Kevin Jennings threw a touchdown pass in his first college start, SMU’s defense dominated and the Mustangs defeated No. 22 Tulane 26-14 in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Saturday in New Orleans.
Jennings, a redshirt freshman who had thrown just 24 passes this season, stepped in for injured Preston Stone and overcame three turnovers by passing for 203 yards and rushing for 63.
“Kevin Jennings is a stud,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “He balled out. If winning a conference championship with a backup quarterback doesn’t scream team, I don’t know what does.”
The Mustangs (11-2, 9-0 AAC) won the conference title in their last season before departing for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“This is an uncommon team,” Lashlee said “It’s hard in this day and age to have a true team but this group did it for 12 straight weeks. The American (conference) has been great to us and we’re grateful to go out winning it.”
Michael Pratt passed for 238 yards, but Makhi Hughes, the AAC’s leading rusher who rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of his last eight games entering Saturday, managed just 44 yards on 11 carries for the Green Wave (11-2, 8-1), who had won 10 straight games.
Tulane failed to repeat as AAC champion and likely lost its opportunity to play in a New Year’s Six bowl for the second consecutive season.
Tulane was 0-for-7 on third downs before Pratt threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Yulkeith Brown on third-and-1 to tie the score at 14 midway through the third quarter.
SMU answered with a 41-yard drive that was capped by Collin Rogers’ 48-yard field goal to take a 17-14 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Rogers added field goals of 32, 32 and 45 yards to increase the lead to 26-14 with 3:15 left in the game.
On the first play from scrimmage, Jennings fumbled while being sacked by Devean Deal, who recovered the ball and returned it 14 yards to the SMU 1. On the next play, Pratt scored on the ground.
The Mustangs drove to the Green Wave 23 on the ensuing possession before Rogers missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt, but on their third possession, Jaylan Knighton ran 6 yards for a touchdown that produced a 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter.
Jennings threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Key’Shawn Smith to give SMU a 14-7 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
