TLDR: Boston College flies halfway across the country to face a SMU team whose quarterback owns the school record book. The Eagles have been scrapping out close wins, and a 3-touchdown spread says Dallas expects more than a scrap.
Boston College visits SMU on Saturday, October 3, in an ACC game built around Kevin Jennings, SMU's record-setting 3rd-year starter at quarterback. SMU is 3-1 but has allowed 24 or more in 3 of its 4 games. Boston College won its 2 home games by a touchdown or less and lost its only road trip badly. SMU is a 3-touchdown favorite, and the question is whether the Eagles' modest offense can make the Mustangs' leaky defense pay.
+Jennings: 3rd-year starter, school total-offense record
+Hung 56 on UC Davis at home
+Won 27-24 at Florida State
−Gave up 41 in loss at Louisville
−Allowed 24 to Missouri State at home
The whole matchup starts with Kevin Jennings. He's a redshirt senior who came back for his last year of eligibility, and this is his 3rd straight season as SMU's starter. He passed Ben Hicks for the program's all-time total offense record in the 56-10 rout of UC Davis. Rhett Lashlee is in year 5 and gets a veteran running the show, which is about the most valuable thing a college offense can have in October. Boston College hasn't shown it can handle that kind of quarterback yet. The Eagles are 2-1 in Bill O'Brien's 3rd season, and their only road trip so far was a 34-15 loss at Cincinnati.
SMU's 3-1 start is good, but it isn't airtight. The Mustangs won 27-24 at Florida State and beat Missouri State 34-24 at home. Louisville hung 41 on them in their 1 loss, a 31-41 defeat on the road. That makes 24 or more allowed in 3 of 4 games. Boston College's offense hasn't done much to punish anybody so far: 28 against Rutgers and 22 against Maine, both at home. The rain in the forecast for Dallas is light and the wind is barely there, so the weather shouldn't decide anything.
Boston College's 2 wins came by a touchdown and by 6. That's a team finding ways to win at Alumni Stadium, not one that has pulled away from anybody. The Eagles also hosted Virginia Tech in the rivalry game on September 26, and that result is the freshest data point on BC heading into this trip. It's a big trip, too: Chestnut Hill to Gerald J. Ford Stadium, against a home team that just played 2 straight at home.
For SMU, this is the start of a long stretch at Ford Stadium. Virginia and California come to Dallas after BC, and there's a week off in between. That makes this a chance to bank an ACC win and get back above .500 in conference after the Louisville loss. How well the Mustangs play in their own building is the kind of thing that decides whether a big spread holds up in the 4th quarter.
Two questions matter here. Can the Boston College offense keep up if Jennings gets rolling? The Eagles haven't cleared 28 in their first 3 games. And can the SMU defense stop giving up a steady 24? If both answers break SMU's way, this is the Jennings show at home. If BC's defense can shorten the game and keep it low-scoring, the way it did in those close home wins, the Eagles stick around longer than the board suggests.
Boston College Eagles at SMU Mustangs — Boston College Heads To Dallas To Test Jennings And SMU | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
