SMU, Preston Stone prepared for ‘big-boy’ football in ACC

SMU quarterback Preston Stone doesn't catch himself accidentally saying his program plays in the American Athletic Conference anymore.

"I'm pretty hardwired to think (Atlantic Coast Conference) at this point," Stone said with a smile on Monday at ACC Media Days in Charlotte.

Stone and coach Rhett Lashlee lead the Mustangs back into the power-conference ranks of college football in 2024. SMU joins Cal and Stanford as the ACC's three new member schools.

The program's recent football tradition may be lacking, but SMU played against the likes of Texas, Texas A&M and Arkansas in the Southwest Conference until the league's dissolution in 1996.

"We were on this stage many years in the Southwest Conference, won over 11 conference championships, three national titles, had a rich history and tradition," Lashlee said Monday. "To have had that and lost it, now to have it back. I don't think there's any question our school, and we believe our program right in the heart of Dallas belongs on the national stage. We're humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be back."

The Mustangs haven't won a bowl game since 2012, but they're coming off an 11-3 campaign that saw them run the table in the American and win the conference championship game. It was the program's winningest season since the 1982 national championship campaign.

The chaos of the recent round of conference realignment aside, Lashlee emphasized that he believes SMU earned the opportunity to be back on this stage.

"We understand it's a different opportunity," Lashlee said. "We're moving up in weight class. To play 10 straight power games, we haven't done that in almost 30 years at our program. There's going to be some changes there."

One of those changes included beefing up to prepare for the jump in talent. By Lashlee's count, 13 of SMU's 20 incoming transfers play on either the offensive or defensive line.

Lashlee pointed out that SMU's first two ACC games come against Florida State and Louisville -- the two schools that played in last year's conference championship game.

"I feel confident we have a team that's going to compete," Lashlee said. "What does that look like? I don't know. We're excited to get out and see where we stand."

Stone threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions in his redshirt sophomore season in 2023. A Dallas native, he often attended SMU games as a child.

"I remember when Baylor came into town and Courtland Sutton was going crazy," Stone said. "I remember when Johnny Manziel tore us up back in 2012.

"Now we have a chance to play big-boy football in the ACC. I feel incredibly lucky to be this school's quarterback. That's not something I take lightly."

--Field Level Media