Virginia doesn’t play until later, but Monday night’s SMU-Florida State matchup could still say plenty about the road ahead for the Cavaliers.
The ACC’s new-look prime-time opener in Tallahassee is easy to miss in the usual Week 1 noise, but it has real weight for Virginia. The Cavaliers will see both teams over the next six weeks, and the game may also help shape the race for one of the two spots in the ACC championship game on Dec. 5 in Charlotte.
SMU came into the season picked second in the ACC media poll behind Miami, with Virginia slotted sixth. Florida State, meanwhile, is under pressure early, with coach Mike Norvell trying to steady a program that faces a brutal opening stretch that also includes Alabama, Virginia, Louisville, and Miami. A sluggish start could put Norvell on the kind of hot seat that led to midseason changes for LSU’s Brian Kelly and Penn State’s James Franklin last year.
That’s why a strong Florida State effort wouldn’t be a surprise. The Seminoles are at home, the nation is watching, and they’ll be looking to rebound from a 34-17 win over New Mexico State that didn’t exactly turn heads. Still, they do have one of the ACC’s most dangerous receivers in Duce Robinson, and Virginia’s defensive backs already know what that looks like after having trouble containing him in last year’s dramatic double-overtime game.
For the league race, Miami is already the favorite for one championship-game berth. The main challengers for the other spot appear to be SMU, Virginia, and Louisville.
SMU’s own path is loaded early. Twelve days after facing Florida State, the Mustangs head to Louisville, which nearly upset ninth-ranked Mississippi on Sunday night at a neutral site in Nashville, Tenn. Then in mid-October, SMU hosts Virginia in a game that could give the winner a major edge toward Charlotte.
But that only matters if both teams handle the business in front of them first. If SMU gets tripped up by a fired-up Florida State team on Monday, the Mustangs could be staring at an 0-2 ACC start, a hole that might wipe out their title hopes - and even any College Football Playoff dream - before the season really settles in.
The quarterback to watch is Kevin Jennings. He threw for 3,641 yards last season with 26 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, and he’s now in his third year as the starter. SMU tends to rise and fall with him.
Jennings passed for 365 yards and a touchdown in last year’s overtime win over Miami, but he also had two interceptions in a loss to Baylor and was picked off three times in the Holiday Bowl against Arizona.
And after a rough Week One for the ACC - Clemson was trounced by LSU, Georgia Tech blew a late lead to Colorado, and California stumbled at home against rebuilding UCLA - Monday night should give Virginia a much better read on what’s coming next.
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Virginia Fans Just Got An Early Read On This Teams Test
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Before the regular season even gets rolling, Virginia will also work through a set of exhibitions against Vanderbilt, Richmond and Villanova, which should offer a decent first glance at how the roster is coming together. For a team that usually measures itself by how it handles the seasons first real tests, the early portion of this schedule already suggests there will be no shortage of high-end checkups. [Read more 🡒]