Kevin Jennings breaks SMU’s TD passing record as No. 23 Mustangs beat Cal 59-20

DALLAS (AP) — Kevin Jennings threw three touchdowns to break SMU’s career record, Kendrick Raphael ran for 104 yards while accounting for three scores, two on fourth-down plays, and the No. 23 Mustangs beat California 59-20 on Saturday.

The Mustangs (6-1, 4-1 ACC) trailed at halftime before scoring touchdowns on their first six drives after the break. The second of those scores was Jennings’ record-breaking 73rd career TD pass, a 21-yarder to Derek McFall, and the third-year starting quarterback added to that with a 17-yarder to Jalen Hale with 6:29 left.

Jennings, already SMU’s career leader for passing yards (9,766) and completions (781), surpassed the 72 TD passes by Tanner Mordecai from 2021-22. Jennings had tied that mark with his 22-yard fourth-down pass to Raphael in the first quarter and finished 16 of 23 passing for 223 yards.

Freshman running back Christian Rhodes had TD runs of 5 and 3 yards in SMU’s scoring surge in the second half, which Cal (3-5, 2-3) opened with three consecutive three-and-outs.

SMU had 306 of its 492 total yards after halftime.

Raphael’s other fourth-down touchdown came on a 1-yard run that tied the game at 17-17 with 1:57 left before halftime. Towns McGough then made a half-ending field goal to put Cal up 20-17.

When California beat SMU 38-35 in last year’s regular-season finale, a loss that kept the Mustangs from making the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game for the second year in a row, Raphael scored a game-winning 2-yard TD run in the final minute for the Bears.

Cal’s left-handed quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele started for the first time in three games since a concussion late in the first half Oct. 3 at UNLV. He completed 27 of 37 passes for 265 yards and a touchdown. He threw for 330 yards and four TDs in last year’s win over SMU.

The takeaway

California: The Bears have lost four of their last five games. Sagapolutele missed the win over Virginia Tech two weeks ago, and Jackson Brousseau started again last week, though Sagapolutele threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the 41-7 loss to Wake Forest.

SMU: The Mustangs, who scored TDs on seven consecutive drives overall, are 11-0 at home and 18-3 overall in ACC games since joining that league in 2024. … SMU is 24-2 in its last 26 home games while averaging 44 points in those games. … Jennings is 25-8 as their starter.

Up next

California is at N.C. State for the second of three consecutive road games next Saturday.

SMU plays its only road game in a seven-week stretch at Syracuse. The Mustangs also had five home games and an open date in that span.

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