An ACC Championship Game elimination matchup headlines Friday night's college football action as the SMU Mustangs host the Virginia Tech Hokies at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Both teams enter with 6-2 overall records and two conference losses. The Mustangs are 4-2 in ACC play, while the Hokies are 3-2. A third conference loss would all but eliminate the loser from contention for the ACC Championship Game, with Miami (6-0) and Wake Forest (5-1) leading the conference.
Virginia Tech, led by first-year head coach James Franklin, returns from a bye week following a 20-16 victory at Clemson. SMU, coming off a 30-27 road loss at Syracuse, boasts a perfect 5-0 home record this season.
The Mustangs are 6.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 56.5 points. The money line lists SMU at -215 and Virginia Tech at +185.
According to the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulated the game 10,000 times, the Under 56.5 points is the recommended play, hitting in 51% of simulations. The model projects 56 combined points. Both defenses rank in the top half of the ACC: Virginia Tech fifth allowing 20.5 points per game, SMU seventh allowing 22.3 points per game. The Under has been a trend for SMU, with five of eight games going under, including four of the last five. Virginia Tech has seen two of its last three games go under, and three of four road games have also gone under.
The model also indicates one side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations. SportsLine's model entered Week 10 on an 80-77 run on top-rated college football picks.
