ACC newcomer SMU hosts BYU in its first game against another Power 4 opponent
SMU quarterback Preston Stone smiles during an NCAA college football practice in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Credit: AP/LM Otero
BYU (1-0) at SMU (2-0), Friday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
BetMGM College Football Odds: SMU by 10 1/2.
Series record: BYU leads 4-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer SMU plays its first game against another Power Four opponent. The Mustangs have won their last nine home games, averaging 53.9 points a game during that streak — their longest since winning 10 in a row at home from 1946-48. BYU is in its second year as a member of the Big 12 and has a 6-7 record since joining the league after playing 13 seasons as an independent. Both teams are coming off big wins at home over FCS opponents, BYU 41-13 over Southern Illinois and SMU 59-7 against Houston Christian.
KEY MATCHUP
Anthony Booker Jr. and the SMU defense against a BYU offense that piled up 527 yards (348 passing and 179 rushing) without a turnover in its opener. The Mustangs forced three turnovers against HCU and those led to three touchdowns. That included Booker, the 348-pound nose tackle, returning a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown.
SMU's head football coach Rhett Lashlee, right, looks on as wide receiver Moochie Dixon (5) catches a pass during an NCAA college football practice in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Credit: AP/LM Otero
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BYU: WRs Chase Roberts and JoJo Phillips. After leading the Cougars with 42 catches in his second season with them last year, the 6-foot-4 Roberts had seven catches for 108 yards in their opener. Phillips is a 6-5 redshirt freshman whose only catch last year went for a score. He caught two passes for 70 yards against Southern Illinois, one of those a 57-yard touchdown.
SMU: Preston Stone is 13-2 as the Mustangs' starting quarterback. He is 23 of 39 passing (59%) for 332 yards with three touchdowns and one interception this season, and has run six times for 51 yards.
FACTS & FIGURES
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake looks on during an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Oct. 21, 2023, in Provo, Utah. Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer
The first time the two teams met was in the 1980 Holiday Bowl, when BYU overcame a 20-point deficit in the final four minutes. The Cougars then recovered an onside kick after a touchdown, scored again and blocked a punt that set up Jim McMahon's game-deciding 41-yard TD pass to Clay Brown. They last played in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl when BYU won 24-23 after SMU failed on a 2-point conversion try with 8 seconds left. ... SMU has had at least seven receivers catch a pass in each of its last 19 games. ... The Cougars have lost their last five road games.
