Most people expected Penn State to make the College Football Playoff and most expected SMU not to, which makes for an interesting contrast in what will be the first postseason game in Beaver Stadium history.
When SMU lost to BYU as two-touchdown favorites at home Sept. 6, not many expected it to make the ACC title game as a conference newbie.
But that’s what happened. SMU just may have won that title game if not for Clemson’s Nolan Hauser making a 56-yard field goal as time expired in Charlotte.
Penn State fans might not know much about SMU yet. But they have plenty of time to learn over the next 12 days. For now, here are five things to know about the Mustangs.
PUTTIN’ ON THE RHETT
SMU is led by one of the top young coaches in college football. When Rhett Lashlee took over SMU as a 39-year-old before the 2022 season, the Mustangs had just lost their most successful head coach in 40 years, Sonny Dykes, to TCU. It’s hard to build a program but also hard to keep a successful one going, and Lashlee has done that during his brief tenure in Dallas. After an unremarkable 7-6 campaign in Year 1, Lashlee went 11-3 last season and went 8-0 in the American Athletic Conference. This season, they’re 11-2 and again went 8-0, this time not in the AAC but the ACC.
It’s also looking like Lashlee might be in Dallas for a while.
“SMU boosters,” wrote Sports Illustrated, “known for their deep pockets and willingness to spend it, ponied up to keep Lashlee in the program. Since SMU is a private institution, contract details aren’t public but the deal reportedly keeps him keeps him with the Mustangs through 2030.
JENNINGS JENNINGS, WHO CAN I TURN TO?
Since Kevin Jennings took over as SMU’s QB following the team’s loss to BYU, the team is 9-1, with the lone loss coming to Clemson the past week. Jennings has been a big part of that. He’s thrown for more than 3,000 yards with 22 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a QBR of 74.5, which ranks 24th in the country.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Per ESPN, the only scholarship offer Jennings had was from Missouri State.
Then, Lashlee came calling, and it was during a Friday night football game in Texas.
“He was just as calm and level-headed the whole game,” Lashlee said. “He would come to the sidelines, take his helmet off, and you could just tell he commanded the respect of his guys,” “He spoke, they listened. He’d make a big play, act like he’s supposed to do it. A bad play would happen, he’d move on to the next. You could just sense he’s a leader and a winner.”
SMITH & SMITH
Two of SMU’s best offensive players are named Smith, and they aren’t related. Brashard Smith, from Richmond Heights, Florida, ran for 1,270 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Key’Shawn Smith, from San Diego, is SMU’s second-leading receiver, tying for the team lead with five touchdown catches and gaining 512 yards on 31 receptions. The Mustangs have a deep receiving corps. Led by Roderick Daniels Jr. (599 yards), SMU has seven players with more than 300 yards receiving. Penn State, by contrast, has four.
STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Nick Singleton
Penn State ran the ball for 297 yards against Oregon. SMU allows just 93 yards per game on the ground, the fewest in the ACC and fourth-fewest in the country. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are going to have to earn everything against the Mustangs.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State and SMU have only met twice before. The first one was during the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic, when Penn State tied SMU 13-13. That game is significant because two Penn State players, Wally Triplett and Dennis Hoggard, became the first two African Americans to play in the Cotton Bowl. The second game took place in 1978, and Penn State won that one, 26-21.
