SMU, 5-0 in ACC, shows it ‘belongs at this level’

Dave Wilson, ESPN Personnel WriterNov 3, 2024, 01:13 AM ET

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Dave Wilson is a college football reporter. He formerly worked at The Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun.DALLAS– SMU celebrated some

history Saturday night, honoring Eric Dickerson and the 1982 “Pony Express” team that finished No. 2 in the nation after beating Pitt and Dan Marino in the 1983 Cotton Bowl.Then the Mustangs headed out and made history.SMU(8-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference)routed Pitt 48-25, becoming the first team to start 5-0 in their first season in a power conference. It marked the Mustangs’first win over a team that was 7-0 or much better considering that beating Arkansas in 1954 and the first home win in an AP-ranked matchup since beating Texas in 1949. SMU, which rushed to grab one of the last areas in adjustment by providing the ACC a sweetheart deal to go without television income for nine years, now discovers itself sitting atop the league’s standings after Clemson’s loss to Louisville, connected with Miami as the only 2 5-0 teams in the conference.Editor’s Picks 2 Related”Our program belongs at this level and our program is capable of contending

at a high level at this level, which all of us think,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee stated.”We needed to go do it. We’re not done and we have actually not achieved anything yet, however we put ourselves in a position in the middle of November where we’re competing for a championship game in the ACC in our first year in the league.” The Mustangs returned home for the very first time considering that Sept. 28, and Lashlee stated he might have underestimated how much his group would benefit from it. SMU started quickly, taking a 31-3 lead into halftime and ignoring any doubts after an unsteady 28-27 win over Duke recently in which quarterback Kevin Jennings had five turnovers.He got better versus Pitt, going 17-of-25 passing with 306 backyards and two goals. Mustangs running back Brashard Smith hurried for 161 backyards with

2 goals, consisting of a 71-yarder, against the ACC’s best rush defense.Earlier in the day on”College GameDay, “Nick Saban said Jennings”may be the most underrated player in the country, “and the quarterback confessed he was

thrilled. “That means a lot truthfully, “he stated. “Just seeing a legend like that say that about me, it was a genuine minute. I needed to show all my friends around me and things like that so I was extremely pumped. … He wasn’t wrong.” Lashlee concurred, however stated SMU beginning to pick up attention isn’t something that frets him. “To me, the way Kevin played this evening, I believe we’re just great with no one talking about us, “Lashlee said.” We understand how good Kevin is. We do not require anyone to tell us.

Neither does Kevin.”The Mustangs have a bye before Boston College concerns Dallas on Nov. 16. Lashlee knows that the very first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday, so his group will have time to recover from some injuries and see where it stands. “We’ve been humbled to be ranked in the AP poll and in the coaches’poll, “Lashlee stated.”That’s a huge offer for our program anytime definitely in Year 1 [of the ACC] Tuesday night, you find out what the

group whose rankings matter. “For now, Lashlee said he was most concerned about BC, a group that beat SMU last season in the Fenway Bowl.”We’re going to celebrate this win, maybe because we do not play next week, through Monday,”he said. “And after that we’re going to begin fretting about Boston College because if we get ahead of ourselves, none of it will matter.” Dickerson talked to the group Friday night, Lashlee stated, a legend reminding his team that SMU can make a splash. Jennings took it to heart. “It implies a lot simply to see this group come this far in our very first year in the ACC, “Jennings said.” It’s sort of unprecedented for a group to

do this. I’m thrilled that I’m with this group and I’m delighted to keep rolling with guys and go arrive to the playoffs. “