SMU's Bye-Week To-Do List: Fix the Kicks, Find the Run Game Before Virginia Comes to Ford

Pony Up: 4-1 at the bye is a good spot, but the Boston College game left a real to-do list.

As Timothy Hamm writes for Yahoo Sports, SMU managed just 218 total yards in the 25-16 win, with only 58 on the ground and 160 through the air. Kevin Jennings was a clean 20-of-30 with two touchdowns and no picks, but the Mustangs averaged only 3.5 yards per play. Kendrick Raphael led the team with 45 rushing yards, and SMU averaged just 1.8 yards per carry. That's a long way from an offense that came in averaging more than 500 yards a game through the first four.

Then there's the kicking. The Dallas Morning News counts five kicks over the last two games that were missed or never got off — three extra points and two field goals — and SMU is just 3-for-7 on field goals this season. The problems have come from snaps, holds and kicks, and the Mustangs hope starter Nick Reed is healthy after the bye. Starting center Joshua Bates also went down with an ankle injury in the third quarter Saturday, an injury Rhett Lashlee says he's been fighting all season.

The defense is the good news. Boston College gained 322 yards but scored only 16 points and was shut out in the second and third quarters, and SMU forced a fumble. Lashlee knows what's coming, though: "We're gonna have to play better in a few weeks when Virginia rolls into town." After Virginia it's Cal, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, then road trips to Notre Dame and Stanford.

Track the bye-week work on SMU Football. Radio question: which fix matters more against Virginia, the kicking unit or the run game?

Sources: Yahoo Sports — SMU's clear bye-week priorities; The Dallas Morning News — Three key areas for the bye.