UNIVERSITY PARK -- SMU broke the wrong kind of streak in its return to Power Four football on Friday night. The program still hasn't beaten a P4 opponent at home since 2010. The Mustangs did, however, fail to score an offensive touchdown for the first time since September 23, 2016, a 33-3 loss to TCU. 

The season that was supposed to cement SMU's re-entry into the college football elite instead began with a game-winning drive to escape 27-point underdog Nevada and now includes an 18-15 loss to BYU, ranked 13th in the preseason Big 12 Media Poll. SMU hasn't finished a season averaging less than 37 points per game since 2018, but their defense kept them in the contest against the Cougars. More concerning than early struggles - the offense doesn't have an identity. 

It starts at quarterback, where SMU has alternated between two starting-caliber signal callers, Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings. Head coach Rhett Lashlee has given Stone the game's first two series each week, a nod to his 11–2 record last season, before putting Jennings in and then determining who plays based on the game flow. On Friday night, it was Jennings. Stone's three drives resulted in negative 24 total yards as BYU teed off on SMU's offensive line. When Jennings entered, BYU dropped into zone coverage, weary of his dual-threat ability.

"We went into the game with the plan of predominantly playing Preston (Stone)," Lashlee said. "We weren't gonna go back and forth. It's not fair to either one of them."

To Lashlee's credit, they haven't flip-flopped quarterbacks in the second half. Stone played the entire second half in the Week One comeback win, and made the touchdown toss to seal it, after Jennings out-produced him in the first half. Jennings stayed in the game after a red zone interception.

But last year, SMU led the nation with an average of 12.3 points in the first quarter. This season, they've gone back and forth between drivers before shifting out of park, getting shut out in the first quarter against BYU and Nevada. 

"Every game we play this year, for us to win, it's gonna be similar to this," Lashlee said. "It's gonna be tight. It's gonna be close. We're not gonna show up and roll teams."

Of course, a natural dip is to be expected with the increased competition. SMU won't average over 50 points per game at home like they did in the American Athletic Conference. But Nevada and Houston Christian don't count as ramped-up competition, and this is only BYU's second season as a P4 team.

This isn't to say the offense is broken - rather, it's rudderless. SMU had opportunities. The Mustangs went 2-for-5 in the red zone trips, which included two field goals and two turnovers. Running back Brashard Smith did his best Reggie Bush National Championship impression by lateraling the ball to wide receiver Jordan Hudson, resulting in a fumble, and Jennings threw the interception. A 3-for-16 third-down conversion rate also doomed them.

SMU cites competition as a cornerstone of its culture. But through the first three weeks, they're extending competitions ideally resolved in fall camp to games. Lineman are rotating in and out each series like the quarterbacks. The only receiver to reach double-digit receptions is tight end RJ Maryland, and he's been locked down to two catches for 13 yards since Week One.

SMU is a quarter of the way through the season and still needs to learn who it is offensively. Preferably over the upcoming bye week.