All that SMU has done this season to build an 11-1 record and 8-0 record in the ACC has led up to its game this week. In their first season in the conference, the Mustangs will compete for an ACC championship against the team that has won the most ACC championships — the Clemson Tigers.

SMU has a better shot at being taken seriously by beating Clemson, with its brand-name credibility, than if Miami had qualified for the title game.

One of the ACC's new faces will take on its most established program of the last decade in the 2024 ACC Championship Game. The SMU Mustangs will try to