Coming out of the bye week, the SMU football team was the best version of itself so far this season and won its ACC opener.

Now the Mustangs are trying to make it 2-0 in conference play against a Stanford team that is in a similar situation to where SMU was a week ago.

"(Stanford's) coming off a bye week," SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. "Much like us last week, usually when you get a bye week coming off the first three or four games, it really helps you reset as a coaching staff and as a team. You know your personnel and how they act in games, your quarterback and all that stuff. You usually come out on both sides of the ball with a much clearer focus on who you want to be the rest of the season. I expect that we'll get that from Stanford."

One thing the Mustangs needed to fix was its secondary and getting people in the right places. The move of Deuce Harmon to nickel alongside Kyron Chambers allowed Ahmaad Moses to go back to his best position and keeps Isaiah Nwokobia in his best position. That also solidified a three-man rotation at cornerback with Jaelyn Davis-Robinson, Marcellus Barnes Jr. and William Nettles.

While there is still work to be done, the improvement was noticeable last week.

"I think we learned that, coming out of the bye week, we're on the right track," Lashlee said. "I think our three corners — Smoke, Speedy and Marcellus — are playing well. … I think moving Deuce to nickel, I think Deuce and Kyron, that combo at nickel is a good combo for us, particularly with some of the guys out, for a while anyway. That got Ahmaad back at the post and Zay at his normal spot. I think, from a personnel standpoint, if we can stay healthy, we know the guys."

Now that group has to grow in its communication and comfortability with the other guys out there. 

The secondary feels like that is happening now.

"At the beginning of the year there was a lot of rotation going on with all the positions," Moses said. "Now we're back to where we were at in the spring and when fall camp started. That's really good right there."

The other piece was a healthy offense. The Mustangs got Jordan Hudson back against TCU after missing all but one play over the first three games. The open date helped get him closer to 100%, along with tight ends RJ Maryland and Matthew Hibner, who have been banged up and recovering this season.

The result was quarterback Kevin Jennings completing 83% of his passes, 29-of-35, including 16 in a row, for 285 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.

"It's been amazing," Jennings said. "Just having that many guys out there that can make plays for me. We've got JHud back, we've got both tight ends back healthy now. It's really good having all those guys out there and be able to distribute the ball to them and have them make plays."

New players are also getting more comfortable, like transfers Yamir Knight and Link Rhodes and true freshman Jalen Cooper.

"We have so many people that can touch the ball and make so many plays," Knight said. "You have RJ, you have Matt, you have all of our receivers, our running backs. Everybody can touch the ball and make plays at any given time. I feel like our ceiling is very high."

That gives a lot of weapons, and they were on full display last week, with eight players catching a pass and five of those with at least three receptions.

"It's what we thought we could be offensively," Lashlee said. "I think our skill guys are as healthy as they've been. Having Jordan and Romello on the outside tells you a lot, and then having a guy like JCoop and Link that can come in. We've got good depth there. Then in the slot, RJ being back and I think you're seeing Yamir Knight settle in and be the player we all know he is. That gives us good consistency. And then having Matt back is good. … We've just got to put it all together more consistently, but we showed what we're capable of."

This week, the running backs will be tested. Stanford's defense is allowing just 113.2 rushing yards per game, under 4 yards per carry and only four rushing touchdowns in five games. It starts up front, but it's also about the group of linebackers behind them led by leading tackler Matt Rose.

"I think their D-line, they're big and they're physical and they play the game the right way," Lashlee said. "Their D-tackles do a good job, I think, of shedding one-on-one blocks and splitting double teams and really being hard to move. So, if you can't move the front, it makes it hard to be explosive. I think they've only given up 13 explosive runs this year of 12 or more (yards). That's not a ton. Then their ends, they're big, they're long, they play wide. They do a nice job of edging the defense. I think it starts with the front."

TJ Harden has taken the role of the top guy but has been a little banged up. Lashlee and the SMU coaches think there is a high ceiling on Chris Johnson Jr. with his explosive ability and Dramekco Green, who is still learning as a true freshman. 

The Mustangs also got Derrick McFall involved as a guy who has a lot of different skill sets. They just have to find a way to all be effective and earn their touches.

"It's still a work in progress," Lashlee said. "We've got a lot of guys that can make plays. … When a guy takes it over and he's going to be a 20-plus touch guy a game, it simplifies things. But at the same time, more guys are going to play, and they're diverse and all have different strengths. I think you'll continue to see that, and it may just be who's feeling it week to week."

Getting back in the win column, winning the conference opener and improving the conference winning streak to 18 games gives the Mustangs momentum heading into Saturday.

"It helps when you win a conference game," Lashlee said. "I think our guys are excited to play at home again in another conference opportunity. We've got a chance to go 2-0."