The Florida State Seminoles will take on the No. 19 SMU Mustangs at Doak Campbell Stadium this Saturday to open ACC play in their 2026 season.
Here's what you should know about SMU, particularly their quarterbacking situation compared to Florida State's.
SMU: Who is QB Kevin Jennings?
Head coach Rhett Lashlee gave high praise to Jennings, saying, "Kevin is a great example of man. If I'm born and raised in Dallas or the state of Texas, and I want to go to SMU, or I want to play in Dallas. I can do that and accomplish anything. There is nothing I can accomplish somewhere else that I can’t accomplish here."
Jennings has been with SMU since 2022, where he led the Mustangs to their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. Below are his career stats.
- Completions/Attempts: 625/961 (65.0%)
- Yards: 7,709
- Touchdowns: 55
- Interceptions: 26
- Best Game vs. Louisville: 29/37, 303 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Record: 30-9
Jennings is considered
a dark horse pick for the Heisman trophy, but he has great to elite dual threat ability, perhaps on par with the very best in the country. He is at a program that has found itself in emergent status; SMU has posted seven straight winning seasons.
Florida State: How did Ashton Daniels do last week?
FSU fans were hoping Daniels would have a stellar game versus New Mexico State. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Chalk it up to nerves or the Aggies actually being the best of Conference USA. The transfer from Auburn spent one year with the Tigers, and prior to that he was a Stanford Cardinal from 2022-25. Here were his stats from last week:
- Completions/Attempts: 17/27 (62.9%)
- Yards: 202
- Passing Touchdowns: 1
- Rushing Touchdowns: 1
- Interceptions: 1
FSU continues its 2026 season against the SMU Mustangs on Sept. 7. Fans can catch Monday's game on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of FSU news, notes, and opinions. Jacob Smith is a contributor for FSU Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. You can also follow Jacob on X at @jsmith_sports.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Comparing Florida State and SMU's quarterbacks
