ACC newcomer SMU to host BYU in first game against another Power 4 opponent

BYU (1-0) at SMU (2-0), Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

MGM Plant College football odds:SMU at 10 1/2.

Series standings: BYU leads 4-0.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer SMU is playing its first game against another Power Four opponent. The Mustangs have won their last nine home games, averaging 53.9 points per game in that streak — the longest since 10 straight home wins from 1946-48. BYU is in its second year in the Big 12 and is 6-7 since joining the league after playing 13 seasons as an independent. Both teams have big home victories over FCS opponents, BYU 41-13 over Southern Illinois and SMU 59-7 vs. Houston Christian.

A key clash

Anthony Booker Jr. and SMU’s defense against BYU’s offense that amassed 527 yards (348 passing yards and 179 rushing) without a turnover in the first game. The Mustangs forced three turnovers against HCU, which led to three touchdowns. Among them was Booker, a 348-pound nose tackle, who returned a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BYU: WR Chase Roberts and JoJo Phillips. After leading the Cougars with 42 catches in his sophomore season with them last year, the 6-foot-4 Roberts had seven catches for 108 yards in their opener. Phillips is a 6-5 redshirt freshman whose only catch last year went for a score. He caught two passes for 70 yards against Southern Illinois, one of them a 57-yard touchdown.

SMU: Preston Stone is 13-2 as the Mustangs’ quarterback. This season, he is 23-of-39 passing (59%) for 332 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and has six rushes for 51 yards.

FACTS AND FIGURES

The teams first met in the 1980 Holiday Bowl, when BYU overcame a 20-point deficit in the final four minutes. The Cougars then recovered an onside kick for a touchdown, scored another point and blocked a punt that set up Jim McMahon’s game-tying 41-yard pass to Clay Brown. They last played in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl, when BYU won 24-23 after SMU failed to convert a 2-point conversion attempt with 8 seconds left. … SMU has had at least seven receivers catch a pass in each of its last 19 games. … The Cougars have lost its last five road games.

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