SMU players have worn shirts throughout their Atlantic Coast Conference debut season declaring the Mustangs as defending champions.

SMU has clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game after beating Virginia, 33-7, in Charlottesville. The No. 13 Mustangs are undefeated in conference play during their first season transitioning to a Power Four school.

SMU improved to 10-1 overall and has won eight in a row since an early-September nonconference loss at home to BYU. Its 7-0 ACC record is the best by a team jumping from a mid-maj

SMU enters the last week of its regular season with some security, having already clinched a spot in the ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 7. The Mustangs became the first former Group of Five team to clinch a spot in a power-conference title game in their first year in the new conference.

The SMU Mustangs announced a transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sept. 1, 2023 — sending shockwaves around the college football world for a unique conference realignment move.

SMU set pretty clear and realistic goals for its first season in the ACC. The Mustangs anticipated that the jump from the American Athletic Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference would come with growing pains.