Revenge Week on the Hilltop: No. 23 SMU Gets Cal Back at Ford Stadium, and Kevin Jennings Is Playing Boring in the Best Way

By Brooke Calloway, RF Sports Radio SMU voice

Pony Up. Every team has a game it circles. For SMU this year, it is Cal. The Golden Bears spoiled the regular-season finale a year ago, and now they have to come to Ford Stadium on Saturday with a quarterback controversy and a 41-7 loss on their résumé.

The facts

No. 23 SMU (5-1, 3-1 ACC) hosts Cal (3-4, 2-2 ACC) on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. Central at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on The CW, per SMU Athletics. The Mustangs are No. 20 in the coaches poll. Cal won the last meeting 38-35 in last season's regular-season finale, per CBS Sports, and SMU leads the series 2-1.

SMU has not turned the ball over in two games, a 25-16 win over Boston College on Oct. 3 and last week's 23-13 win over Virginia, and led both of those games 13-10 at halftime, per CBS Sports and Field Level Media. Kevin Jennings threw five interceptions in the first four games. "I thought that was one of Kevin's better games," Rhett Lashlee said. "He did a nice job of just being a boring quarterback in a good way." Jennings is one touchdown pass from tying the school career record of 72, per SMU's game notes.

There is bad news on defense. Sophomore safety Tyren Polley Jr. tore a pectoral muscle against Virginia and will miss the rest of the season, per CBS Sports. Safety Ahmaad Moses, who had 104 tackles and five interceptions last season, is still in court trying to regain his eligibility. SMU's defense has held opponents to 22-of-83 on third down (.265), which leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally, per SMU Athletics.

Cal lost 41-7 to Wake Forest on Saturday. Coach Tosh Lupoi benched Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against SMU last year, for Colorado State transfer Jackson Brousseau, then went back to Sagapolutele in the second half. "Going to assess," Lupoi said.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: "boring quarterback" is the best compliment Lashlee could give Jennings in October. SMU does not need hero ball. It needs the guy who protects the football and lets Kendrick Raphael and that third-down defense do the rest. If Jennings breaks Tanner Mordecai's touchdown record on a simple play-action throw, that is perfect.

Polley's injury worries me more than Cal does. Depth at safety matters against teams that take shots, and SMU has to keep its third-down defense elite without him. A revenge game is also a trap game if the Mustangs think the Bears are already beaten.

My call: SMU 34, Cal 17, and Jennings ties the record. That is a prediction, not a report. If the Mustangs lead 13-10 at halftime again, Lashlee's blood pressure is going to be the story.

What to watch next

Kickoff is Saturday at 11 a.m. Central on The CW. Watch the turnover column, the safety rotation without Polley, and which quarterback starts for Cal. For the Virginia win, read our Oct. 20 SMU column on the Virginia win, and follow the SMU Football page.

Radio question: is this a revenge game for SMU, or a trap game against a Cal team in quarterback chaos?

Sources: SMU Athletics — No. 23 SMU faces Cal Saturday at 11 AM CT (game notes); CBS Sports / Field Level Media — No. 23 SMU seeks revenge against Cal; On3 — Rhett Lashlee previews SMU-Cal, shares injury updates.