SMU's Rhett Lashlee Ready For Overdue Road Test vs. Syracuse

The SMU Mustangs are going to do something on Saturday that they haven't done since September 20, and that's play on the road.

Heading to JMA Wireless Dome to take on Syracuse, the Mustangs will play their first road game in over a month, after enjoying the home comforts of Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

But they won't now.

Having not played an away game since they lost to Louisville 41-31, which coincidentally is their only loss of the year, SMU has been at home.

But now we are about to see the mentality of Lashlee's team as they come up against a Syracuse team that is hitting form at the right time.

READ MORE:  SMU Faces Syracuse With ACC Title Hopes And Injury Concerns Looming

And for Lashlee, he's revealed that his team actually relishes the chance to go on the road, in a hostile environment to play football.

"Yeah, we've always taken the approach here, we enjoy going to play on the road," Lashlee said. "This is a different environment, a domed environment. It's going to be loud, a different kind of loud. It's a different setting. You look at the history. They win. They beat somebody just about every year at home, Miami a few years ago, kept them out of the playoffs and the championship games.

"Majority of the fans aren't for us, we've embraced that. We don't always win, but we've had a pretty good track record. But it's been a minute. It's been since the middle of September. Here we are almost in November. So, hey, good teams can win on the road. and they can win on the road late in the season, and we got to find a way to do that."

READ MORE:  Ex SMU Coach June Jones Dies at 73, Leaves Lasting Legacy

While Syracuse might be 3-4 on the season, three of their four losses have been by one score. So, they are in games and not getting blown out.

After an overtime win over North Carolina last week, Syracuse will be chomping at the bit to get a pound of flesh from the Mustangs, so Lashlee's team has to be on point in all three phases because this has all the makings of a true four-quarter contest.

We have seen the defense flex its muscles over the past month, and the offense has become a well-oiled machine with Kevin Jennings playing within himself, not turning the ball over, and the unit as a whole has functioned far better.

But that was when SMU were at home.

How the group, which sits at 6-1 on the season fares in its first road game in over a month will tell us a lot about their championship mentality.

Lashlee says his team embraces the challenge of a road game. Let's see if their play on the field backs that up.