jennings had with his new receivers improve in real time.
Pittman Jr. was superb early, so too Smith, who was the star of the show for the Mustangs.
And for Jennings, he got confidence from the new guys around him on what was a tough night.
"Yeah, it was amazing," Jennings added. "Just putting the balls in their hand, Yannick [Smith] came up to me. He was like, "Give me the ball." I'm like, "All right, bet. I got you." Throw him the slant. He took it to the crib. Just saying stuff like that gave me the utmost confidence in those guys, and they're going to keep making plays this whole year."
It was an up-and-down game from SMU, but they got the win and that is all the matters.
With so many things thrown at them, from the delay to not having communication between the head coach and the quarterback, the Mustangs took it in their stride and walked out with a stirring win.
