An ACC Championship elimination game headlines Friday night college football as the SMU Mustangs host the Virginia Tech Hokies at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Both teams enter with 6-2 overall records and two conference losses, meaning a third defeat would all but end their hopes of reaching the ACC Championship Game behind unbeaten Miami (6-0) and Wake Forest (5-1).
The Hokies, led by first-year coach James Franklin, return from a bye week following a gritty 20-16 victory at Clemson. SMU, meanwhile, is 5-0 at home this season but comes off a 30-27 road loss at Syracuse. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Oddsmakers list the Mustangs as 6.5-point favorites with an over/under of 56.5 points. The money line sits at SMU -215 and Virginia Tech +185.
The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates each FBS game 10,000 times, leans toward the under on the total. The model projects 56 combined points, with the under hitting in 51% of simulations. SMU has seen the under cash in five of eight games this year, including four of the last five, while Virginia Tech has gone under in two of its last three and three of four road games. Both defenses rank in the top half of the conference, with Virginia Tech fifth (20.5 points allowed per game) and SMU seventh (22.3).
Beyond the total, the model indicates one side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations. The model entered Week 10 on an 80-77 run on top-rated college football picks. The game will be streamed on Fubo.
