When Atlantic Coast Conference foes SMU and Boston College renew acquaintances Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass., the Mustangs will look to keep momentum following a major upset while the Eagles hope to find some.
SMU (6-3, 4-1) hits the East Coast after a thrilling 26-20 overtime win last week against then-No. 10 Miami. It marked the highest-ranked victory since 1983 for the Mustangs, who are 12-1 all-time in ACC games since joining the league last year.
TJ Harden carried the ball on five straight plays to close the game, including the deciding 1-yard touchdown. The UCLA transfer’s effort came after Kevin Jennings threw for a season-high 365 yards and one score.
“We were focused, we were intentional, we were urgent. (But) we want to be better this week than we were last week,” said SMU coach Rhett Lashlee.
In other words, the Mustangs’ attention has turned to finding the road win that eluded them two weeks ago in a 13-12 setback at Wake Forest.
“Get to go on the road,” Lashlee said. “Sixth straight (week with a) game. Get to go up to Boston. That’s a big challenge for us. Bill (O’Brien) is a championship-level coach at every level, and they’ve been really, really close a lot, so we’ve got our hands full there.”
The Eagles (1-8, 0-5) are on an eight-game skid following last week’s 25-10 loss to then-No. 12 Notre Dame in which they trailed just 12-10 in the third quarter. Only two of the eight losses have been decided by seven points or fewer.
With Grayson James starting at quarterback for the fourth straight game, O’Brien knows what it will take to get over the hump. Saturday will mark the Eagles’ second of three straight home games before the Nov. 29 finale at Syracuse.
“If you think back to those games, there were interceptions, there were fumbles. It comes down to that,” O’Brien said. “Last year, we were a lot better at that — taking care of the ball, taking the ball away. This year, it’s been the opposite, and we have to fix that.”
James threw for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in each of his first three starts. He was 25-for-37 against Notre Dame and found Reed Harris for a key second-quarter score, but six sacks and three giveaways did in the Eagles.
