SMU football is set to finish off a massive three-game stretch with Saturday's trip to Louisville.

The Mustangs already beat rival TCU to reclaim the Iron Skillet. They also downed last year's conference champion in their first-ever ACC game. Now they hit the road in the ACC for the first time.

"Excited for another game week," SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. "We get a chance to go on our first true road game in the ACC, second road game of the year. It's a great environment there and it's a Top 25 team."

Along with the game ending a big three-game stretch, it begins a three-game road trip. The Mustangs will travel to Stanford and Duke following the Louisville game and the second bye week of the season. SMU won't play a home game in the month of October, returning to host Pittsburgh on Nov. 2 for homecoming.

"Everything's a series of tests. This is a great opportunity for us," Lashlee said. "Louisville does have one of the better road environments in our conference, and obviously, they're a Top 25 team. So, rowdy crowd, everyone's against you. It's more like 100 of us versus 50, 60, 70,000."

This will be Kevin Jennings first road start of this season, but not of his career. His first career start came in the AAC championship game at Tulane, where the crowd was in the game from the start.

He's ready to take on this challenge next as Louisville celebrates Family Weekend and the 50th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle.

"I don't think anything will really change in the preparation, it's all the same," Jennings said. "We heard Louisville is supposed to have a pretty big crowd coming in there, it's a big weekend for them. It's going to be a pretty loaded crowd, but we're going to come in with the same mindset to attack and get the job done."

And as much fun as the players have had winning a couple of big games in front of the home crowd, sometimes there's something about playing spoiler. There's an edge about being going to get a road win.

"I like the away games, to go play at somebody else's house and beat them at their house," senior receiver Roderick Daniels Jr. said. "Since Louisville is in Kentucky, that's like their NFL team, so they take pride in being able to support Louisville just like the University of Kentucky. I grew up in Texas High school football, so the crowd and stuff, that doesn't really bother me. I grew up with that."

That competitive edge and wanting to go on the road and win is something a coach likes in his players. 

"If you're a competitor, that's what you love," Lashlee said. "You love going in there, it's loud, all the momentum and emotions usually swing against you and you've got to see what kind of focus you can have. Really, when the play happens, none of that stuff matters. During the game, all that extra stuff doesn't matter. It's who can focus in and block that out and focus on doing what we're doing."

Even though SMU and the Cardinals haven't played since the 1980s, there is a little familiarity at least for one Mustang. Senior safety Jonathan McGill has matched up against Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough.

"I played him, actually, my sophomore year when I was at Stanford and he was at Oregon that Covid season," McGill said of Shough. "Similar qualities to what I seen back then. Highly touted coming out of high school, seasoned guy. Doesn't really take a lot of chances in turning the ball (over), takes pride in taking care of the ball."

While the SMU offense has gotten back on track, the defense continues to be impressive. The Mustangs have forced 14 turnovers and have scored four defensive touchdowns in the last four games. 

The SMU defense has also set the offense up inside the 5-yard line twice after turnovers. That's something defensive coordinator Scott Symons preaches, don't just get the turnover but do something with the ball once you have it.

"Coach Symons tells us all the time, any time you get a turnover — interception, fumble recovery — don't go out of bounds," McGill said. "A lot of us played some sort of offense, whether that was in high school or whatever the case may be. Everybody in here, all think we can play offense. Kobe thinks he's a running back, E Rob thinks he can play tight end. Zay and Cross think they can play receiver. All of us try to show what we can do with the ball in our hands. W\e take pride in that, showing coach what we can do, but also make a good play a great play and that's what happens when you can put the ball in the end zone on defense."

The last two weeks have provided chances for the Mustangs to get too excited and play emotional instead of with passion. The home crowd has been behind them to get things corrected.

Now they will have to do it themselves with a crowd that will try to push them into being emotional.

"All football games go (up and down) and you have a chance, at home, to let the emotion of the moment, maybe, swing you back the right way," Lashlee said. "It can, obviously, go the other way on the road really quickly. We've got to be able to handle that and do what we've done the last few weeks, not play emotional, be intense, be passionate, be focused. We're excited for that challenge."