Kevin Jennings passed for 246 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 24 SMU to a 23-13 win against Virginia in Atlantic Coast Conference action on Saturday in Dallas.
The Mustangs (5-1, 3-1 ACC) won their third consecutive game and improved to 10-0 at home in conference play since joining the league in 2024.
Jennings completed 23 of 36 passes with no interceptions. Kendrick Raphael rushed for 124 yards, Yannick Smith had five catches for 87 yards, and former SMU soccer player Brendan Baird kicked the first three field goals of his career.
Beau Pribula had 137 yards on 13-of-22 passing and ran for 25 yards and a touchdown for the Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2), who fell to 0-3 away from home this season.
Jalen Hale stretched across the pylon to complete a 37-yard touchdown reception that gave the Mustangs a 23-13 lead with 12:22 to play.
Jennings is now tied with Ben Hicks (2016-18) for second place in school history with 71 career touchdown passes, one shy of the school record set by Tanner Mordecai (2021-22).
Coming off a bye week, the Mustangs converted 4 of 5 fourth downs and outgained the Cavaliers 404-258.
Virginia had first-and-goal on its opening possession but fumbled a handoff for just its third turnover of the season. SMU took advantage and opened the scoring with Baird’s 23-yard field goal.
The Cavaliers had another first-and-goal on their second drive. This time Pribula punched it in from the 1 on fourth down for a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.
SMU responded with Jennings’ 6-yard touchdown pass to Randy Pittman Jr. on a fourth-down play to make it 10-7 with 6:20 left in the half. Smith’s 59-yard catch helped to set it up.
The Cavaliers briefly tied it on Will Bettridge’s 47-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining, but a roughing-the-passer penalty against Virginia with no time left gave SMU a final play. Baird booted a 45-yarder for a 13-10 lead at the break.
They exchanged field goals in the third quarter, with a 26-yarder by Baird followed by Bettridge’s 43-yarder to trim the Mustangs’ lead to 16-13.
–Field Level Media
