Fresh off beating one conference newcomer, Florida State will now be the opponent for another Atlantic Coast Conference newbie’s debut when it travels to Dallas to take on SMU on Saturday night.
The Mustangs (3-1, 0-0 ACC) will face the Seminoles (1-3, 1-2) for the first time. SMU enters the game with one of the most potent offenses in the country under coach Rhett Lashlee and coming off a 66-42 shootout win over rival TCU.
SMU is 16th in the nation in scoring offense, led by Miami transfer Brashard Smith with 380 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
Both teams have dealt with struggling quarterbacks differently in recent weeks.
SMU entered the season with Preston Stone as the starter. Stone was benched after the Mustangs’ 18-15 loss to BYU on Sept. 6 and replaced by Kevin Jennings, who shined in the win over TCU. Jennings completed 14 of 19 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 41 yards on 10 carries.
Jennings complemented Smith effectively as the latter finished with 127 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“We felt like to win, from the first play to the last play we needed to just leave no doubt that we’re the most physical team on the field,” Lashlee said.
Meanwhile, Florida State has stuck with starter DJ Uiagalelei despite his subpar play most of the season. Uiagalelei has completed 72 of 126 passes for 843 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Last week, he passed for 177 yards and an interception against Cal but also had the game-winning, 36-yard TD pass to Ja’Khi Douglas.
“Obviously, we all get to have the opportunity to go out and get better, and that’s going to be the push throughout the course of this week,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “There were some good things that DJ did in some very critical moments, and there are things where he has to be better.”
Norvell said the Seminoles will be without running back Roydell Williams for an extended period of time due to an undisclosed injury.
