Virginia

5 thoughts from SMU-Virginia: Mustangs clinch conference title berth in first ACC season

Published

1 year ago

November 23, 2024

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5 thoughts from SMU-Virginia: Mustangs clinch conference title berth in first ACC season

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Mustangs spent three decades pushing to be back in a power conference.

This season — and Saturday’s win over Virginia — showed why.

No. 13 SMU (10-1, 7-0) dominated in its final road contest against the Cavaliers (5-6, 3-4) 33-7 to clinch a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 7.

Between a lights-out defensive performance, which included shutting out Virginia for the first 55 minutes of play, and another impressive showing from quarterback Kevin Jennings, the Mustangs cruised to victory to become the first team in the conference to secure their trip to Charlotte.

Here are five thoughts from the win.

Mustangs continue to make history in first ACC season

Each week during this historic season, SMU has seemingly achieved more feats many thought were impossible during their first year in the ACC.

After tearing through their first six conference opponents, SMU’s win Saturday made it the first team to make the conference title game in its first season after moving from a Group of Five conference to a power conference.

The Mustangs’ dominant win against Virginia was their 16th straight against a conference opponent and 10th consecutive on the road — both among the longest active streaks in FBS.

The Mustangs were picked to finish seventh in the ACC’s preseason poll, majorly exceeding expectations with their season that now has them on the brink of their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Final | No. 13 SMU 33, Virginia 7
SMU clinches a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 7, becoming the first team to make its conference championship game in the first year after moving from a Group of Five conference to a power conference. pic.twitter.com/CwCIaKxdiW
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) November 23, 2024

SMU defense led by Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte stifles UVA offense

SMU’s defense has been its most consistent facet this season, but after a weaker performance against Boston College last week, the group was seeking a bounce-back game.

That’s exactly what the Mustangs got from Scott Symons’ group, which was 4:16 away from posting its first shutout of the season. The Cavaliers finished with just 173 total yards and 65 on the ground. Last week against Boston College, the Mustang defense allowed 180 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

SMU was successful in getting to Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea, finishing with nine sacks. Defensive linemen Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte led the team with two each. Kori Roberson had 1.5 sacks.

Virginia made just three red zone trips. It missed a 41-yard field goal in the first half and could not convert a fourth-down attempt in the second half after intercepting Jennings.

With under five minutes to play, Virginia finally found the end zone as Colandrea hit Malachi Fields for the four-yard touchdown.

Kevin Jennings earns spot to compete on conference’s biggest stage

Jennings didn’t even begin the season as an ACC starter, but over the course of the last 12 weeks, he’s proven to be one of the conference’s top quarterbacks.

Against Virginia, Jennings was outstanding again, leading the Mustangs with a career-high 323 yards on 25 of 33 passing (76%) and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).

He had a stretch in the first half where he completed 12 straight passes, including a third-down conversion where he dodged multiple sacks before finding Roderick Daniels Jr. for the completion.

Jennings did have two turnovers in the second half, an interception and a fumble.

Nevertheless, a matchup with either Heisman candidate Cam Ward from Miami or Clemson’s Cade Klubnik in the ACC championship will be an intriguing one.

All wide receivers get involved in Jennings’ career day

Jennings has lost two of his top receiving targets over the past few weeks with both tight end RJ Maryand and wide receiver Jake Bailey going down with season-ending injuries.

But Saturday’s win showed the depth of the Mustang pass catchers with six different players recording multiple receptions and combining for 323 total yards.

Jordan Hudson led the group in receptions for the second consecutive week. After recording a career-high seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against Boston College, Hudson had six for 56 yards and a 17-yard touchdown reception in the first half against Virginia.

SMU’s leading receiver in yardage, however, was Moochie Dixon, who took four catches 89 yards with a long of 53 yards. Daniels added another five for 58 yards.

Tight end Matthew Hibner had SMU’s final 16-yard touchdown with 1:42 remaining.

The receivers stepped up, as Virginia limited SMU’s running backs, which combined for 111 yards on 35 carries.

Mustangs to close out regular season at Ford Stadium

SMU will get a chance to enjoy senior day next week without worrying about its ACC title game chances.

Having already clinched their spot, SMU will play its final regular-season game at Ford Stadium against Cal with a chance to become the first since the 1992 Florida State Seminoles to finish its inaugural campaign in a power conference unbeaten.

SMU has more to play for beyond the ACC title game. While it looks like the Mustangs will need to win the ACC championship to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, at-large bids are still at play. Finishing 8-0 in conference play would be key to helping the Mustangs’ chances at one of those seven spots — or a better bowl selection should they miss out on the playoff.

They will also await their ACC championship opponent. Miami can secure their title game berth with a win over Syracuse next week, but Clemson would earn the spot if Miami loses.

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Virginia

AG Miyares urges Virginia schools to adopt stricter definition of antisemitism

Published

5 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

AG Miyares urges Virginia schools to adopt stricter definition of antisemitism

VIRGINIA (7News) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares urged all Virginia public schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism (IHRA definition) into their codes of conduct and anti-discrimination policies.

His office pointed to a 25 percent increase in reported hate crimes statewide in 2024, with crimes involving anti-Jewish bias rising 155 percent – the sharpest increase among all categories tracked by Virginia State Police in their most recent annual crime report.

READ MORE | Shots fired near Compass Creek Parkway in Loudoun County

In the letter addressed to superintendents and school boards sent Monday, Miyares states Jewish students “have been excluded, harassed, threatened, and even assaulted.” Miyares pointed to the U.S. Department of Education using the IHRA definition to enforce Title VI and to the Commonwealth’s 2023 adoption of the non-legally binding definition “as a tool and guide for training, education, recognizing, and combating antisemitic hate crimes or discrimination and for tracking and reporting antisemitic incidents in the Commonwealth.”

“Thus, the law of the Commonwealth requires use of IHRA to ‘recognize’ the discriminatory motive behind antisemitic conduct and act upon such discrimination findings pursuant to the Virginia Human Rights Act,” Miyares wrote in the letter, adding: “As part of your compliance with Federal and Virginia law, you must implement the [HRA definition and its contemporary examples into your codes of conduct and discrimination policies to assess unprotected activity.”

7News has reached out to Northern Virginia school districts for their response to Miyares’ letter.

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Virginia

Annandale teen and grandmother killed in Christmas day crash

Published

18 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Annandale teen and grandmother killed in Christmas day crash

A Fairfax County family is demanding justice, saying the driver who caused a crash that killed a grandmother and a high school student is out free while they’re grieving an unimaginable loss.

The Vu family, from Annandale, was at a holiday dinner on Christmas day, but on their drive home, Virginia State police say another driver rear-ended the Vu family’s van on the Beltway in Fairfax County.

Duy Cao was driving the van — her 75-year-old mother, Su Nguyen, and her 15-year-old daughter, Annie Vu, were killed.

The family said according to Virginia State police, the driver who hit them was going more than 100 miles per hour.

“I don’t know how to, how to live,” Cao said, sitting alongside her husband An Vu, as the couple
gasped through their grief and recover from their own injuries.

There were six people in their van, and everyone was rushed to the emergency room, including their son, Annie’s brother, 12-year-old Andy.

“When he came out of it, his first question was, you know, ‘Where is Annie?’” said Kathie Vu, Annie’s godmother.

She says Annie’s brother was just released from the hospital four days ago and is struggling to cope with losing his sister and grandmother.

“My mom, the best. My mom, she came here, 11-years-old. She takes care of my children,” Cao said.

Nguyen was a devout catholic who helped raise the kids while their parents worked. Annie was a bright student at Annandale High School, where the principal says grief counselors have been made available for students.

At the beginning of this school year, Annie introduced herself to her classmates in her AP Seminar class at Annandale High School. Her principal shared with News4 what she wrote about herself. She told her classmates to count on her to always be hard-working, respectful and collaborative. She talked about her family and how her grandmother taught her to speak some Vietnamese. She hoped to major in biology at the University of Virginia saying, “although I don’t know what to do in the healthcare field, I’m sure I want to help others.”

“The other day, I heard my brother-in-law say, ‘There will be no more Christmas now.’ They’re always going to come into this time of year thinking about what happened,” Kathie Vu said.

The Vu family is demanding answers about the man who hit their car. Virginia State Police have not released his name nor any charges. The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney says reckless driving charges were filed, but News4 hasn’t been able to confirm that via court records.

While News4 has not been able to confirm if reckless driving charges have actually been filed against the driver who allegedly caused this deadly crash, the prosecutor’s office says it is waiting for the results of a toxicology test. Once those results are back, it could determine what charges the driver might face.

The family says that misdemeanor charge isn’t enough, they want him tried for involuntary manslaughter.

“I want everybody to pray for my mother-in-law and for my daughter so they can, you know, in heaven,” An Vu said.

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Virginia

Former Oklahoma Sooners DB transferring to West Virginia

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Oklahoma Sooners DB transferring to West Virginia

The Oklahoma Sooners are fully in the swing of transfer portal season in early January, as they’re making additions to the roster and seeing former players land at their new schools. The portal officially opened on January 2nd, and it will be open until January 16th.

One of the latest players to find his new school is former OU defensive back Maliek Hawkins, who has committed to West Virginia. Hawkins is the son of former Oklahoma defensive back Mike Hawkins Sr., who played for the Sooners in 2002 and then played multiple years in the NFL. He’s the younger brother of former OU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who started five games in Norman over the last two seasons. Both Hawkins brothers are now headed to Morgantown, with the older Hawkins hoping to win the starting QB job, and the younger Hawkins hoping to crack the rotation at cornerback.

Hawkins was a member of Oklahoma’s 2025 recruiting class, signing with the Sooners as a three-star recruit. He played in just one game during his true freshman season, and now arrives at WVU as a package deal with his older brother.

Despite the Sooners expecting to return starters Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory at the CB spots in 2026, the portal exits of Hawkins, Devon Jordan, Gentry Williams, and Kendel Dolby have thinned the depth at that position. With Jacobe Johnson also expected to return, Oklahoma will be looking to add a key rotational cornerback or two in the transfer portal ahead of next year.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.

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