SMU draws ACC futures buzz as Miami sits atop DraftKings board
DraftKings makes Miami the ACC favorite, but CBS Sports analyst Gene Menez points to SMU and quarterback Kevin Jennings as the better price.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Miami is the shortest conference-title favorite in college football, but CBS Sports betting analyst Gene Menez says the more tempting ACC futures ticket sits in Dallas.
DraftKings lists the Hurricanes at -136 to win the ACC, according to CBS Sports. No other team nationally is priced shorter than -105 to win its league. SMU follows at +700, with Louisville at +800 and Clemson at +1400 among Miami’s closest listed challengers.
The Miami price comes after the Hurricanes lost to Indiana in the CFP national championship game, according to CBS Sports. Menez noted that Miami has yet to win an ACC championship since joining the league in 2004 and did not reach last season’s ACC title game.
There is roster churn, too. CBS Sports reported that Miami must replace quarterback Carson Beck, pass rushers Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, and four starting-level offensive linemen.
Why SMU is in the conversation
Menez’s case for SMU starts with quarterback Kevin Jennings, a fifth-year senior from Dallas. At ACC Kickoff in Charlotte last week, SMU coach Rhett Lashlee showed reporters a white T-shirt under his dress shirt reading “JENNINGS FOR HEISMAN,” according to CBS Sports.
Jennings brings the kind of returning production bettors tend to notice. CBS Sports reported he is 18-6 over the past two seasons, with those 18 victories ranking third nationally. In that span, he has thrown for 6,886 yards, third in the FBS, and 49 touchdown passes, tied for eighth.
SMU made the College Football Playoff two seasons ago with Jennings playing a central role, according to CBS Sports. Last season, the Mustangs missed the ACC Championship Game after a tiebreaker.
The close-call résumé is part of the pitch. SMU finished 9-4, but CBS Sports reported the Mustangs held fourth-quarter leads in each of those four losses. Three defeats ended on the final play. The standout result was a 26-20 win in Dallas over Miami, which later finished as CFP runner-up.
The roster math
Continuity gives SMU another selling point. CBS Sports reported that 11 of the ACC’s 17 teams are expected to have a new starting quarterback, a group that includes Miami, Louisville, Clemson and Virginia.
Jennings also gets help up front. Four offensive line starters return for the Mustangs, led by All-ACC tackle PJ Williams, according to CBS Sports. Menez wrote that the group could help a rushing attack that averaged 133.8 yards per game last season, 95th nationally.
There are clear concerns. SMU’s defense allowed 395.1 yards per game last season, 88th in the FBS, after ranking 26th in 2024 at 326.0 yards per game, according to CBS Sports. The unit also brings back only four starters. Jennings has thrown 14 interceptions over the past two seasons.
Menez also pointed to Lashlee’s recruiting and the program’s NIL resources as reasons SMU may be able to fill gaps through high school signings and the transfer portal.
The schedule helps
SMU does not face Miami, NC State or Clemson in ACC play, according to CBS Sports. The early stretch is stiff, with a Monday night opener at Florida State and a Week 3 trip to Louisville.
Menez wrote that splitting those two games could still leave the Mustangs with a route to the ACC title game in Charlotte in early December.
Miami remains the betting favorite at DraftKings, and CBS Sports described that status as understandable after last season. Menez’s conclusion is that SMU’s +700 price offers the better futures value.
“We’ve been good,” Lashlee said at ACC Kickoff, according to CBS Sports. “But we’re in pursuit of great.”
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.