UNIVERSITY PARK — Five games into the season, with conference play underway, most teams know what their identity is.

In SMU's first three games of the season, a different team with different problems took the field each night, sometimes winning and others not.

But over the last two weeks, in the toughest two games of SMU's season so far, the Mustangs have shown what kind of team they can be when they play to their full potential – a well-rounded group that can win in many ways and win still belongs in a power conference.

SMU earned its first Atlantic Coast Conference win Saturday night at Ford Stadium, beating Florida State, the reigning conference champion, 42-16. The Mustangs saw the offense work again while their defense made some crucial plays to put the game out of reach.

“I just told the team I’m in awe of them,” Lashlee said. “I thought we set a standard last week for how we can play and I thought maybe they exceeded that tonight.”

SMU's defense has looked consistent since the first game of the season. On Saturday, they held Florida State to 297 yards of offense and forced three turnovers, bringing their total to 14 turnovers in the last four games. These turnovers led to 21 points, one of which was returned by linebacker Kobe Wilson 82 yards for a touchdown.

SMU now leads all FBS teams with five non-offensive touchdowns this season.

“That’s just our culture,” Wilson said. “We are proud to celebrate our culture.”

The offense, on the other hand, appeared more balanced than in the first four games. While Brashard Smith surpassed 100 yards in all events for the fifth time this season, SMU surpassed more than he ran.

Since Kevin Jennings stepped in for Preston Stone as the starting quarterback, SMU has relied more on the running game to drive the offense. But due to the depleted running back room, which even caused Smith to miss a few drives due to injury, the passing game had to become a bigger factor.

Jennings had a career day, throwing for a personal best of 254 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He hit tight end RJ Maryland in the end zone twice and wide receiver Jordan Hudson once. Although he was not known to pass the ball, Jennings had six passes for 15 yards, including a long 42-yard pass to Hudson.

“It shows different looks to different teams,” Jennings said. “We can run the ball. We can pass the ball so they don’t know what to prepare for.”

Both SMU's offense and defense have been consistent over the last two games. The team's biggest challenge was probably the special teams — particularly the punt unit — but it should be an easy fix.

Nevertheless, SMU has shown that it is a complete and consistent team. Even though SMU didn't play its best game against BYU in the 18-15 loss, that loss doesn't look as bad as the Cougars are now ranked 22nd after wins over Kansas State and Baylor.

Heading into a four-game stretch that pitted SMU against BYU, TCU, Florida State and Louisville on the road next week, the Mustangs just wanted to show they could compete.

Against BYU, they showed that they can compete at the level of a power conference. They showed they can win against TCU. Against Florida State they showed they can win in the ACC, and next week against No. 15 Louisville they'll get a chance to show if they can compete with the best in the country.

“We feel like we can compete with anyone,” Wilson said. “We want to show not only that we belong, but that we are here to compete with everyone.”

Welcome to the ACC: See photos of QB Kevin Jennings leading the Mustangs to victory

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