This is the Depth Dossier: the SMU Mustangs, Week 7.

SMU found a way to win without finishing drives, and that's the headline coming out of a 23 to 13 win over Virginia. The Mustangs are 5 and 1, they're still perfect at home in ACC play since 2024, but they needed a defensive takeaway, a special-teams play and some gutsy fourth-down calls to get past a Virginia team that's now gone three straight weeks without scoring 300 total yards.

Quarterback Kevin Jennings passed 10,000 career passing yards and threw two touchdowns. Running back Kendrick Raphael, filling in for Dramekco Green, ran for 124 yards. Kicker Brendan Baird made all three of his field goal attempts, his first career makes. SMU went four of five on fourth down and won the turnover battle, but settled for field goals twice in the red zone, and that's the difference between a comfortable win and a tense one.

Here's the thing about this game. The analytics had SMU's win expectancy at 79 percent, meaning this was less competitive than the final score made it look. The real issue was finishing. SMU had eight scoring opportunities and only turned them into 23 points. Head coach Rhett Lashlee called it out directly: "offensively it was a unique, kind of frustrating deal because we didn't finish enough drives." Two field goals on three red-zone trips, including a declined shot at fourth and goal from the one after a false start, left points on the field.

So why'd SMU win anyway? The fourth-down aggression. They missed a fourth and one shot deep in their own territory to open the game, but Virginia fumbled right back on the very next snap, and Lashlee called that recovery a huge momentum play early on. From there SMU converted touchdowns and first downs on fourth and one and fourth and three, including on an 87-yard scoring drive.

A couple of officiating swings mattered too. A holding call wiped out a 62-yard punt return touchdown by wide receiver Yamir Knight, and an end-zone interception got overturned to an incompletion. But SMU got one in their favor as well, a roughing call gave them an untimed 45-yard field goal try at the half, and Baird drilled it.

Up front, SMU won the rushing battle 158 to 121, had eight explosive plays for 221 total yards, and held Virginia to under four yards per carry and just three second-half points. Defensive lineman Brandon Booker had the team's only sack.

Now let's get into who's actually playing. No injuries were reported this week, which is a clean bill of health after some concern before the bye. Offensive lineman Hoopii was out, and SMU still allowed eight quarterback hurries.

With Green out, the backfield belongs to Raphael right now. He handled nearly 69 percent of the carries, posted his second 100-yard game of the year, and closed out both of SMU's late fourth and one conversions.

At kicker, Baird going three for three looks like a job settling in his favor, especially with the operation issues from earlier in the year seemingly fixed. True freshman Wiley Olson has also taken over holding duties from Wade McSparron, who struggled in that role last week. McSparron is still the punter, and he flipped the field with a 41-yard average, including one downed at the two.

At receiver, Jalen Hale caught a 37-yard touchdown on third and ten, his first receiving score since 2023. Jennings praised him, saying he's stepping up each and every time they need him, which suggests his role keeps growing. Linebacker Alexander Kilgore led the team with 10 tackles.

Going forward, the big question is whether SMU can start finishing drives with touchdowns instead of field goals. They're generating plenty of scoring chances. Converting more of them is the next step before next week.

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