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Oct 16, 2026 8:00 PM
SMU returns from its bye with a chance to strengthen its ACC standing, but Virginia presents a dangerous test as both teams try to keep pace near the top of the conference.
Fall is finally showing up in Dallas. Saturday brings a high of 65 degrees and a low of 46, with temperatures around 61 at the 11 a.m. kickoff. That is about as pleasant as football weather gets in this city.
The stakes inside Gerald J. Ford Stadium will run considerably warmer.
SMU returns from its bye at 4-1 and 2-1 in the ACC. Virginia arrives at 4-2 with the same conference record. Miami is unbeaten and pulling away at the top, which means a second league loss realistically ends the Charlotte conversation for whichever team absorbs it Saturday.
The two weeks off came at a useful moment for the Mustangs. SMU has won two straight without looking especially sharp doing it, grinding past Missouri State before surviving Boston College 25-16 in the rain. An offense that averaged 38 points through three games has cooled noticeably, and Rhett Lashlee had time to sort through why.
Virginia’s recent form is worse. The Cavaliers were buried 38-7 at Florida State on Oct. 3, giving up 38 unanswered points over the final three quarters, before steadying themselves against Syracuse at home last weekend. Beau Pribula completed just 14 of 32 passes for 168 yards in Tallahassee, which is the version of him SMU will hope to see.
The flip side is that Tony Elliott’s teams have a habit of ruining somebody’s Saturday on the road. Virginia has notched at least one win over a ranked opponent away from Scott Stadium in each of the past three seasons, and this is its first ranked opponent of 2026.
The venue works against the Cavaliers. SMU is 9-0 at home in ACC play since joining the conference and has scored 40 or more points in half its home games under Lashlee, going 13-1 in those contests. Ford Stadium has been the most dependable thing about this program.
The programs have met once before, with SMU winning 33-7 in Charlottesville in 2024. This is the first meeting in Dallas.
WHAT: Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC) at No. 24 SMU (4-1, 2-1 ACC)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. CT
WHERE: Gerald J. Ford Stadium | Dallas
TV: The CW (Channel 33 in Dallas-Fort Worth)
RADIO: KTCK 96.7 FM/1310 AM and SiriusXM
BETTING ODDS VIA DRAFTKINGS
SPREAD: SMU -9.5
TOTAL: 51.5 (Over -115, Under -105)
MONEYLINE: SMU -340 | Virginia +270
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