Jennings lights up Florida State with 430 yards; SMU wins delayed game, 27-24

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When the calendar shifted to Labor Day, 137 of the 138 FBS teams had already taken the field in the 2026 season.

Then, there stood the SMU Mustangs, perched at No. 19 in the preseason AP Poll and patiently waiting to kick off a season of lofty expectations. But the anticipation on amplified as time progressed. Due to a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium, SMU’s season opener at Florida State was delayed by approximately one hour and 40 minutes.

When the delay subsided and kickoff finally arrived, the game did not proceed as normal. There was no instant replay, no helmet communication from the sideline to the field, no sideline technology. It was good, old-fashioned football at its finest.

While the teams basked in darkness during the power outage, SMU eventually supplied the electricity through Kevin Jennings. The longtime Mustang starting quarterback fired for 430 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Mustangs downed Florida State, 27-24, in their 2026 opener.

SMU out-gained Florida State, 585-324, and only punted once. However, the game was decided on a Nick Reed 20-yard field goal with 21 seconds left because the Mustangs couldn’t get out of their own way. SMU committed four turnovers to Florida State’s one (which was a lateral sequence on the final play of game). The deficit was seemingly a death sentence considering FBS teams were 1-40 last season when finishing a minus-4 or worse in the turnover battle. But SMU, which overcame a minus-6 in the turnover battle two years ago at Duke, overcame its frequent miscues with its talent.

The recurring mistakes included a fumble on a productive opening drive, two Jennings interceptions (including one on the goal line in the third quarter), and a mishandled punt which was recovered by Florida State. In addition to the turnover barrage, the Mustangs committed six penalties, including an offsides on a field goal attempt — which ultimately turned into a Seminole touchdown.

Otherwise, SMU’s offense was virtually unstoppable as Jennings became the second 430+ yard passer of the young season. Not only was his arm talent on full display, but he demonstrated improved mobility. Last year, the quarterback was limited to 54 rushing yards while battling an ankle injury throughout the season. In the opener, he produced 54 and made several impressive throws on the run.

With a healthier Jennings leading the charge, the Mustangs averaged 8.7 yards per play and rattled off eight plays of 15 yards or greater in the victory. The fireworks show started in the first quarter when Jennings found a wide open Jalen Cooper for a 50-yard score, and it continued through the fourth when Jennings’ slant to East Carolina transfer Yannick Smith traversed 79 yards for a touchdown.

Productive days were seen across the entire SMU offense, as new running back Kendrick Raphael posted 75 rushing yards, while four different players — including Florida State transfer tight end Randy Pittman Jr. — collected at least 70 yards receiving.

Despite SMU’s offensive explosion, the entire game was still a call-and-response until the Mustangs’ go-ahead field goal in the final seconds. SMU never scored consecutively, and the Seminoles crafted up a response almost every time, despite starting the game 0-of-10 on third downs. In addition to capitalizing on the Mustangs’ miscues, Florida State countered with an effective run game led by Ousmane Kromah’s 116 yards and quarterback Ashton Daniels’ 71. However, the Seminoles never established a consistent passing attack which proved costly during their last-ditch effort to traverse the field in 21 seconds.

SMU is now 2-0 against Florida State since joining the ACC. In December 2023, the Florida State University Board of Trustees filed a legal complaint against the ACC. Items 116 and 117 of the complaint state the following:

“116. The additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU were made over the strenuous objections of FLORIDA STATE and other ACC member institutions. The ACC also tapped SMU, which has never been a member of a Power Five (soon to be Power Four) Conference and which the Big 12 had been passing on for years.

117. Simply stated, rather than improve its football media profile, the ACC consciously chose to diminish it, along with undermining the ACC’s “strength of schedule” potential.”

After Monday’s victory, SMU is now 15-2 against ACC competition since its admittance into the league, collecting an ACC Championship Game appearanace and a College Football Playoff berth along the way. Meanwhile, Florida State is 3-14 in ACC play since that legal complaint was filed.

The No. 19 Mustangs (1-0, 1-0 ACC) return home for a short week, where they’ll be heavy favorites over FCS foe UC Davis. The Seminoles (1-1, 0-1 ACC) get their first of two byes next week, before a daunting road non-conference matchup looms at Alabama on Sept. 19.

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