While LSU and Ole Miss may be stealing all the headlines and hype for this weekend as Lane Kiffin makes his return to Oxford with the Tigers, that may not be the most important game of Week 3 when it comes to the bigger picture of college football and postseason implications.
SMU and Louisville will face off in a massive ACC matchup that will have major implications for both the ACC race and the College Football Playoff. With Miami looking to be head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, the biggest question in the ACC this season seems to be who will be the team that meets the Hurricanes in Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game. At this point in the season, SMU and Louisville look like the two frontrunners in that category, and the winner of this game will put themselves in a great position for the rest of the season.
Now, it is important to remember that we are talking about college football, where crazy things tend to happen and nothing is ever set in stone. However, the road ahead looks relatively favorable for each of these teams. Both were tested in Week 1, with SMU picking up a road win at Florida State while Louisville suffered a tough loss to a top-10 Ole Miss team on a last-second field goal. Each then followed that up with an easy win over an FCS opponent in Week 2.
After Saturday, both the Mustangs and Cardinals face relatively easy schedules, with each team likely to be favored in every remaining game outside of SMU’s late-November matchup with Notre Dame, which will not count toward the ACC standings. That makes Saturday’s matchup even more important, as the winner will have a major advantage in the race for a spot in Charlotte and potentially the College Football Playoff.
While the stakes are high, the on-field matchup is an incredible one as well. These are two teams with high-powered and explosive offenses that should make for an exciting game. Both of these teams are filled with playmakers who can make a play at any moment, meaning we could see plenty of fireworks in this one.
SMU comes in with quarterback Kevin Jennings, who is in his third season at the helm of Rhett Lashlee’s offense. The Mustangs also brought in some very talented weapons for Jennings who have already made an impact this season, including Kendrick Raphael and four different receivers who have surpassed 100 receiving yards through the first two games.
On the other side, Jeff Brohm is looking to get Louisville over the hump this season with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. The Ohio State transfer is a talented dual-threat QB who took some time to settle in during the opener, but really showed off his skill set in the second half and continued that strong play in Week 2. He is also joined by a plethora of weapons, most notably one of the best running backs in college football in Isaac Brown.
While Miami is the clear favorite in the ACC this season and likely will be no matter who they meet in that conference title game, it’s worth remembering that SMU and Louisville were the last two teams to defeat the Hurricanes last season before they went on their run to the national championship game.
This game will be played at Louisville, which should give the Cardinals a significant home-field advantage. However, SMU has already faced a tough road environment this season with its Week 1 trip to Florida State. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET as this one will serve as the perfect lead-in to the main event between LSU and Ole Miss in what should be a great Week 3 of college football.
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