No. 16 SMU visits No. 23 Louisville in a ranked ACC showdown, with the Mustangs chasing a 3-0 start and the Cardinals looking to end a two-game skid in the series.
SMU and Louisville already know each other well, and Saturday’s matchup at L&N Stadium has the feel of an early-season ACC elimination game.
The No. 16 Mustangs visit No. 23 Louisville on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, with the Cardinals opening as a 2.5-point favorite.
Both teams enter with legitimate conference-title expectations, and neither has Miami on the regular-season schedule.
That alone makes this one of the most important ACC games of September.
SMU is 2-0 behind quarterback Kevin Jennings, who remains one of the conference’s biggest stars.
After surviving a 27-24 opener at Florida State, the Mustangs crushed UC Davis 56-10.
Jennings was nearly flawless in that win, completing 14 of 16 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
Louisville, meanwhile, has already been tested.
The Cardinals opened the season with a 41-38 loss to No. 9 Ole Miss before rebounding with a 59-13 rout of Villanova.
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has thrown for more than 300 yards in each of his first two starts, including 332 yards and two touchdowns against Villanova.
Now comes the matchup Louisville has been waiting for.
SMU has beaten the Cardinals in both meetings since joining the ACC. The Mustangs won 34-27 in Louisville in 2024, then dominated the rematch 38-6 in Dallas last season.
Jeff Brohm isn’t pretending that history doesn’t matter.
“They’ve had our number,” Brohm said after the Villanova win. “We’re going to have to have a great week of practice and continue to get better and play well next week.”
That’s the challenge.
Louisville has the home field, a productive quarterback and the motivation of two straight losses to SMU.
The Mustangs counter with a veteran quarterback in Jennings and a program that has already shown it can win difficult road games.
The stakes extend beyond revenge.
A win would give SMU a 3-0 start and another major ACC road victory. Louisville can erase some of the frustration from its Ole Miss loss while knocking off one of the teams expected to contend for a spot in Charlotte.
For two programs chasing the same destination, Saturday could matter long after September is over.
