SMU’s home field has been a different world this season, and Virginia Tech is walking into it Friday night.
The Mustangs are 5-0 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and have been almost spotless there with the ball, turning it over only twice in five home games.
That’s a sharp contrast to their three road games, where they’ve given it away nine times. SMU (6-2, 4-2 ACC) has also gone 11-0 against ACC opponents at Ford since joining the league in 2024.
Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2) arrives after a bye, fresh off its 20-16 win at Clemson on Oct. 24.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
If SMU is going to keep that home run going, a lot of it will come down to three players.
Kevin Jennings is the first name on that list, and for good reason. James Franklin has seen the quarterback at his lowest point before.
In the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21, 2024, Franklin’s Penn State defense picked Jennings off three times in the first half and returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns in a 38-10 win.
That version of Jennings is long gone. The fifth-year quarterback crossed 10,000 career passing yards at Syracuse last week and now owns SMU’s career records for passing yards and touchdown passes with 76. He’s completing 73.7% of his throws, which ranks third nationally, and he’s thrown 21 touchdowns.
The bigger number for SMU, though, might be the one tied to where he’s playing. Four of Jennings’ five interceptions have come on the road, at Florida State and Louisville, and he has been intercepted just once in five games at Ford.
That’s a tough matchup for a Virginia Tech defense that has only two interceptions all season. Eight games is still a small sample, but it doesn’t point to a defense likely to get Jennings to give up easy field position.
Then there’s T.J. Raphael, who has already done damage against Virginia Tech once before.
Last October at Lane Stadium, while playing for Cal, he ran 20 times for 71 yards and scored three touchdowns. His third score tied the game at 27-27 with 2:34 left in regulation before the Hokies pulled out a 42-34 win in double overtime.
Raphael didn’t need eye-popping yardage to leave his mark that night, and he’s been doing the same thing for SMU. The senior, who came to Dallas after stops at NC State and Cal, has 692 rushing yards at 5.1 yards per carry, three 100-yard games and nine rushing touchdowns. He has scored nine of SMU’s 14 rushing touchdowns, and the Mustangs have converted 27 of their 38 red-zone chances into touchdowns.
The third player to watch is Elijah White, and he may be the one most likely to wreck Virginia Tech’s rhythm. White is on his fourth college stop after starting at Dartmouth and later spending time at McNeese State and UMass before committing to SMU in January.
His production has jumped fast. Last season at UMass, he had five sacks in 12 games.
Through eight games at SMU, he already has 5.5 sacks, which is more than twice as many as any teammate, along with eight tackles for loss. Three of those sacks came in SMU’s Oct. 3 win over Boston College, a performance that earned him ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week.
That fits the way SMU’s defense has operated all season. The Mustangs are forcing opponents into long downs and getting off the field, holding teams to 27% on third down, third-best in FBS.
That puts the spotlight right back on Virginia Tech’s protection. Clemson sacked Ethan Grunkemeyer six times on Oct. 24, and the Hokies used the bye week to try to get their linemen healthier. On Friday, every third-and-long looks like a chance for White to make his presence felt.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Already Has An Early Backcourt Issue To Watch
Virginia Techs season-opening win over Coppin State had plenty to like, especially with Ben Hammond, Jaylen Curry and Amani Hansberry all making their presence felt in an 88-54 rout. The Hokies looked comfortable for long stretches, and the early returns from the backcourt and frontcourt gave Mike Young a solid first look at a roster still settling in.
The one area Young could not ignore was Currys ball security, even with the transfer guard finishing with 19 points in his Virginia Tech debut. Mercer, meanwhile, also got off to a strong start with a 90-53 win over Reinhardt, as transfers Shane Cherry, Derek Goodman and KJ LaMonte all contributed in the opener. For Virginia Tech, the next step is figuring out how quickly Currys scoring can come with cleaner decision-making. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Huge ACC Test With Stakes Rising Fast
SMU is back home for an ACC matchup with Virginia Tech, and the timing makes it feel bigger than a routine November conference game. Both teams arrive at 6-2, both are chasing a better position in the league race, and both still have ranked opponents waiting on the schedule, which gives this one a little extra weight beyond the standings alone.
For Virginia Tech, the opportunity comes on the heels of a win over Clemson that gave the Hokies a needed boost and a reminder of what they can still be in this league. SMU, meanwhile, is trying to steady itself in the middle of a crowded ACC picture, with fourth place still within reach and little room left to waste chances as the season tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Edwards Jr. Is Forcing A New Look At UNC's Offense
Billy Edwards Jr. kept his name in the conversation during a busy Week 9 around the ACC, a stretch that featured several quarterbacks making noise as the league turns the page into November. The roundup also looked ahead to a loaded Week 10 slate, with the conference race tightening and Virginia Tech preparing for one of its biggest tests of the season against SMU.
For the Hokies, the timing matters because the matchup comes against a Mustangs offense that has already shown it can pile up production through the air, even in defeat. The quarterback spotlight in the ACC is only getting brighter, and Virginia Tech will get a front-row seat to it as the leagues top passers continue to reshape the weekly conversation. [Read more 🡒]