Kevin Jennings is the most prolific passer in school history, and his strong season is putting SMU in good position to appear in the ACC championship game for the second time in three years.
After another productive showing last week, Jennings hopes to lead 19th-ranked SMU to a fifth straight victory when the Mustangs visit Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m definitely excited,” Jennings said. “I’ve heard a lot about Syracuse, the dome, how good it is. I’m very excited to get up there and play in a great atmosphere.”
Jennings was already the school record-holder for passing yards and completions before he ended a 59-20 drubbing of California last week with three touchdowns to reach a school-record 74 for his career. The Mustangs (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 20-17 at halftime before scoring touchdowns on their first six second-half drives while pitching a second-half shutout.
SMU is tied with Wake Forest for second in the ACC, one game behind Miami, and holds a one-game lead on Virginia Tech and Louisville.
Since a 41-31 loss at Louisville on Sept. 19, Jennings has completed 71.9% of his passes (92 of 128) and thrown for 1,073 yards and 10 TDs. He is second in the ACC behind Miami’s Darian Mensah in completion percentage (72.6%), touchdown passes (19) and passing yards per game (294.6).
“He’s a Heisman-candidate type of guy, in my opinion,” Syracuse coach Fran Brown said of Jennings.
Syracuse (3-4, 1-4) lost its first four conference games with three of those losses coming by one score. The Orange finally ended their conference skid with a 31-30 overtime win at North Carolina last Saturday.
“If you look at the last three weeks, they’re playing their best ball,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “They got a lot of confidence from (when they) really had Virginia on the ropes on the road and let them off the hook, then had Louisville on the ropes at home and then put it all together last week and beat a good North Carolina team. So we’re going to get their best and we’ve got to go find a way to win on the road.”
Steve Angeli, who missed the previous three games to get treatment on his Achilles, threw a game-winning TD and two-point conversion to Calvin Russell III in overtime and was 20-for-34 for 256 yards and two TDs, including a 76-yard TD to Umari Hatcher.
“I was just happy with his leadership and his toughness,” Brown said. ” … He’s still a kid, but he’s mature. We’re all emotional when we can’t play a game that we love. I think when he had to sit out the last couple weeks, it was mixed feelings for him. … For him, being able to go out there and prove to himself, I know who I am and I know I can do this and get this done, meant a lot.”
Angeli is hoping to maintain his chemistry with Russell and Hatcher. Russell had eight receptions for a season-high 86 yards against North Carolina, while Hatcher had his fourth straight 100-yard game with four catches for 103 yards.