– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
DALLAS — The SMU Mustangs made history before they took the field on Saturday, but that accomplishment paled in comparison to what the Ponies were looking for, and eventually achieved, by the evening.
Perfection.
Running back Brashard Smith scored a touchdown both rushing and receiving while Kevin Jennings threw for two scores as SMU completed a perfect 8-0 season in its first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a convincing 38-6 victory over the California Golden Bears inside Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Dating back to last year, the Mustangs have won 17 consecutive conference games, the first nine in the American Athletic Conference and culminating with a championship game victory at Tulane last December.
One year later, the Mustangs will play in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte as they’ll take on Clemson, who secured its spot in the title game when Miami lost later in the afternoon at Syracuse.
Since 2011, SMU is the ninth team to move from a Group of Five to a power conference, and none of the previous eight started better than 1-1 in its conference debut. Of the octet, only Louisville had finished with a winning record in that inaugural season, going 5-3 in the ACC in 2014.
“It was really important, just being undefeated in the conference,” Smith said. “We came in on a mission.”
After an opening drive punt, SMU scored touchdowns on its next three possessions, with each drive longer than the previous one. The first ended when Jennings spun out of trouble in the pocket before finding tight end Matthew Hibner at the goal line for an 11-yard touchdown.
Smith scored on a 5-yard run to double the Mustangs’ lead before Derrick McFall’s 8-yard touchdown jaunt early in second quarter extended the lead to 21-0, easing any nerves that SMU might get tight with a chance to cap off their first regular season in the ACC with a flourish.
“I think it shows their maturity. They wanted to finish,” third-year SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “We wanted to go 8-0, we wanted to win the regular season outright and not share it. And we were playing for a lot because the College Football Playoff still comes out with rankings for two more weeks. … We didn’t need to stumble, have a setback.”
California played without starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and his absence was felt mightily as the Golden Bears’ offense was only able to muster two field goals — both in the second half — and just 254 total yards. Cal was barely able to take advantage of the 17 penalties committed by the Mustangs, totaling 137 yards.
California played without starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and his absence was felt mightily as the Golden Bears’ offense was only able to muster two field goals — both in the second half — and just 254 total yards. Cal was barely able to take advantage of the 17 penalties committed by the Mustangs, totaling 137 yards.
“That was a difficult loss,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”
Cal’s come-from-behind victory last week in The Game against Stanford clinched a sixth win and bowl eligibility for the Golden Bears, who await their opponent in the postseason.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Ross James. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 16 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
