Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 14, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: SMU BY TYLER JAMES S ince the start of the 2025 sea- son, SMU's losses have usually featured significant mistakes by quarterback Kevin Jennings. The Mustangs lean heavily on their veteran captain to generate offense and create big plays, but even a superhero falters from time to time. In SMU's four losses last season, Jen- nings threw at least 1 interception in each of them. He threw 2 interceptions in a loss to TCU, and he also lost a fum- ble in a defeat to Wake Forest. So when Jennings committed 3 turn- overs (2 interceptions and 1 fumble) in a 41-31 loss at Louisville in September of this season, it felt like déjà vu. While folks picked apart Jennings' game, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee didn't waver in his support of his quarterback. "What makes people great, you want to never throw cold water on that," Lashlee said in October. "And Kevin is one of the best playmakers in the country. And he's given us an explosive offense. He makes everybody around him better. He plays with an incredible amount of confidence. "As a coach, the worst thing you could ever do is take away someone's super- power. Now, everyone has a kryptonite. So, you have to do your best to try to help them improve that, minimize that, whatever, without squelching what makes them great." That was just a small part of what be- came a bit of a rant from Lashlee. "We're gonna build him with confi- dence," he said. "I think Kevin's playing fantastic. All the stats say that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country, not just this year, over three years." And yet, Lashlee said, the focus has too often been on the negatives that come with Jennings' style of play. But not if he has any say in the conversation to close out the 2026 season. LEGEND OR LIABILITY? Prolific quarterback Kevin Jennings makes plays and mistakes for the Mustangs With several games remaining in his final season of eligibility, Jennings already owned the SMU program records in career passing yards (10,123) and career passing touchdowns (76). PHOTO COURTESY SMU ATHLETICS