The SMU Mustangs are one of the best stories of the year. After making a place for itself at the Power Four table, the Mustangs are a game away from winning the ACC in their first year in the league. A win over Clemson on Saturday gives the Mustangs their second conference title since the program received the infamous Death Penalty in 1986. Additionally, the Mustangs have not received a cent in media revenue from the ACC, making the story even more fascinating.
Some may not realize the Mustangs’ trip to the ACC Championship Game at the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium is the culmination of a missed opportunity over a decade ago.
The American Athletic Conference inherited the Big East’s bowl tie-ins after the conference formed from the ashes of the old eastern conference. One of those tie-ins was a spot in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.
The American Athletic Conference would send its third-place team to the Queen City to face an ACC team in the league’s inaugural year. SMU looked primed to participate in the bowl. The Mustangs entered 2013 with a streak of four consecutive years with a bowl appearance.
However, the Mustangs had a disappointing year and finished 5-7, missing a bowl entirely. Instead, Cincinnati earned an appearance in its second-straight Belk Bowl, losing 39-17 to North Carolina. After the 2013 season, the Belk Bowl traded its AAC tie-in for an SEC one, and the Mustangs never had another chance to compete for the bowl.
Not only can SMU place itself in its most impactful bowl since the 1983 Cotton Bowl with a win, the Mustangs can make up for a lost opportunity in the Queen City.
