Saturday’s dominant 33-7 win on the road at Virginia showed in a single performance what SMU had spent three decades seeking to prove to the nation.

After starting the season unranked, it took seven weeks for SMU to make it into the AP Top 25, becoming one of the more surprising teams in all of college football. The Mustangs (10-1, 7-0 in ACC play) are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, and their only loss of the year came against the No. 14 BYU Cougars in Week 2.

SMU has clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game after beating Virginia, 33-7, in Charlottesville. The No. 13 Mustangs are undefeated in conference play during their first season transitioning to a Power Four school.

SMU improved to 10-1 overall and has won eight in a row since an early-September nonconference loss at home to BYU. Its 7-0 ACC record is the best by a team jumping from a mid-maj

The SMU Mustangs announced a transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sept. 1, 2023 — sending shockwaves around the college football world for a unique conference realignment move.