SMU suits up for its first ACC game vs. Florida State
DALLAS — It's moment nearly 400 days in the making.
"Yeah I'm excited," said Kevin Jennings, a quarterback for Southern Methodist University. "We've waited a while for this."
After announcing their move to the Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago this month, SMU football will finally suit up in its first ACC game.
"I think the excitement for our program and our fan base and our campus is at an all-time high," said Rhett Lashlee, the SMU head coach.
The Mustangs host defending conference champ, Florida State, this Saturday. Despite the Seminoles' 1-3 start - they could be the most talented team SMU has faced in years.
"I feel pretty confident in saying, in my time here, this is without question the most athletic and fastest team we will have played and probably the most athletic and fastest team that's come to Ford Stadium in a long time," Lashlee said.
"It actually makes it harder when they start off bad because now it's like they're a more hungrier team," said Roderick Daniels Jr, a wide receiver for SMU. "You start off 0-2 after just winning the ACC Championship, not being invited to the playoff and everything so those are kinda the hardest teams to beat."
Just last Saturday, SMU beat rival TCU earning its first victory at home over a power conference team since 2010. The Mustangs now look to do it back-to-back.
"We did what we wanted to do, that we talked about doing and beating TCU," said Brandon Crossley, a safety for SMU. "Going into conference play, that just gives us momentum. Like I said, stack days and build on what we just did."
As SMU looks to establish itself in its new era in the ACC
"The fun talking point's gonna be, 'Oh SMU had a big emotional win and Florida State got a win so now they're turning the corner. SMU's gonna have a letdown,'" Lashlee said. "We can't allow that to happen. We're playing Florida State in our own stadium as a conference opener so we should be ready to play."
