Saturday, December 7, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
[8/7] SMU (11-1, 8-0 ACC) vs. Clemson (9-3, 7-1 ACC)
Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, N.C.
TV: ABC
Radio: The Ticket - KTCK 96.7 FM/1310 AM | Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 9 SMU is set to begin its postseason journey when it faces Clemson in the ACC Championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ABC at Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte.
• The Mustangs enter the contest at 11-1 and ranked No. 9 in the nation, the highest ranking since 1985.
• The Mustangs have averaged 40.8 points per game during the current nine-game winning streak. 
• SMU has won its last 10 road games, second-longest active streak in all of the FBS. 
• The Mustangs have forced at least one turnover in nine of the past 11 games and in 19 of the past 22 contests.
• Last week, SMU defeated Cal 38-6 at home to polish off its perfect 8-0 ACC record in the program's inaugural season in the conference. 
• SMU's 8-0 season in conference play is a first for a team jumping into a Power-4/5 conference from a Group of Five in their first season since 1978. Of those teams, only Louisville (2014) finished with a winning conference record, going 5-3 in ACC play. 

QUICK HITS
• SMU is 30-5 at home in Ford Stadium since 2019.
• SMU's defense has continued to force turnovers this year, ranking 23rd in the country with 21 turnovers gained, along with being fifth in defensive touchdowns with four.
• The Mustangs have had at least seven receivers catch a pass in 26 of the past 29 games.
• Brashard Smith has made an impact in 2024, ranking eighth in all-purpose yards per game with 138.92 and 12th in total touchdowns (17), resulting in being named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. 
• Collin Rogers has tallied 22 field goals this season, which is fourth in the nation. He leads the nation in made field goals over 50 yards with seven, one shy of the NCAA single season record of eight set by Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz in 1982, leading to being selected as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. 
• Kevin Jennings sits sixth nationally in passing yards per attempt (9.34) and 12th in yards per pass completion (14.01). 
• Jennings has the highest passer efficiency rating in conference games only in the ACC at 171.5.
• In the nine games since Jennings was named the starter (all P4 opponents), SMU has trailed in only about 6 minutes and 10 seconds of game time, that's 370 seconds out of 32,400 seconds played with six of those games against bowl-eligible teams.
• SMU's 54 wins in the last six years are the most by any FBS Texas team. In addition, the Mustangs have won 24 of those on the road, tops for any team in the state since 2019.
• The Mustangs are 20-2 in their last 22 games, and 19-1 in their last 20 regular-season contests.
• Rhett Lashlee boasts a 21-3 conference record in his career. His 21-3 record in his first 24 league games on the Hilltop is the best in SMU history.
• SMU has posted a record of 26-1 during Lashlee's three seasons in charge when they score 30 or more points in a game, and have won 24 straight when hitting the magic number.

THE SERIES
• This is the first meeting all time.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Clemson enters the game at 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the ACC this season.

THE COACHES
• Rhett Lashlee is in his third season as the head coach at SMU and has a 29-10 career record. Lashlee, who served as offensive coordinator for the Mustangs for two seasons (2018-19), also served as the offensive coordinator at Miami in 2020 and 2021. A one-time finalist (2013) and two-time semifinalist (2019, 2020) for the Broyles Award, Lashlee has the distinction of being the only coach ever nominated for the Broyles Award four different times at four different schools (Arkansas State, Auburn, SMU, Miami).

• Lashlee was named a finalist last season for the prestigious Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, handed out the nation's top coach as voted on by the National Sports Media Association, the Bryant Awards' Executive Leadership Team, and the Bryant Family. The Arkansas native was also named Co-Coach of the Year by the Dave Campbell's Texas Football publication, a finalist of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, and a semi-finalist for Coach of the Year Award by the Maxwell Football Club for the job he did in 2023.

• Lashlee signed a contract extension with SMU on Nov. 22, 2024. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Now in his 17th season (and 16th full season) as Clemson's head coach, Dabo Swinney is Clemson's all-time winningest coach and the first in program history to lead Clemson to multiple national championships.

• Swinney entered the 2024 season as the nation's active leader in winning percentage among head coaches with at least 10 years of experience. His 179 wins are the most of any active coach whose entire head coaching tenure has come at one school, and he has produced 83 NFL Draft picks and 18 first-round picks, both the most of any active coach since his hire.

MUSTANG CAPTAINS
• Kevin Jennings, Jonathan McGill, Justin Osborne, Elijah Roberts, Preston Stone and Kobe Wilson were voted captains for the 2024 season. 

SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON HERE
• The Mustangs have been a force in conference play over the last three seasons. 
• SMU has posted an 21-3 record against conference opponents since 2022, highlighted by the current 17-game winning streak. 
• The 17 straight conference wins breaks the program record set back from 1981 to 1982. 
• The winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation.

CURRENT 17-GAME CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK 
Nov. 26, 2022    W, 34-31    vs. Memphis (1)
Sept. 30, 2023    W, 34-16    vs. Charlotte (2)
Oct. 12, 2023    W, 31-10    at ECU (3)
Oct. 20, 2023    W, 55-0    at Temple (4)
Oct. 28, 2023    W, 69-10    vs. Tulsa (5)
Nov. 4, 2023        W, 36-31    at Rice (6)
Nov. 10, 2023    W, 45-21    vs. North Texas (7)
Nov. 18, 2023    W, 38-34    at Memphis (8)
Nov. 25, 2023    W, 59-14    vs. Navy (9)
Sept. 28, 2024    W, 42-16    vs. Florida State (10)
Oct. 5, 2024        W, 34-27    at No. 22 Louisville (11)
Oct. 19, 2024     W, 40-10    at Stanford (12)
Oct. 26, 2024    W, 28-27(OT)    at Duke (13)
Nov. 2, 2024        W, 48-25    vs. Pitt (14)
Nov. 16, 2024    W, 38-28    vs. Boston College (15)
Nov. 23, 2024    W, 33-7    at Virginia (16)
Nov. 30, 2024    W, 38-6    vs. Cal (17)

LEVELED UP 
• The Mustangs continue to be a dominant force in conference games for a second straight season. 
• SMU is winning conference games by a score of 37.62-18.25, an average of 19.37. 
• The 19.37 average margin of victory is the third highest for any P4 team in the country, behind Indiana (23.11) and Oregon (20.0)
• Only the Ducks and The Mustangs went unbeaten in conference play amongst P4 teams in 2024. 

SAME PONY, NEW EXPRESS
• The Mustangs have put together one of the best two-seasons run in the program's history in 2023 and 2024. 
• For the first time ever, the Mustangs have put together back-to-back seasons with at least 11 wins. 
• During the run, SMU went a perfect 16-0 in conference play in two different conferences (AAC in 2023 and ACC in 2024). 

TO THE VICTORS GO THE SPOILS 
• SMU got rewarded for its tremendous success in the ACC in its first season, with 19 players earning All-ACC accolades. 
• Brashard Smith, Jared Harrison-Hunte and Isaiah Nwokobia led the way, earning first-team honors for the Mustangs. 

ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM
Jared Harrison-Hunte (DT), Isaiah Nwokobia (S), Brashard Smith (RB)

ALL-ACC SECOND TEAM 
Jakai Clark (C), Kobe Wilson (LB)

ALL-ACC THIRD TEAM 
Kevin Jennings (QB), PJ Williams (OT), Logan Parr (OG)

ALL-ACC HONORABLE MENTION 
Key'Shawn Smith (WR), RJ Maryland (TE), Roderick Daniels Jr. (AP), Justin Osborne (OG), Elijah Roberts (DE), Kori Roberson Jr. (DT), Ahmad Walker (LB), Brandon Crossley (CB), Ahmaad Moses (S), Jonathan McGill (S), Collin Rogers (PK, SP)