DALLAS (AP) — Kevin Jennings looks back on SMU's lopsided loss to Penn State in the College Football Playoff last season as a necessary step on a path to go even further than the Mustangs did in their sparkling Atlantic Coast Conference debut .

“I took a lot from that game,” said Jennings, who threw two pick-6s early in a 38-10 first-round loss on a frigid day in Pennsylvania. “I tell myself all the time, honestly, I needed that game. I needed a bad game like that to bounce back and come back in and remind myself that I can play at this level.”

Comparisons figure to come fast and furious after the Mustangs' undefeated run through their first ACC regular season, the first time in nearly 30 years they were part of a power conference. Coach Rhett Lashlee senses it coming off an 11-3 sea

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