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SMU football is trekking to a historic first in the program's 107-year history. The Mustangs need one more win to claim their first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference title. And pull it off in the Mustangs' first season as an ACC member.
The Mustangs have looked near flawless throughout 2024. SMU sits at No. 8 overall but heads to Bank of America Stadium with the conference's best record at 11-1. Oh, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is confident the conference will see SMU represent them in the College Football Playoffs, regardless of win or loss. He shared that faith with college football insider and NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach. Already, SMU drew wild reactions for ranking ahead of BYU even after losing their only game to the Cougars.
While SMU has put together an almost undefeated regular season, there's still a fatal flaw to know about. Head coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff must find a way to eliminate this dilemma before facing Clemson.
What is that flaw on the Mustangs' side? It's time to dive in.
SMU football must limit the yellow marker
The Mustangs looked undisciplined, even in beating Cal by 32 on Saturday.
SMU committed an astounding 17 penalties in the 38-6 rout at home. Those calls costed the Mustangs 137 yards. Some of the penalties even involved mental lapses.
The Mustangs got called for false starts on back-to-back plays during their second drive. Fortunately for SMU, quarterback Preston Stone hit Matthew Hibner on an 11-yard touchdown to cap the drive. But other calls included ineligible man downfield, unnecessary roughness, facemask, and unsportsmanlike conduct.
SMU saw a spike in penalties compared to the win over Virginia, as the Mustangs got penalized only six times. They also got the yellow marker to come out six times against Boston College the previous week.
But the Mustangs reaching double digits in penalties is nothing new this season. The officials threw the yellow cloth 10 times on SMU during the 48-25 win over Pittsburgh. The Stanford game also saw 10 penalties called on SMU in the Mustangs' rout at Palo Alto. Even the season opener against Nevada saw a high number of yellow markers (11 total for SMU).
As high-powered the offense is, SMU could've won by larger margins if it weren't for penalties. The Mustangs have either shot themselves in the foot or pulled off something more costly in front of the refs.
Given the emotions of Saturday's upcoming contest, best believe Clemson will try to use SMU's penalty flaw to its advantage. The Tigers are likely going to attempt to get inside the Mustangs' head and force them to commit a dumb foul. The Mustangs and Lashlee have got to find a way to maintain their composure and ensure there won't be a repeat of their penalty-marred Cal game.
Are penalties the only fatal flaw for SMU?
The Mustangs enter Charlotte with the ACC's top-ranked scoring defense. Opposing offenses only average 19.8 points per game facing a unit that was described by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman as “the nastiest in the ACC.”
Shockingly, SMU struggles defending the pass. Clemson will be facing the conference's ninth-ranked pass defense, but 85th nationally. The Tigers, meanwhile, bring the ACC's fourth-best passing offense and 16th ranked air attack in tow.
Know Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney will go after this SMU pass defense. He'll probably go to the ear of quarterback Cade Klubnik and tell him to work underneath and attack the sidelines to put the Mustangs on their heels early.
However, Klubnik will have to be mindful of not one, but three different SMU safeties. Ahmaad Moses, Jonathan McGill, and Isaiah Nwokobia each share the interception lead at three while all man safety for the Mustangs. Defensive coordinator Scott Symons runs a multiple 3-4 look that has often confused QBs. That confusion leads to erratic passes that land into the hands of the safety trio.
Penalties are the first thing SMU must limit on Saturday, though. Then its about bottling the explosive plays right after against the Tigers. SMU could be in for a defensive slugfest for its first ACC title game. SMU, however, no longer needs to rely on offense to secure victories, as Symons has built one of the nation's best defenses now. Overcoming the fatal flaw of penalties, then forcing turnovers in the air, increases SMU's chances to bring the program's first ACC title back home to Dallas.
