Dec.
20Penn State will take on SMU for only the third time in the history of the two football programs on Saturday when the Mustangs and Nittany Lions face off in Beaver Stadium.
We spoke to SMU beat writer Jacob Richman, who covers the program for LoneStarLive.com , about the 2024 iteration of the Mustangs.
Note: Questions and answers have been edited for brevity.
Centre Daily Times: What changed for SMU once Kevin Jennings took over at quarterback? Jacob Richman: I think it's twofold, because obviously Kevin comes in and he just brings more threats in what he can do.
Not only is he is really solid passer, he's got that scrambling ability.
He's got great vision, that really helps out an offense like SMU's that loves to move quickly.
And frankly, another big part was at the same time that they're making, that switch from Preston Stone as a starter to Kevin Jennings as the starter, the O-line was still going through its own growing pains, and they hadn't really settled on who that first five is and exactly where they're setting up.
And what kind of coincided with their bye week after BYU was making the decision that they were going to build their offense around Kevin and what he can do, and also settling in the O-line.
So I think those two really worked well in tandem, and that's why you saw them improve so much over the course of the season.
CDT: How are the offensive tackles at SMU? How well equipped are they to handle the PSU pass rush? Richman: You look particularly at right tackle, PJ Williams.
He is one of the, if not the strongest, member of the O-line.
He's a (Texas) A&M transfer, and last year had a really solid year, but I feel like this year, it's really become a lot more of his O-line.
He's taken on more, even though there's veterans around him, like Justin Osborne, who's just inside at right guard, who's kind of the vocal leader.
I feel like PJ is a big part of them being able to operate at a high level.
The tackles have been a little troublesome with penalties.
And Savion Byrd over on the left side is maybe of the group the most inconsistent.
He's an Oklahoma transfer, but he's been battling through injuries, and they actually have a really solid backup in Andrew Chamblee, who's an Arkansas transfer.
So I actually wouldn't be surprised if, for some reason, things weren't working with with Savion early, or if he's struggling with physicality, that Andrew can come in, and he's had some really shining moments.
CDT: How has the SMU offense changed since tight end R.J.
Maryland got hurt? Who are the primary targets in big moments? Richman: When you think about SMU teams of the past, you're looking at, oh, they've got their big receiver.
They've got Rashee Rice, they've got Courtland Sutton, they've got James Proche.
That's kind of been their MO for most of the last, pretty much, decade.
And now what you're seeing is spreading the wealth more often.
RJ Maryland came in as kind of the number one option.
This is probably the most talented guy on the team.
But obviously, when he goes down, I think it gave Kevin even more of a reason to [take what's there].
And SMU's receivers are really good at, hey as long as Kevin's extending the play, we're going to go track where he's moving.
We're going to go get open, we're going to try and make a play.
And that goes from the top down.
Roderick Daniels Jr.
is one for sure to watch.
He's always coming up with a big play.
He's a special player when he's got the ball in his hands.
Jordan Hudson is great against man coverage.
He's a little bit taller.
He's got a great jump on him.
And Matthew Hibner is someone who I've been super impressed by since RJ Maryland went down.
He stepped right up in at the tight end spot.
He spent four years at Michigan before transferring here, but he played a really limited role, and over the last handful of games has really been a spark for them.
They've got even more guys, but those are the ones that I'm looking out for, at least in this game.
CDT: How did Jennings' emergence impact running back Breshard Smith? Richman: I think it just took some of the pressure off.
Because Brashard comes in and he's transferring from Miami, where he's played receiver and then as a kick returner, for his entire college career.
Now he's coming to SMU, and they're seeing him as not even just a running back, but potentially one of the feature running backs.
And I think partially due to injuries, he got that opportunity.
And even so, something that the coaching staff was hopeful for, but not certain about, was how he would hold up.
He's getting tackled 10 to 20 times a game, whereas, when you're a receiver, the odds off you getting tackled more than five times, unless you're the guy.
So I think the fact that Kevin's able to relieve some of the pressure of playmaking off of him.
They run a lot of RPOs and, it's not that he needs to hand it off every time.
It's not that he needs to throw it every time.
Sometimes, Kevin can take it on his own with his legs.
Early on, there were some signs that, as Brashard was really thriving at the beginning, maybe they can lean on him, but realizing they can't do that the entire game.
They need to have a cohesive passing attack, and I think that's what Kevin was able to give them.
CDT: If SMU's defense is able to slow down Penn State's offense, how will they do it? Richman: I think the big thing is going to be limiting how Penn State's able to throw the ball.
I think when you look at what they're doing in the run game, it's pretty hard to argue that they've not been one of, if not the best, rushing defenses in the country.
They really are excellent at finishing tackles and reading an offense at getting through O-lines, even though they're not committing, a lot of extra men toward the box.
They're just playing really stout defense.
That's never really their issue.
It's kind of how much is the secondary able to keep a strong passing attack like one that Penn State has at bay.
The teams that have been able to thrive on offense against SMU are the ones that are passing well.
So it does force SMU to pay a little more attention to what's going on in that secondary and then they can't execute nearly as well in the front seven.
So I think when you're looking at them being successful, it all starts there.
Turnovers are great and they're certainly going to be trying to get a lot of pressure on Allar, even though I've heard he does well with that.
But if they're not able to force him into some incompletions, if they're not able to get good coverage on guys like Tyler Warren, who they've outwardly said, we're not going to be able to stop this guy, we're only going to be able to contain him.
Which is not something they've really had to say this year.
But I also think he's probably the best offensive player they've played this year.
CDT: Why can SMU pull of the upset? Richman: I think it starts with turnover margin, and not even just defensively, but is SMU's offense able to take care of the ball.
If you watch the ACC championship game, which obviously had to make the comeback for, but probably looked like the better team for at least two, maybe two and a half quarters.
The real difference was that they turned the ball over twice in the first half, and it led to short fields for Clemson and they were able to easily take over.
The rest of the game, Clemson struggled a lot on offense because SMU's defense was able to come up big.
But if SMU doesn't put itself behind early on, I think they have a really good shot at this game.
I think that they have everything they need to beat Penn State.
I also think Penn State has a really, really talented team, and one that's going to make life really difficult for them.
But if they're not giving Penn State extra opportunities from there, it's just about execution, which, they haven't done perfectly all season.
But they did enough to get 11 wins.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024, 5:46 AM.
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