UNIVERSITY PARK — Here are five thoughts on No. 20 SMU's 48-25 win over No. 18 Pitt at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday.

Home advantage

The Mustangs (8-1, 5-0 ACC) are 28-5 since 2019 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and have sold out consecutive home games for the first time in the venue's 24-year history. Saturday's game was the second top-20 matchup ever at Ford Stadium and the first since No. 9 Cincinnati left the Hilltop with a 42-13 win over No. 16 SMU on Oct. 24, 2020.

About four years later, the Mustangs almost turned that score around.

Kevin Jennings recovered

Here's how Lashlee put things Tuesday: Kevin Jennings, his second-year quarterback, had a chance to prove that the previous week's mistakes were nothing more than an anomaly against Pitt (7-2, 3-1).

Jennings turned the ball over five times in SMU's overtime win over Duke last Saturday, setting a career high and posting a season-low quarterback rating. He responded with a positive performance against the Panthers.

The South Oak Cliff alum passed for 306 yards, two touchdowns, didn't turn the ball over and barely played in the fourth quarter after SMU replaced him with Preston Stone after the Panthers took a 37-point lead.

Jennings completed 11 of his 16 pass attempts in the first half for 164 yards and a touchdown in SMU's 31-point first half. He scrambled out of the pocket and toward the right sideline and found running back Brashard Smith for a 4-yard touchdown that gave SMU a 27-3 lead with 1:53 remaining in the first half and hit tight end Matthew Hibner for an 80-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 48-11 lead with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.

SMU turned Pitt's strength into a weakness

The Panthers brought one of college football's best run defenses to D-FW. Pitt had allowed an average of 93 rushing yards (eighth-fewest among all FBS teams) on 2.52 yards per carry (third-fewest) in its first seven games.

Could have fooled the Mustangs.

SMU totaled 135 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per attempt in the first half alone and shredded Pitt's defense with chunk plays. None was longer – or better reflected the Mustangs' first-half dominance – than Smith's 71-yard touchdown run that gave SMU a 20-3 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter.

The Mustangs finished the game with 161 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Two of those touchdowns came from Smith (the 71-yarder and an 18-yarder that gave SMU a 41-11 lead in the fourth quarter), one from LJ Johnson Jr. (a 2-yard run that gave SMU one). 7-0 lead in the first period) and one by Roderick Daniels Jr. (a 4-yard run that gave SMU a 14-3 lead in the second period).

Speaking of defense

The Mustangs swarmed Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein (whom Lashlee called “the center” of the Panthers' offense on Tuesday) to grab the lead in the first half. SMU recorded three sacks in the first half – courtesy of Jahfari Harvey, Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte – and held Pitt to a 1-for-7 third down through the first two quarters.

The Panthers gained just 143 yards in the first half, made four punts, attempted two field goals and fumbled the ball with 4:36 left in the second quarter. Pitt's offense gained some ground in the second half, but still ended its first two drives of the third quarter with turnovers on downs. Running back Desmond Reid scored the Panthers' first touchdown with a 1-yard run with 36 seconds left in the third and made it 34-11 after a two-point conversion run by Holstein.

Safety Jonathan McGill intercepted Holstein in the end zone, ending Pitt's first drive of the fourth quarter. Jennings hit Hibner for the long touchdown on the next play.

Party like it's 1948

Saturday's win marked a 5-0 start for SMU in ACC play and gave the program a level of consistency the program hadn't achieved in nearly 80 years. The Mustangs have now started 5-0 in conference play in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1947-48, when they were members of the Southwest Conference.

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.