– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DALLAS — It was the great philosopher, err, pro wrestling legend Ric Flair who famously said that to be the man, you have to beat the man. In SMU football’s first league game in its new conference, it faced the team that has unquestionably been “the man” for over three decades and the Mustangs wasted no time in stating their intentions of being the new bully on the block.
Their comprehensive performance clearly deserved a Ric Flair-esque “WOOOO!!!” afterward.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings for career highs with 254 yards and three touchdowns as the Mustangs never trailed during their 41-16 victory over reeling Florida State in SMU’s Atlantic Coast Conference debut inside a sold-out Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday evening. Brashard Smith and Roderick Daniels Jr. scored rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs, and Kobe Wilson put the cherry on top with an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, one of three interceptions reeled in by the SMU defense.
“It means a lot to come in and get a ‘W’ against any team,” Jennings said, “but for the ACC (opener), it’s a home game and a jam-packed stadium, it means a lot to the city of the Dallas.”
Nights like Saturday had been few and far between for SMU football, who were a power in the early 1980s when it played in the legendary Southwest Conference before the NCAA sanctions that became known as the “Death Penalty” rendered the program to near irrelevance since. A night like Saturday may very well be the nadir for what was once a season of expectations for the preseason ACC favorites in Florida State, who once again looked overmatched and are a far cry from the school that narrowly missed being in the College Football Playoff just nine months ago.
Florida State, which has win 16 ACC championships in its 33 years of membership in the conference, has lost at least three of its first four games for the third time in coach Mike Norvell’s five seasons.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’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 33 pictures in total.
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