Way-Too-Early 2026 Virginia Tech Football Preview and Prediction: Week 10, @ SMU

The Hokies haven't played against SMU since 1974.

Virginia Tech Athletics

After taking on Clemson Oct. 24, Virginia Tech football enjoys a bye week before traveling up to Dallas, Texas, for a Friday night clash against third-year ACC school SMU.

In year one in the ACC, SMU went 11-1 (8-0 ACC) finishing atop the ACC regular season standings, before falling 34-31 to Clemson in the ACC Championship game. In the first round of the inaugural 12-team rendition of the College Football Playoff (CFP), the Mustangs lost in a 38-10 blowout to Penn State.

In that 38-10 Penn State win, Virginia Tech's new presumptive starter Ethan Grunkemeyer made a brief appearance for the Nittany Lions, completing one of his two passes, throwing for nine yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Grunkemeyer threw for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four picks last year for Penn State before moving to Virginia Tech ahead of the 2026 campaign.

SMU's second year was still successful, though it did not end in a CFP berth. The Mustangs finished the regular season with an 8-4 (6-2 ACC) record and they were one of the five schools tied for second place in the ACC standings. SMU had a chance to separate itself in the final week of the season, but it lost 38-35 to California and found itself on the short-end of a second-place tiebreaker to Duke, which eventually won the conference title game.

SMU proceeded to round out its regular season with a 24-19 victory over No. 17 Arizona in the Holiday Bowl. The Mustangs ended the season in the receiving votes category after making the preseason top-25 for the first time in 40 years. This year, SMU enters the season in a similar standing, at least by Bill Connelly's preseason SP+ rankings. Connelly's metrics slot the Mustangs at No. 28 at the time of writing.

At quarterback, SMU runs it back with Kevin Jennings for the third time as a starter (fifth year total). Jennings threw for 3,641 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year, adding four more rushing touchdowns. In his two years in Dallas, Jennings has amassed 6,886 passing yards, 408 more on the ground, plus 58 total touchdowns (49 passing, nine rushing).

Jennings statistically increased his numbers little by little as the regular season went on. In September, he threw for seven touchdowns and four interceptions, bettering his total to a 8/3 split in October. In November, he threw for 1,244 yards, nine touchdowns and two picks — including a 29-for-44, 365-yard effort against then-No. 10 Miami in a shocking 26-20 overtime win. Heading into that game, SMU held a 5-3 record as a result of a 48-45 double-overtime loss to Baylor, a 35-24 loss to TCU and a 13-12 stunner against Wake Forest that likely evaporated the Mustangs' CFP hopes. Jennings went 24-for-36 for 250 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Mustangs' 38-35 regular-season finale loss to Cal.

Jennings, however, couldn't find the endzone in the Holiday Bowl. Against the Wildcats, Jennings threw no touchdowns and three interceptions, though he logged 278 passing yards on a 21-of-32 clip as the Mustangs won, 24-19.

At running back, SMU welcomes Kendrick Raphael from Cal; the Florida native produced 943 rushing yards on 232 carries last year, including a 71-yard, three-touchdown effort against the Hokies. The Mustangs did lost leading rusher T.J. Harden; Harden, who is now on the Cleveland Browns' roster, rolled up 787 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns last season for SMU.

The Mustangs also lost Chris Johnson Jr. to Clemson; the then-redshirt sophomore tallied 479 rushing yards and 180 receiving yards for the Mustangs last season, logging 128 rushing yards in SMU's loss to Cal.

SMU lost its leading wide receiver in Jordan Hudson; the Garland, Texas native is now on the Dallas Cowboys after a 766-yard, six-touchdown season. SMU's No. 2, Romello Brinson, is also gone after he tallied 638 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

The Mustangs' passing attack should be replenished, though. Yannick Smith tallied 583 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season at East Carolina, while the Mustangs also gained Theo Melin Öhrström from Texas A&M. The former Aggie tallied 168 receiving yards and one touchdown on 19 catches last season for Texas A&M.

In terms of the returners, Yamir Knight headlines the group; he amassed 637 yards and five touchdowns last year for the Mustangs.

SMU needed to replace both its coordinators, after Casey Woods took the head coaching job at Missouri State and Scott Symons went to the NFL to be Dallas' new linebackers coach. As such, the defense has also undergone some transition. Defensive end Marques White could be one to watch after he logged 50 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks for UMass in 2025.

Virginia Tech and SMU have faced off three times before — and all three of those clashes were in the 1970s. The Hokies won the opener in 1972, 13-10, before losing 37-6 in 1973 and 28-25 in 1974.

I think that this shapes up to be one of the most difficult contests on Virginia Tech's slate. The Hokies — who'd enter this one with a 5-3 record if all my "Way-Too-Early" predictions end up being correct — have far less experience under center than SMU does, and if Jennings' group gels together quickly, I think that this will be one of the few games that can truly get away from the Hokies. I believe that Virginia Tech loses this one by multiple scores, but it should be a competitive and interesting game.

Virginia Tech's contest against SMU starts on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. ET, with the game being broadcast on ESPN. After the Hokies take on the Mustangs, they'll have three opponents in three consecutive weeks in Stanford (Nov. 14), Miami (Nov. 21) and Virginia (Nov. 28) — plus a fourth on Saturday, Dec. 5, if they can make the ACC title game.

Final score prediction: SMU 35, Virginia Tech 20