Four things to know about TCU football’s next opponent, the SMU Mustangs
After rolling through the first two games of the season, TCU begins what could be a difficult stretch, starting with SMU on Saturday.
Coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and being runners-up in the ACC, the Mustangs started the season as a top-25 team but fell out of the poll after losing in double overtime to Baylor on Sept. 6.
Even with the early loss, the Mustangs (2-1) will easily be the best opponent TCU (2-0) has faced so far. SMU’s roster is far more talented than North Carolina’s and Abilene Christian’s.
TCU will also look to avenge last year’s embarrassing 66-42 loss in Dallas when the Mustangs decimated the Horned Frogs in all three phases. That win helped launch SMU into the CFP, and another win over TCU would likely get SMU back into the Top 25.
There’s a lot at stake in the final Battle for the Iron Skillet at 11 a.m. Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Here are four things to know about SMU:
Dynamic QB Kevin Jennings
The emergence of Kevin Jennings last season played a huge part in the Mustangs reaching the playoffs. Jennings threw for 3,245 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 354 yards and five scores.
Jennings didn’t need to do much last season against TCU but still managed 178 total yards and two touchdown passes against the Horned Frogs. The dynamic dual threat is one of the better quarterbacks in the country.
So far this season, Jennings has been solid but unspectacular with 836 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions against a schedule that included Missouri State and East Texas A&M.
SMU has been unable to unleash Jennings as a rusher, as he has only 17 yards on 24 carries. Jennings is talented but also has a tendency to make dangerous throws; he had 11 interceptions last season.
TCU must keep Jennings in the pocket and force him to make throws into tight windows.
Missing Brashard Smith
While Jennings received a bunch of attention last season, the heart and soul of SMU’s offense was running back Brashard Smith. A transfer from Miami, Smith was one of the country’s biggest breakout stars, going from having just 132 yards in 2023 to 1,332 in 2024 with the Mustangs.
Smith had 151 total yards and four touchdowns last year in TCU’s blowout defeat and now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs after being taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft.
The Mustangs’ run game hasn’t been as dynamic without Smith despite adding transfer running backs T.J Harden (UCLA) and Chris Johnson Jr. (Miami). The Mustangs are averaging 10 fewer rushing yards per game, a small difference until you consider SMU’s light early slate.
The goal for the Horned Frogs should be to keep SMU under 120 yards on the ground and make the Mustangs’ offense one-dimensional.
Brand new defense for SMU
SMU quietly fielded one of the better defenses in the country last season, ranking 32nd nationally in scoring defense. SMU’s run defense was elite, allowing an average of 2.9 yards per carry while opposing quarterbacks completed fewer than 57% of their passes.
But SMU has to replace nine starters from that unit, including its best two pass rushers, Elijah Roberts and Jahfari Harvey. A total of 28 sacks had to be replaced, though SMU does still have Cameron Robertson (four sacks last season) up front.
The only returning starters were in the secondary, including second-leading tackler Isaiah Nwokobia. Giving up 23.7 points per game so far, the Mustangs rank 79th in scoring defense.
The Mustangs surrendered 601 yards in the loss to Baylor, as Sawyer Robertson lit up the secondary for 440 yards and star running back Bryson Washington added 115 yards on the ground.
If TCU can avoid turnovers, the offense should be able to score on SMU.
Former Horned Frog awaits?
After a promising freshman season during TCU’s run to the national championship game in 2022, Jordan Hudson stunned Fort Worth when he transferred to SMU in 2023 after the Mustangs offered a lucrative name, image and likeness package.
Hudson has been a solid receiver for SMU with 425 yards in 2023 and 422 last season, but the breakout season hasn’t happened yet. Hudson was in line to be Jennings’ go-to receiver this year, but he was injured against East Texas A&M and has missed the past two games.
Without Hudson in the lineup, Romello Brinson (314 yards, three touchdowns) and Jalen Cooper (230 yards, two touchdowns) have stepped up. Tight end RJ Maryland is also a capable weapon with 1,239 career receiving yards.
Kyron Chambers also left TCU after the 2022 season to head over to University Park, but Chambers has been a reserve buried down in the rotation since making the move. Unless Hudson is healthy, it doesn’t appear the former Frogs will have a huge impact on the final Battle for the Iron Skillet.
