The SMU football team will play its final home game of the season on Saturday, honoring its seniors while trying to stay in the running to reach the ACC championship game.

A win against Louisville is required to stay in the running to return to Charlotte, and coming out of the bye week, the Mustangs are as healthy as they've been in quite some time. Whether it's players who had played six straight games getting a chance to rest, ones dealing with lingering injuries getting a chance to get healthy or players who had missed time getting a chance to return to the lineup — timing was key.

"I think it definitely helped us get rested up," SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. "The guys that had been playing seemed to be a little fresher for this time of year, and then a lot of guys that are banged up are trending towards either being available or being able to give it a go. That's a positive. It's always good in late November to be in contention against a really good team."

While the Cardinals have stumbled the last two weeks with losses to California and Clemson, SMU is not overlooking them. Louisville lost to Virginia and Cal by three points and by one against the Tigers.

And the Mustangs know good teams can suffer close losses and still pull out big wins.

"They're seven points, about three plays, from being 10-0 and ranked in the Top 8," Lashlee said. "It's a really good football team. Not a lot of weaknesses, really good on defense, really good on offense and an elite punt returner. They're coming off a hard loss where they missed a few kicks and stuff, otherwise, they'd probably win, and we know how that feels."

SMU has won 11 straight games in November and is 13-1 in four seasons with Lashlee as the head coach. The Mustangs want to play meaningful games this time of season, and they win them.

"That speaks a lot about values," quarterback Kevin Jennings said. "We finish games off in November, when times get tough and it's like elimination time, the games matter and all that stuff. I think that's when we're at our best, honestly."

Before the game, the Mustangs will honor their 30 seniors. While there will still be more games in an SMU jersey for them to play, it is their last one in Ford Stadium. 

Most things about the week are normal, until it comes time for the ceremony to begin.

"There's more emotion than normal, and that's good. It's just not good when you're playing football," Lashlee said. "We've done it fine the last few years. During the week, you're kind of so focused on getting ready — I can't speak to what the kids think. They may think about it a lot more than I do, but I always struggle when we arrive to warmups and they're all coming out. That's when it becomes real for me."

There's a core group of five players who have been a big part of SMU's turnaround. Stone Eby, RJ Maryland, Ahmaad Moses, Isaiah Nwokobia and Isaiah Smith spent their entire careers at SMU and have played a role in the resurgence of the Mustangs.

Seeing those faces is when Lashlee believes the emotions will begin for him. But the players are trying to focus on the positives.

"Everybody talks about, 'You get here and, dang, it's gone by fast,'" Eby said. "Sitting in the shoes now, I'm a senior, and it's the last one. It really has gone by fast. I told somebody out on the (practice) field, 'Don't be sad it's over. Be glad it happened.' That's how you have to look at it and enjoy all the memories I have with all my brothers. That's the biggest thing we can all take for granted sometimes, and we can't take it for granted."

Players like Moses took a chance on Coach Lashlee and his staff coming in. He was committed elsewhere but chose to play for the Mustangs.

He has flourished during his time at SMU.

"It's meant everything, honestly," Moses said. "Me being a late switch, not knowing if I'm making the right decision for myself. My freshman year, even throughout the year, I was not sure if I made the right decision, but just staying down, trusting the process and realizing four years later it's probably the best decision I ever made. I'm glad I made it."

Moses is now a Walter Camp Player of the Year Award semifinalist. He's put the work in with Coach Shawn Griswold and his staff in the weight room and with defensive coordinator and safeties coach Scott Symons and the rest of the defensive staff to become the player he is today.

"One of only six defensive players, which, according to that group, they think he's one of the best six defensive players in America," Lashlee said of Moses. "That's really awesome. I think it says a lot about him, his ability, his work ethic. He's earned every bit of it. He's one of those guys that's not the biggest, not going to always be looked at as the fastest and all that, but he makes a lot of plays. He plays like a big, fast, athletic playmaking dude on defense."

And just like previous players passed the baton to players like Moses and Nwokobia, they are passing it on to the next generation of safeties. That includes a group of true freshmen in Javion Holiday, Sael Reyes and Tyren Polley Jr.

"It's always next man up. That's always the mentality," Moses said. "But just seeing all the freshmen come in and make plays, JHoli, Sael, even Man Man, they all stepped up and had plays. Not even at the end of the game when it was crunch time. Man Man had to play, basically, from the second quarter on. Being able to see them not even bend, they didn't break, they didn't do nothing. Watching them go out there and play, knowing they just came out of high school, they were able to make plays and do their job."

That's part of the legacy this group of seniors will leave behind. The other is the way the game day experience at Ford has changed. 

Now they have a chance to run out from the Garry Weber End Zone Complex and onto the Ford Stadium field in front of the home crowd one more time.

"The first three years of not having the end zone facility, being in the American, games were fun, but they're nothing like they are now," Eby said. "Whenever you run out on the field and you're running through the smoke and the fires coming up, you get chills in your bones now from how loud the fans are. Now the fans have an impact … it's been good for us."