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Wk 7 · 2026

Virginia Cavaliers at SMU Mustangs — Sat, Oct 17

Sat, Oct 17 · Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX · CW

Weather at kickoff

51°F clear
1% chance of precipitation · wind 16 mph
Forecast from Open-Meteo
at
12:00pET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential SMU by 1.6
ACC · 4-1

What is at stake

A ACC game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race. SMU is ranked #24 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).

What the ratings imply

The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers: The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus 2.4 points of home field. It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026 games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have changed.

Efficiency · 2026 ratings

Virginia: +5.1#46
Efficiency margin
SMU: +4.3#49
Virginia: 31.6
Offense (pts/100)
SMU: 33.6
Virginia: 17.6
Defense (pts/100)
SMU: 20.3
Virginia: 68.7
Pace (plays/g)
SMU: 68.8
Virginia: 5.54
Yards / play
SMU: 6.97
Virginia: 4.85
Yards / play allowed
SMU: 4.95
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.

Team stats · 2026 per game

Virginia: 32.8
Points / game
SMU: 34.6
Virginia: 19.2
Points allowed
SMU: 23.0
Virginia: 380
Yards / game
SMU: 479
Virginia: 314
Yards allowed
SMU: 312
Virginia: 162
Pass yds allowed
SMU: 170
Virginia: 152
Rush yds allowed
SMU: 142
Virginia: 0.33
Turnovers / game
SMU: 1.80
From completed 2026 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

Virginia form

W 28-25vs SYRL 7-38at FSUW 42-3vs DELL 27-38vs WVUW 59-3vs NORF
2026 season

SMU form

W 25-16vs BCW 34-24vs MOSTL 31-41at LOUW 56-10vs UCDW 27-24at FSU
2026 season

Virginia this season

Straight up4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Against the spread3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Over / under3-3 · 50% (6 games)

SMU this season

Straight up4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Against the spread1-3-1 · 25% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.

Common opponents · 5

OpponentVirginiaSMU
Florida St
ACC
at L 7-38 previewat W 27-24 preview
Syracuse
ACC
vs W 28-25 previewat Wk 9 · scheduled preview
Wake Forest
ACC
at Wk 9 · scheduled previewvs Wk 11 · scheduled preview
California
ACC
vs Wk 11 · scheduled previewvs Wk 8 · scheduled preview
Virginia Tech
ACC
at Wk 13 · scheduled previewvs Wk 10 · scheduled preview
Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

Since 2006, SMU leads 1–0 · SMU won the last one
1 meeting in 2006–2026 · average margin 26.0 points toward SMU
Yr DateResultSiteWon
20242024-11-23SMU 33 — 7 Virginiaat UVASMU

Virginia leaders 2026 regular season

PassingBeau Pribula QB #780/118, 961 YDS, 12 TD, 1 INT
Eli Holstein QB #1012/18, 180 YDS, 3 TD
RushingJekail Middlebrook RB #2150 CAR, 242 YDS, 1 TD
Xavier Brown RB #031 CAR, 166 YDS, 2 TD
Xay Davis RB #2532 CAR, 160 YDS, 1 TD
ReceivingKameron Courtney WR #515 REC, 166 YDS, 2 TD
Rico Flores Jr. WR #1111 REC, 152 YDS, 1 TD
Da'Shawn Martin WR #1811 REC, 148 YDS, 4 TD
Josiah Abdullah WR #134 REC, 102 YDS, 1 TD
Defense
TacklesJacobie Henderson CB #1027
Myles Brown LB #1323
Fisher Camac DE #1422
SacksMatthew Fobbs-White DE #163
Nnanna Anyanwu DE #332
Fisher Camac DE #141
InterceptionsBrandyn Hillman S #63
Keke Adams S #212
Corey Costner S #41

SMU leaders 2026 regular season

PassingKevin Jennings QB #7117/156, 1588 YDS, 14 TD, 5 INT
Ty Hawkins QB #111/13, 104 YDS, 2 TD
RushingKendrick Raphael RB #677 CAR, 418 YDS, 6 TD
Dramekco Green RB #436 CAR, 111 YDS
Kevin Jennings QB #732 CAR, 69 YDS, 2 TD
ReceivingYamir Knight WR #829 REC, 367 YDS, 2 TD
Jalen Cooper WR #1019 REC, 290 YDS, 1 TD
Yannick Smith WR #314 REC, 231 YDS, 2 TD
Randy Pittman TE #516 REC, 153 YDS, 3 TD
Defense
TacklesTyren Polley Jr. S #1030
Alexander Kilgore LB #2325
Jimmy Wyrick S #2122
SacksMarques White DE #164.5
Aakil Washington DE #582
Jimmy Wyrick S #212
InterceptionsJarvis Lee S #11
Brandon Booker LB #281
These are regular-season totals for the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year, taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still appears against the year he earned it; the roster pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is. A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.