Saturday, November 30, 2024 – 2:30 p.m. CT
[9/9] SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC) vs. Cal (6-5, 2-5 ACC)
Gerald J. Ford Stadium – Dallas, Texas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Radio: The Ticket - KTCK 96.7 FM/1310 AM | Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 9 SMU returns to Ford Stadium to face Cal for its final regular-season contest on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
• The Mustangs enter the contest at 10-1 and ranked No. 9 in the nation, the highest ranking since 1985.
• The Mustangs have averaged 41.1 points per game during the current eight-game winning streak. 
• Club Takeaway continues to be in business this season, forcing 20 turnovers this season, the 14th most in the nation.
• The Mustangs have forced at least one turnover in eight of the past 10 games and in 18 of the past 21 contests.
• In their last game, the Mustangs tallied a 33-7 victory over Virginia on the road to improve its record to 10-1 and clinch a spot in the ACC Championship game on December 7.
• SMU's 7-0 start in conference play is a first for a team jumping into a Power-4/5 conference from a Group of Five in their first season since 1978. No other team has started 2-0, with only Louisville (2014) finishing with a winning conference record of 5-3 in ACC play. 

QUICK HITS
• SMU is 29-5 at home in Ford Stadium since 2019.
• SMU's defense has continued to force turnovers this year, ranking 14th in the country with 20 turnovers gained, along with being second in defensive touchdowns with four.
• The Mustangs have had at least seven receivers catch a pass in 25 of the past 28 games.
• Brashard Smith has made an impact in 2024, ranking eighth in all-purpose yards per game with 139.36 and 14th in total touchdowns (15), resulting in being named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. 
• Collin Rogers has tallied 21 field goals this season, which is fourth in the nation. He leads the nation in made field goals over 50 yards with seven, one shy of the NCAA single season record of eight set by Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz in 1982, leading to being selected as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. 
• Kevin Jennings sits fifth nationally in passing yards per completion (14.32) and sixth in yards per pass attempt (9.55). 
• Jennings has the highest passer efficiency rating in conference games only in the ACC at 174.6.
• SMU's 53 wins in the last six years are the most by any FBS Texas team. In addition, the Mustangs have won 24 of those on the road, tops for any team in the state since 2019.
• The Mustangs are 19-2 in their last 21 games, and 18-1 in their last 19 regular-season contests.
• Rhett Lashlee boasts a 20-3 conference record in his career. His 20-3 record in his first 23 league games on the Hilltop is the best in SMU history.
• SMU has posted a record of 25-1 during Lashlee's three seasons in charge when they score 30 or more points in a game, and have won 23 straight when hitting the magic number.

THE SERIES
• This the second meeting all time with the only other game coming in 1957, where SMU defeated Cal 13-6.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
• Cal enters the game at 6-5 overall and 2-5 in the ACC following a comeback victory at home last week against rival Stanford.
• All five of Cal's losses have been by one possession.

THE COACHES
• Rhett Lashlee is in his third season as the head coach at SMU and has a 28-10 career record. Lashlee, who served as offensive coordinator for the Mustangs for two seasons (2018-19), also served as the offensive coordinator at Miami in 2020 and 2021. A one-time finalist (2013) and two-time semifinalist (2019, 2020) for the Broyles Award, Lashlee has the distinction of being the only coach ever nominated for the Broyles Award four different times at four different schools (Arkansas State, Auburn, SMU, Miami).

• Lashlee was named a finalist last season for the prestigious Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, handed out the nation's top coach as voted on by the National Sports Media Association, the Bryant Awards' Executive Leadership Team, and the Bryant Family. The Arkansas native was also named Co-Coach of the Year by the Dave Campbell's Texas Football publication, a finalist of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, and a semi-finalist for Coach of the Year Award by the Maxwell Football Club for the job he did in 2023.

• Lashlee signed a contract extension with SMU on Nov. 22, 2024. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

• Justin Wilcox has compiled a long list of accomplishments and signature wins as the Travers Family Head Football Coach and is in his eighth campaign on the job at Cal and first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024. 

• In 2018 and 2019, Wilcox led Cal to back-to-back winning campaigns and bowl games for the first time since 2008 and 2009, then returned to a bowl in 2023. The Golden Bears reached bowl eligibility for the second straight season last week.

MUSTANG CAPTAINS
• Kevin Jennings, Jonathan McGill, Justin Osborne, Elijah Roberts, Preston Stone and Kobe Wilson were voted captains for the 2024 season. 

SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON HERE
• The Mustangs have been a force in conference play over the last three seasons. 
• SMU has posted an 20-3 record against conference opponents since 2022, highlighted by the current 16-game winning streak. 
• The 16 straight conference wins breaks the program record set back from 1981 to 1982. 
• The winning streak is the second longest active streak behind Tulane (17). 

CURRENT 16-GAME CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK 
Nov. 26, 2022    W, 34-31    vs. Memphis (1)
Sept. 30, 2023    W, 34-16    vs. Charlotte (2)
Oct. 12, 2023    W, 31-10    at ECU (3)
Oct. 20, 2023    W, 55-0    at Temple (4)
Oct. 28, 2023    W, 69-10    vs. Tulsa (5)
Nov. 4, 2023        W, 36-31    at Rice (6)
Nov. 10, 2023    W, 45-21    vs. North Texas (7)
Nov. 18, 2023    W, 38-34    at Memphis (8)
Nov. 25, 2023    W, 59-14    vs. Navy (9)
Sept. 28, 2024    W, 42-16    vs. Florida State (10)
Oct. 5, 2024        W, 34-27    at No. 22 Louisville (11)
Oct. 19, 2024     W, 40-10    at Stanford (12)
Oct. 26, 2024    W, 28-27(OT)    at Duke (13)
Nov. 2, 2024        W, 48-25    vs. Pitt (14)
Nov. 16, 2024    W, 38-28    vs. Boston College (15)
Nov. 23, 2024    W, 33-7    at Virginia (16)

FIREWORKS IN FORD
• SMU has been explosive on offense in Ford Stadium in its last 14 home games, scoring 693 points.
• The Mustangs are averaging 49.5 points per game during the 14-game span dating back in 2022. 

BACK TO THE FUTURE
• SMU has posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time since the 1983 (10-2) and 1984 (10-2) seasons.
• The result has led to being ranked ninth in the both AP and Coaches Polls, the highest since 1985, which leads to some interesting tidbits. 
• The last time the Mustangs were in the top 10 of the AP poll, the no. 1 song in America was the "Miami Vice" theme. 
• The cost for a gallon of gas was 83 cents. 
• The No. 1 movie at the time in November was Rocky IV.
• Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. 

PLAYOFFS, WE'RE TALKING PLAYOFFS
• SMU made its debut in the first set of the 2024 CFP rankings on Nov. 6, coming in at No. 13.
• The 13th ranking in the CFP is the highest the Mustangs have had in program history. 

MUSTANG HISTORY IN THE CFP RANKINGS
Year    Date        Ranking
2019    Nov. 5        25
2019    Nov. 19        25
2023    Dec. 3        24
2024    Nov. 5        13
2024    Nov. 12        14
2024    Nov. 19        13

SMITH ARMY KNIFE 
• Running back Brashard Smith has been a weapon in multiple offensive facets so far this season, helping him being named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.
• The Richmond Heights, Florida, native has racked up 1,089 yards on the ground along with 203 yards receiving, making him one of just eight FBS players with 1,000+ rushing and 200+ receiving yards on the season. 
• Smith also has 243 kickoff return yards, making him the only player in the FBS with 1,000+ rushing, 200+ receiving and 200+ kickoff return yards this year.
• Smith has posted a 91.2 offensive grade by PFF on the season, the fifth highest by any offensive player amongst all Power 5 teams (70 teams) (Min 200 snaps).
• Smith has 1,533 all-purpose yards on the year, which rank 11th most in a single season in program history. 
• Smith eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season against Boston College, making him the 12th player in program history to rush for 1,000 in a single season. 

JENNINGS AS QB1 
• This season, Jennings has gone 176-264 passing for 2,521 yards and 17 touchdowns. 
• In addition, he has recorded 315 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. 
• Since Jennings has taken over as the starter at quarterback in week 4, he has posted a 83.1 offensive grade by PFF, seventh highest by any offensive player in the ACC (Min. 75 snaps). 
• Jennings has the highest passer efficiency rating in conference games only at 174.6.
• Jennings career day against Stanford resulted in career highs in passing yards (322) and passing touchdowns (3). 
• He was named by the Davey O'Brien Foundation a Great 8 quarterback for week 8 and 10, along with being a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award.
• Jennings was also named a Manning Award Star of the Week for his performance against Virginia on Nov. 23. 

LUCKY NUMBER 30 
• SMU has posted a record of 25-1 during Lashlee's three seasons in charge when they score 30 or more points in a game.
• The Mustangs currently have a 23-game winning streak when they hit the magic number.