Unfortunately, the SMU quarterback battle must continue

"If you have two quarterbacks, you've got none." How many countless times have we heard this when a team tries to run its offense with two quarterbacks? ESPN play-by-play guy Anish Shroff even opened the broadcast of this game repeating the old adage, and suggesting SMU would prove it wrong.

They didn't. In fact, they come out of Friday night's loss with even more questions than before.

The Mustangs could only muster 15 points in a field goal loss to BYU, and along the way, one quarterback was bad and one was worse. For a team led by an offensive guy in its head coach Rhett Lashlee, Friday night was absolutely ugly.

Preston Stone was the starter entering the game, and the three drives he led were the stuff of nightmares. He finished 2-of-4 for 4 yards in the air and -25 on the ground. He was sacked three times. BYU had him figured out, and the Mustang offense could get nowhere with Stone.

Kevin Jennings was better, but enough to lock up the job? He was a mediocre 15-of-32 through the air for 140 yards and an interception. He was effective on the ground, but not electric, gaining 38 yards on nine carries. Under his command, the offense stalled in the red zone, forced to settle for five field goals.

Things were different in Week 1, in which Stone threw for 254 yards and a touchdown while Jennings' workload was limited. Still, Stone was just 17-of-31 and he threw a pick to go along with his score.

Neither of these quarterbacks has played well enough to take the job, and oh, it is ripe for the taking. If either man could put together a sustained stretch of effective football, this team could be the ACC dark horse many predicted them to be.

Instead, holding BYU to 18 points goes wasted in a loss, due to incompetent and ineffective offense.

Jennings will likely have the edge in this quarterback battle, but it doesn't seem anywhere near settled. Entering the Mustangs' fourth game of the year, a quarter into the season, they still haven’t found anything close to an answer at the sports' most important position.

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