Kevin Jennings passed for 323 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 13 SMU added to its case to be a part of the College Football Playoff with a 33-7 win over Virginia on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in Charlottesville, Va.
The Mustangs (10-1, 7-0) have won eight straight games and clinched a berth in the ACC championship game against either Miami or Clemson in their first year in the league. The winner of the ACC championship earns an automatic berth in the 12-team CFP.
Jennings hit on 25 of his 33 passes as SMU outgained the Cavaliers 434-173 and averaged 6.4 yards per snap.
Anthony Colandrea passed for 108 yards and a score for Virginia (5-6, 3-4), which has lost five of its past six games. The Cavaliers need to win at Virginia Tech on Nov. 30 to play in their first bowl game since the 2019 season.
The Mustangs struck first as Brashard Smith scored on a 4-yard run, which occurred seven minutes into the game at the end of a 78-yard, seven-play march.
Both teams missed field goals in the second quarter, with Collin Rogers pulling a 48-yard attempt for SMU on the opening play of the period, and the Cavaliers’ Will Bettridge missing from 41 yards at the 9:19 mark.
SMU added to its advantage when Jennings hit Jordan Hudson on a 17-yard catch-and-run with 5:52 to play before halftime. That was more than enough time for Rogers to make amends for his earlier miss when he hit a 35-yard field goal with 1:25 left in the second quarter.
Rogers converted again, this time from 39 yards, on the Mustangs’ opening possession of the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-0. Jennings then made it 26-0 on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 12:21 left in the game. It capped a 14-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up more than seven minutes.
Virginia finally lit the scoreboard on Colandrea’s scrambling 4-yard scoring pass to Malachi Fields on fourth-and-goal with 4:16 left. Jennings capped the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown throw to Matthew Hibner with 1:42 to play.
–Field Level Media
