Championship football is nothing new for this Dallas native.
DALLAS — Following the SMU Mustangs’ first and only loss of the college football regular season to BYU in Week 2, an official decision was made to make redshirt sophomore Kevin Jennings the starting quarterback.
The Dallas native took over for Preston Stone — who is also from the Dallas area — and he hasn’t looked back since. In his first game as the starter in 2024, Jennings threw two touchdowns in a 66-42 win over cross-town rival TCU. The following week, he threw for over 250 yards in a dominant 42-16 win over Florida State, marking SMU’s first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) w in of the season.
Jennings was able to lead the Mustangs through their inaugural ACC season in flawless fashion, going a perfect 8-0, defeating top-25 teams like Louisville and Pittsburgh along the way. The sophomore QB even earned himself All-ACC Third Team honors.
The Mustangs fell short in the ACC Championship game to No. 17 Clemson after a bad first half, but their second-half efforts and total resume were enough to get them the 11th-seed bid in the College Football Playoff, which is where they sit now — ready to take on Penn State on Saturday morning.
While it might seem like a daunting challenge for many teams, particularly smaller programs like SMU, Jennings is no stranger to competing for championships in high-stakes scenarios. He navigated a similarly demanding path to the UIL 5A Division II State Championship in 2021, leading South Oak Cliff to its first title in program history.
His prominent high school career led him to earn a three-star recruit rating by 247 Sports. Jennings was recruited by small schools around the state of Texas including Sam Houston State, East Texas A&M and Lamar University. However, his decision to ultimately join the Mustangs is what has led him to this very moment.
On Saturday at 11 a.m., Jennings has the opportunity to officially put SMU and himself on the map, just as he did with South Oak Cliff in high school.
If the Mustangs win, they will move on to face Boise State in the College Football Playoff Semifinals.