CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Two Atlantic Coast Conference members, SMU and Clemson, earned berths in the 2024 College Football Playoff and will play in the first round on Saturday, December 21. SMU earned an at-large bid after a phenomenal 11-2 season, including an 8-0 mark in regular-season ACC play. The Mustangs fell in the ACC Football Championship Game to Clemson, who earned an automatic bid to the CFP as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
Saturday, Dec. 21, Noon ET
#11 SMU at #6 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round; State College, Pa.
Series: Penn State leads series, 1-0-1
Last Meeting: Penn State, 26-21 (1978)
TNT: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline) and Tom Luginbill (sideline)
School Radio Feed: SMU
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 82 / SiriusXM 80
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 82 / SiriusXM 80
The No. 11-seeded SMU Mustangs will be making their first-ever trip to the CFP when they head to State College, Pennsylvania, to meet sixth-seeded Penn State. The Mustangs went a perfect 8-0 through ACC play in their first season in the league. In conference games, SMU outscored opponents 301-146 en route to its second straight undefeated conference season. SMU’s 301 points scored were the second-most in conference games while the 146 points allowed were the fewest in ACC play.
The Mustangs head into Beaver Stadium riding a 10-game winning streak in true road games, the second-longest active streak in all of FBS behind only Texas and its 11-game road win streak.
Overall, the Mustangs posted the No. 6 scoring offense throughout FBS football and the second-best in the ACC, logging 38.5 points per game. SMU has also been phenomenal at stopping the run, boasting the fourth-best rushing defense in college football, allowing just 93.4 yards per game on the ground. The defense has averaged 3.08 sacks per game this season which is the 11th-best mark in the country.
The Mustangs’ season took off with the move to Kevin Jennings as the starting quarterback. A semifinalist for the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Jennings led SMU to the 2024 ACC Football Championship Game in its first year in the ACC and is 9-1 as a full-time starter. Jennings ranks 10th in all of FBS in yards per pass…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Atlantic Coast Conference…