SMU has protected leads as well as it has protected the football in recent games.
The No. 23 Mustangs (5-1, 3-1) hope to continue doing both when they host Cal (3-4, 2-2) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Dallas.
SMU hasn’t turned the ball over in its past two games — a 25-16 win against Boston College on Oct. 3 and a 23-13 victory over Virginia last Saturday.
The Mustangs also led both games 13-10 at halftime before expanding their cushion.
“We’re finding ways to win games late, and we’ve got to keep doing that,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “Eventually, it’ll break, and maybe everyone’s blood pressure will get a little lower, but at the end of the day, it’s all about survive and advance, and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”
The Mustangs continue to get stellar play from quarterback Kevin Jennings, who’s in his fifth year with the program.
Jennings completed 23 of 36 passes against Virginia for 246 yards and two touchdowns. After throwing five interceptions through the first four games, he’s the main reason the Mustangs are turnover-free in the past two.
“I thought that was one of Kevin’s better games,” Lashlee said of Jennings’ performance against Virginia. “Was smart with the football, obviously. Then I thought he did a nice job of just being a boring quarterback in a good way. … He really just played within himself and led the team and did a really good job.”
SMU also has a dangerous running back in Kendrick Raphael, who’s coming off a 124-yard rushing performance against Virginia on 22 carries.
The Mustangs did suffer a key loss against Virginia as sophomore safety Tyren Polley Jr. tore a pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season.
However, SMU soon could get safety Ahmaad Moses back after he underwent spinal fusion surgery for a herniated disc in March. The injury was discovered at the NFL combine in the spring.
Moses had 104 tackles, 5 1/2 tackles for loss, five interceptions, a sack and two fumble recoveries for SMU last season. He was projected to be a late-round NFL draft pick before getting injured.
He became eligible for a fifth year in July when a federal judge ruled in a case against the NCAA that high school athletes from the class of 2022 who had exhausted four years of eligibility should get a fifth year. A federal appeals court later stayed the ruling, but Moses obtained a temporary restraining order in a separate case that allowed him to play. The order has expired, so he has been back in court trying to regain eligibility.
SMU will look to get revenge against a Cal team that upset the Mustangs 38-35 in the regular-season finale a year ago.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in that win but hasn’t been as productive this season and was benched on Saturday against Wake Forest in favor of Colorado State transfer Jackson Brousseau.
Brousseau went 17 of 29 for 81 yards before getting replaced by Sagapolutele in the second half of Cal’s 41-7 loss.
Sagapolutele completed 15 of 18 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
“Both guys did a good job at times,” Golden Bears coach Tosh Lupoi said. “Going to assess. Do my very best at all positions to get the players we feel like are going to put us in position to win.”