No. 9 SMU beats Cal 38-6. Up next, the ACC title game in Mustangs’ 1st season in the conference

DALLAS (AP) — Brashard Smith and ninth-ranked SMU never felt they were finished, even when already locked into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in their league debut.

“It was really important, just being undefeated in the conference,” Smith said. “We came in on a mission.”

The Mustangs completed a sweep of their first ACC schedule with a 38-6 win over California in their regular-season finale Saturday, making them the only team in their new league that didn’t lose a conference game.

“I think it shows their maturity. They wanted to finish,” third-year Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee said. “We wanted to go 8-0, we wanted to win the regular season outright and not share it. And we were playing for a lot because the College Football Playoff still comes out with rankings for two more weeks. … We didn’t need to stumble, have a setback.”

Smith had 134 total yards (68 rushing and 66 receiving) with two touchdowns, Kevin Jennings threw for 225 yards with two scores, and the Mustangs (11-1, 8-0 ACC, No. 9 CFP) closed out the regular season with their 17th consecutive win in a league game. They won their last nine American Athletic Conference games before moving this year into the power conference.

“Just to come in our first year in the ACC and do it, it’s really crazy for us, and it’s amazing,” said Jennings, who is 9-0 as the starter this season.

Lashlee said he’s in awe of his team.

“Pretty cool, you know, these guys back-to-back 11 wins, didn’t lose a conference game, and going to be playing championship weekend two years in a row,” Lashlee said.

SMU will play No. 12 Clemson next Saturday night for the ACC title and a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. No. 8 Miami, Smith’s team the past three seasons, would have been in the ACC championship game with a win, but lost 42-38 at Syracuse to clear the way for Clemson.

While Lashlee believes the Mustangs have done enough already to be in the playoff field, they would definitely be in with a win over the Tigers and likely have a first-round bye.

SMU took control with touchdowns on three consecutive drives early. It was 21-0 after Derrick McFall’s 8-yard TD run with 13:02 left in the first half, when the Mustangs had 234 total yards — and only 34 more from then until the start of the fourth quarter. They finished with 415.

Cal (6-6, 2-6), also in its first ACC season, played without sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a 3,000-yard passer this season who was out because of illness.

The Golden Bears’ first five losses were by an average margin of 3.4 points. They started 0-4 in ACC play, losing those games by a combined nine points.

“That was a difficult loss,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”

Jennings scrambled away from trouble, spun, rolled left and threw on the run to hit tight end Matthew Hibner in the front left corner of the end zone for an 11-yard TD. Smith, whose 32-yard catch helped set that first touchdown, then ran 5 yards for a score. Smith added a 23-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter.

Chandler Rogers, the starter last season for North Texas, started in place of Mendoza and was 8-of-15 passing for 84 yards before exiting with an unspecified injury in the third quarter.

“On offense, not good enough at any position to put points on the board,” Wilcox said. “It was an offensive issue today, not just quarterback.”

The takeaway

California: The Bears offense was certainly out of synch with Mendoza, leading rusher Jaivian Thomas (upper-body injury) and starting left tackle Nick Morrow all not playing. They had 254 total yards. They had 0 total yards when it was 21-0 before Rogers had a 37-yard completion. They missed a field goal on that drive after having first-and-goal at the 3.

SMU: An incredible first season in the ACC for the Mustangs, the ninth team since 2011 to make the move from a Group of Five to a power conference. None of the previous eight started better than 1-1 in its conference debut, and only Louisville had finished with a winning record, going 5-3 in the ACC in 2014 after moving from the AAC.

Poll implications

The Mustangs entered the game with their first top-10 AP ranking since reaching No. 3 in 1985. They were also ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings, their highest since the CFP started in 2014. They should move up in both polls after Miami’s loss.

Up next

Cal, among 13 bowl-eligible ACC teams, has to wait for the bowl selections that are revealed Dec. 8.

SMU plays in the ACC championship game Dec. 7 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer