No. 14 SMU is alone atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. The 8-1 Mustangs, who are 5-0 in conference games in their new league, are home Saturday against Boston College.

They then play Virginia and California, both now 5-4 like the Eagles. SMU is the only of the 17 ACC teams without a league loss, but last season's American Athletic Conference champion dropped a spot to 14th in the second CFP rankings released this week.

ACC opponents meet when the No. 13 SMU Mustangs (8-1) and the Boston College Eagles (5-4) play on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The game will air on ESPN, starting at 3:30

The Mustangs now sit in the No. 14 spot, which makes them the second team left out of the playoff. This setback, however, wasn’t SMU’s fault. Ole Miss leaped to No. 11 after a dominant win over third-ranked Georgia over the weekend, pushing SMU down a slot. Notably, the Miami Hurricanes remained in the top 10 despite losing to a 6-4 Georgia Tech.

If SMU loses a game, it still has a chance to reach the title game through tiebreakers, but its clearest road is by winning out, which it should be able to do as the favorite in i