SMU built its whole fall around Kevin Jennings' Heisman push. Wake Forest built its whole offseason around proving 9 wins wasn't a fluke. Something's gotta give under the Friday night lights.
Bush’s Picks
WAKESMU
WAKESMU
OverUnder
Best BetSMU
SMU's the safer moneyline lean here. Jennings is one of the most experienced returning starters in the sport and the Mustangs have been in ACC title contention in each of their first two seasons in the league, while Wake Forest is breaking in a brand-new starting quarterback on the road. Lopez has upside, but banking on a transfer to be fully operational in a road environment against a playoff-caliber roster is asking a lot this early.
Wake Forest
+Jake Dickert's debut produced 9 wins, program record
+Duke's Mayo Bowl win over Mississippi State
+Gio Lopez brings real starting experience via UNC
−Lost both Ashford and Purdie to the portal
−Entirely new QB room with no returning depth
−Road trip into a playoff-caliber SMU program
SMU
+Kevin Jennings returns with 19 career starts, .731 win rate
+Back-to-back ACC title-game contention in 2024-25
This is the kind of matchup that didn't exist two years ago and now feels like appointment ACC football. Jennings is back for a third year as SMU's starter, and the program has gone all-in on him, from the Heisman campaign to naming a recovery center after him. He's got 19 career wins as a starter and a .731 winning percentage that ranks among the best of any active FBS quarterback. Across from him is Gio Lopez, the UNC transfer now running Rob Ezell's offense in Winston-Salem, tasked with keeping Wake Forest's out-of-nowhere turnaround going on the road.
Jake Dickert's first year at Wake Forest wasn't just good, it was historic. Nine wins, a Duke's Mayo Bowl blowout of Mississippi State, and the most wins ever by a first-year head coach in program history. But the QB room that got them there is gone. Robby Ashford and backup Deshawn Purdie both hit the portal, so Lopez inherits a new offense with almost no returning experience behind him. SMU, meanwhile, is running it back with co-coordinators on both sides and a roster that's been to the ACC title game in each of its first two conference seasons.
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WAKE Wake Forest
SMU SMU
SMU has the pedigree and the QB who's supposed to be a Heisman finalist. Wake Forest has the coach who already proved doubters wrong once this program cycle. That tension is exactly what makes this one worth circling on the November slate, even with the closing line still months from taking shape.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Nov 7?vs Merrimack—
Oct 30?vs Virginia—
Oct 16?@ California—
Oct 9?@ NC State—
Oct 2?vs Stanford—
Sep 25?@ Louisville—
Sep 18?vs Miami—
Sep 12?@ Purdue—
Sep 3?vs Akron—
SMU Mustangs
Nov 6?vs Virginia Tech—
Oct 30?@ Syracuse—
Oct 16?vs Virginia—
Oct 2?vs Boston College—
Sep 25?vs Missouri State—
Sep 19?@ Louisville—
Sep 12?vs UC Davis—
Sep 7?@ Florida State—
Recent form.
The bigger question for SMU isn't talent, it's whether the target on their back trips them up. Back-to-back years of ACC title-game contention raise the floor for what 2026 needs to look like, and a home date against an improved Group of Five graduate isn't the kind of game a playoff hopeful can afford to sleepwalk through. Wake Forest, on the other hand, has nothing to lose and everything to gain — nobody outside Winston-Salem expected last year's run, and beating a ranked SMU team on the road would be the loudest statement Dickert's program could make.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
SMU Mustangs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Circle it as a measuring-stick game either way. If Lopez has settled into Wake's offense by mid-November, this is a legitimate ACC upset watch. If SMU's defense is rounding into form under its new co-coordinators, Jennings and that offense should be humming enough to keep the Heisman push alive with a comfortable win.
