SMU is headed to the ACC Championship Game in its first season in the league. The No. 13 Mustangs earned that spot with Saturday’s 33-7 blowout win at Virginia.
SMU jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the half and cruised to its fifth road win of the season. The Mustangs dominated in every facet, outgaining the Cavaliers 434-173.
SMU improved to 10-1 overall and has won eight in a row since an early-September nonconference loss at home to BYU. Its 7-0 ACC record is the best by a team jumping from a mid-major league to a power conference since at least 1978, according to SMU.
The Mustangs will take on either Miami or Clemson in the league title game in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 7. Miami, which defeated Wake Forest on Saturday, can secure a spot with a win at Syracuse next Saturday. Clemson heads to the title game with a Miami loss next week.
It’s the second consecutive season SMU will play for a conference championship. The Mustangs beat Tulane to win the American Athletic Conference crown last year. The stakes are higher this year with the ACC champion likely assured a spot in the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff.
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(Photo of Kevin Jennings: Ryan M. Kelly / Getty Images)
