I don’t think enough people are talking about SMU.

And that is strange, because this program has done nothing but win lately.

The Mustangs went 9-4 last season and 6-2 in the ACC. The year before that, they played in the ACC Championship Game and made the College Football Playoff in their first season in the league. The year before that, they ran through the American.

Here is the wild number:

SMU is 22-2 in conference play over the last three years.

Yes, one of those years was in the American. But the last two were in the ACC, and SMU has already proven it belongs.

The Mustangs are not some cute newcomer anymore.

They are a real ACC threat.

And with Kevin Jennings back at quarterback, they might be one of the teams most capable of pushing Miami at the top of the league.

HEAD COACH

• Rhett Lashlee, entering year five at SMU
• Lashlee is 34-18 with the Mustangs.
• SMU went 9-4 last season and 6-2 in the ACC.
• The Mustangs are 22-2 in conference play over the last three years.
• Three of SMU’s four losses last year came by three points or fewer.

I think people forget how good SMU was last year.

If you stopped someone on the street and asked what SMU’s record was, I am not sure how many people would immediately say 9-4.

But that is what the Mustangs were.

And the losses were thin.

SMU lost by three to Cal and by one to Wake Forest in ACC play. The Mustangs were very close to being unbeaten in conference play again.

This program is not far away. It is not trying to figure out how to compete in the ACC. It already has.

Now the challenge is different.

SMU is no longer sneaking up on anybody. Teams know the Mustangs can play. They know the offense can score. They know Kevin Jennings can hurt them. And they know Dallas is not some easy stop on the schedule.

That is the next step for Lashlee.

Can SMU go from dangerous to championship-level?

QUARTERBACK

This is the reason SMU has a real shot.

Kevin Jennings is back.

And in today’s college football, that is a huge deal.

How many true multi-year starting quarterbacks are still at their original school? Not many. If they are great, they usually go to the NFL. If they are at a smaller program, somebody usually tries to pull them into the portal.

Jennings is different.

He is entering his third year as the starter at SMU. He has played in the College Football Playoff. He has played in an ACC Championship Game. He has seen big moments, rough moments and everything in between.

Jennings threw 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season. For his career, he has 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

The interceptions are a little higher than you would like, but the production is real.

And the deep ball is a major part of why I like him.

Jennings went 32-of-68 on throws of 20-plus air yards last season for more than 1,100 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

That is big-time.

If you listen to these breakdowns, you know I love that stat. I want to know which quarterbacks are willing and able to stretch defenses. Jennings absolutely is.

He was also very good under pressure. He completed almost 53% of his passes under pressure with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, according to PFF.

That is impressive.

The one thing I want to see return is the running threat.

Jennings ran much less last year than he did the year before. He had 31 fewer carries and way fewer rushing yards. If SMU can get his legs back into the offense without exposing him too much, that adds another layer.

Because Jennings is already a problem.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

SMU’s offense was already good.

The Mustangs averaged 31.9 points per game, which ranked around the top 20 nationally. They averaged 418.3 yards per game, which ranked in the top 25.

They also threw the ball a lot.

SMU passed on 55% of its plays, one of the highest rates in the country. This was not a team trying to hide the quarterback. This offense was built around Jennings and the passing game.

But there are some key pieces to replace.

TJ Harden is gone after leading SMU in rushing with 781 yards and nine touchdowns. Jordan Hudson is gone after catching 61 passes. Romello Brinson is gone too after catching 43 passes and three touchdowns.

So the offense is not just rolling back the same skill group.

The good news is there are still pieces.

Jaylen Cooper and Yamir Knight return at receiver. Derek McFall is back at running back. The offensive line has real experience with Joshua Bates, PJ Williams and Addison Nichols returning.

That offensive line matters because SMU needs to run the ball better.

The Mustangs ran the ball on only 45% of their plays and ranked near the bottom nationally in rush attempts per game. They were efficient when they ran it, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, but they did not always lean on it enough.

That is where Kendrick Raphael comes in. (And he ran in the game winner versus SMU last year too.)

Raphael transfers in from Cal after rushing for 943 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. That is a huge addition.

He gives SMU a back who can take pressure off Jennings. He gives the offense more balance. He gives the Mustangs someone who can handle a real workload.

And that might be exactly what this team needs.

If Jennings has to throw it 40 times every week, SMU can still win. But if Raphael gives them a real run game, the offense becomes much harder to defend.

The Mustangs also added Yannick Smith from East Carolina after he caught 44 passes last season, and Randy Pittman comes in from Florida State after catching 23 passes.

So there is enough here.

The offense may not look exactly the same, but with Jennings back, the floor should be high.

DEFENSE

This is where SMU has to get better. The run defense was excellent last season.

The pass defense was not.

The Mustangs allowed just 3.2 yards per carry, which was one of the best marks in the country. That is outstanding.

But opponents threw for 286 yards per game, which ranked near the bottom nationally. Teams passed on SMU on 55% of their plays, one of the highest rates in the country.

That tells you everything.

Opponents looked at SMU and decided they were not going to waste time running into that front. They were going to throw it.

And too often, it worked.

That is why the defense is the biggest concern.

SMU lost four defensive linemen who combined for 24 sacks. Seven of the top 10 tacklers are gone.

That is a lot.

The returning names start with Brandon Booker and Alexander Kilgore at linebacker, and Marcellus Barnes and William Nettles in the secondary.

Those guys have to be leaders.

The Mustangs also brought in transfer help, including Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder from Kansas State, Christian Davis from Louisiana Tech, Jarvis Lee from USF and Jimmy Wyrick from UTSA.

They need some of those guys to hit.

Because the defense does not have to be elite, but it cannot keep giving up explosive passing games.

SMU was good enough last year to win a lot of games, but the defense could not always get the stop when it needed one.

That is how you lose by one.

That is how you lose by three.

That is how you end up close to the ACC Championship Game instead of playing in it.

If the pass defense improves, SMU can absolutely contend.

If it does not, the Mustangs may be asking Jennings to win shootouts every week.

That is dangerous.

SCHEDULE

The schedule gets interesting immediately.

SMU opens at Florida State on Labor Day night.

That is a massive stage. National television. Tallahassee. Conference game. First game of the season.

And right now, SMU should feel like it can win that game.

Florida State has a lot of questions, and SMU has the quarterback. If the Mustangs go into Tallahassee and win, people are going to start paying attention quickly.

The weird part is that SMU turns around and plays UC Davis five days later.

Then comes another big one: at Louisville.

So two of SMU’s first three games are on the road against ACC teams that could be factors.

That is not ideal.

But if SMU comes out of that stretch 2-1, it is fine. If the Mustangs somehow get to 3-0, the hype is going to get loud.

After that, the schedule gives them a chance to settle in.

SMU plays four straight home games: Missouri State, Boston College, Virginia and Cal.

That is a really nice stretch.

The Cal game could be fun, especially if we get Kevin Jennings and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele on the same field.

Then SMU goes to Syracuse on Halloween, comes back home for Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, then finishes with two road games: at Notre Dame and at Stanford.

The Notre Dame game is enormous.

That will be one of the biggest games on SMU’s schedule and could be one of the bigger national games of late November. Notre Dame is expected to be excellent, and SMU could be one of the tougher teams on that Irish schedule.

The Stanford trip is not ideal, but it is not as bad for SMU as it is for an East Coast ACC team. It is still a long trip, but Dallas to California is not the same as Miami or Pittsburgh flying across the country.

And I actually do not hate that the Stanford trip comes in the final regular-season game.

If you have to go west, maybe the best time is when there is no next regular-season opponent to prepare for.

Now, if SMU is headed to the ACC Championship Game the next week, that changes the conversation.

But as a regular-season schedule spot, it is manageable.

The biggest thing?

SMU avoids Miami entirely.

If Miami is the clear ACC favorite, not seeing the Hurricanes in the regular season is a real break.

The schedule is not easy, but it gives SMU a path.

OUTLOOK

I think SMU is one of the most dangerous teams in the ACC.

Maybe that should not even be a bold statement anymore.

The Mustangs have gone 22-2 in conference play over the last three years. They have already played for an ACC title. They have already made the Playoff. They were a few points away from being right back in the thick of it last year.

And now Kevin Jennings is back.

That alone makes them serious.

The best-case scenario is that Jennings has his best season yet, Kendrick Raphael gives SMU a real running game, the offensive line holds up, the new receivers fit quickly, and the defense improves enough against the pass to stop losing games by inches.

If that happens, SMU can absolutely play for the ACC Championship.

The worst-case scenario is that the defensive losses are too much, the pass defense still gets picked apart, the run game does not balance the offense, and the early road games put SMU in a hole before the schedule softens.

But my gut?

SMU is going to be right there.

The Mustangs are not better than Miami on paper. But they do not have to be better in May. They just have to put themselves in position to get to Charlotte.

And with Jennings back, a more balanced offense, and a schedule that avoids Miami, that is very possible.

SMU is not just trying to prove it belongs anymore.

The Mustangs already did that.

Now they are trying to win the league.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.