SMU gets sendoff before facing Clemson in ACC Championship game

DALLAS - There’s a lot of excitement for the SMU Mustangs football team as they prepare to play in the ACC Championship game on Saturday against Clemson.

This is SMU’s first year in the ACC, and they’ve accomplished an undefeated conference season. The team’s only loss of the season was in Week 2 to BYU.

SMU climbed to the top of their conference after winning the American Athletic Conference championship in 2023.

A win against 18th-ranked Clemson on Saturday would not only give SMU the ACC title but also send them into the College Football Playoffs.

"If they win on Saturday night, they've received a buy into a quarterfinals. So a lot to play for beyond winning an ACC championship the first year," said Gary Stokan with the Peach Bowl.

The team is relying on North Texans to get them there.

"For us to get our program to this point and to continue to grow it to the level we want to, we have to be able to recruit all of Texas. And we have to be able to recruit all of Dallas. And that’s what we focused on the last several years. And I think we’ve seen that’s helped our program grow. We’re Dallas' team. We’re not one area of Dallas' team," said SMU Head Coach Rhett Lashlee.

The game on Saturday is the main event but fans are also celebrating their head coach, who was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Lashlee is the first SMU football coach to win the award and received 64 of the 71 votes.

He's just focused on the game, though.

"It's an exciting matchup. We've got a great opponent. They don't really have a lot of weaknesses," Lashlee said.

SMU and Clemson will battle in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Family, friends, and fans of the team gathered on Friday morning to give the players and coaches a big send-off.