UNIVERSITY PARK — Hours before Kevin Jennings took the field for his first practice Saturday, legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban explained what the nation would soon see.

Two weeks after Saban said on ESPN’s College GameDay that Jennings ‘may be the most underrated player in the country’ he did an entire segment breaking down the SMU quarterback’s film to show why he’s had so much success this year.

“He made all the throws you need to make to be an exceptional quarterback,” Saban said. “That kind of instinctive play is not something you see in a lot of quarterbacks.”

By the first SMU routes Saturday vs. Boston CollegeJennings continued to demonstrate this, using his legs and making running throws to extend drives, involving all of SMU’s receivers.

These explosive plays were difficult for Boston College to prevent. When they managed to stop Jennings, he simply handed the ball to running back Brashard Smith, who had his sixth 100-yard performance of the season and eclipsed the 1,000 rushing yard total this year.

Although SMU is a better team this year, Jennings and Smith have been the most notable differences offensively. A year ago, Smith played primarily on special teams for Miami and I wasn’t even a ball carrier yet.. Jennings still supported Preston Stone.

But both have shown they have the raw talent and football instincts to quickly emerge as some of the best players in the country at their respective positions and consistently lead their team to victory every week.

“These guys are playmakers,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. “It’s hard to stop us because of these guys.”

Jennings may have only finished with four carries for -2 yards in the 38-28 win over Boston College, but his speed and agility were the key to his success Saturday.

The sophomore quarterback completed 24 of 35 passes for 298 yards, three touchdowns and an interception as he regularly faced pressure from the Boston College defensive line led by defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku.

But he once again showed his ability to convert in difficult 3rd and long situations and extend drives.

“There’s no guru play here other than we put him in a position to do what he does well and give him the flexibility and freedom to do it,” Lashlee said. “I think he does a really good job of improvising and promoting football. It’s the secret sauce.

After SMU’s distribution was relatively even among several running backs earlier in the season, Smith has earned his team’s trust and is receiving the ball more than any other player. He completed 18 of SMU’s 30 carries Saturday and finished with 120 yards and a touchdown. He also had four catches for 13 yards and a 30-yard kickoff return.

His biggest play of the game came just before halftime when he broke free for a 45-yard run to set up a Collin Rogers field goal.

“Brashard is a home run guy,” Lashlee said. “We were a little disappointed that he didn’t score from that point before halftime.”

Jennings and Smith have proven to be natural talents, and that has propelled SMU to the next level this season. Even when the pressure is on him, Jennings knows where his receivers are and ranks top 10 in the nation in yards per completion (9.52). Smith wasn’t even a true running back before this year, but he became the 12th SMU player in program history to reach 1,000 yards and ranks sixth in the nation in all-purpose yards (1,470).

And the most impressive thing is that both players showed consistency, even if the stakes get higher.

“There must be guidelines. There has to be some structure. But it’s a player’s game, and we’re going to trust these guys until the end,” Lashlee said.

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