The ACC title elimination game between Virginia Tech Hokies and SMU Mustangs takes center stage on Friday night. Both teams enter with 6-2 overall records and two conference losses; a third loss would all but eliminate the loser from ACC Championship Game contention behind Miami (6-0) and Wake Forest (5-1).
Virginia Tech, led by first-year coach James Franklin, returns from a bye week following a 20-16 victory at Clemson. SMU, 5-0 at home this season, comes off a 30-27 road loss at Syracuse. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
The Mustangs are 6.5-point favorites with an over/under of 56.5 points. The money line lists SMU at -215 and Virginia Tech at +185. The SportsLine Projection Model, after 10,000 simulations, leans toward the Under 56.5 points, noting that five of SMU's eight games have gone under, including four of the last five, while Virginia Tech has seen two of its last three and three of four road games go under.
Both defenses rank in the top half of the conference: Virginia Tech fifth allowing 20.5 points per game, SMU seventh at 22.3. The model projects 56 combined points, with the Under hitting in 51% of simulations. The model also indicates one side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations.
