No. 16 SMU heads out on the road on a short turnaround as it looks to continue its unbeaten start to 2019 in pursuit of an American Athletic Conference championship and a spot in the New Year’s Six. The Mustangs are coming off a huge 45-21 win at home against Temple, and now they’re going to put that 7-0 record — the first 7-0 record in program history since 1982 — on the line against the reeling Houston Cougars.

Let’s have a look now at some storylines to follow in Thursday night’s AAC matchup, and then make some predictions on the outcome straight up as well as against the spread. 

Storylines

SMU: Shane Buechele is putting together one of the most impressive seasons of any quarterback in the country, most recently throwing for 457 yards and six touchdowns in the win against Temple. The tandem of Buechele and coach Sonny Dykes has settled in at their new locale — Buechele after his start at Texas and Dykes back closer to home after a stint at Cal — executing an offense that’s performing at a record pace. The Mustangs have scored 40-plus points in six of their seven games, and the offense is moving at a blistering pace. SMU leads the nation in plays per game, and ranks No. 7 in yards per game, and that doesn’t happen without Dykes, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee (formerly at Auburn) and Buechele all being on the same page.

Houston: The controversial redshirt decisions of a few weeks ago have now taken a backseat to efforts of Houston’s active roster to reach bowl eligibility here in Year 1 with Dana Holgorsen. Houston is now 3-4 overall after a a 24-10 win against UConn, but finding three wins in the final five games could be tough with UCF, Memphis and Navy — all teams that are currently contending for AAC title — on the slate in addition to SMU on Thursday. The one thing that’s working the best for Holgorsen’s offense right now is the rushing attack, which has relied on explosive plays and a deep rotation to keep defenses off balance. Heading into the game, Houston is one of five FBS programs to have four different players with at least one 100-yard rushing game this season. 

Viewing information

Date: Thursday, Oct. 24 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: TDECU Stadium — Houston, Texas
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN.com  

Game prediction, picks

There’s really no reason to feel comfortable backing Houston against one of the better football teams in the entire Group of Five when you consider the state of the Cougars’ personnel. Backing Holgorsen comes with its ups and downs that make it worth the ride, but the Mustangs are the safe bet. Pick: SMU (-13.5)

So what CFB picks can you make with confidence in Week 9? And which line is Vegas way off on? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams win and cover the spread in every game this week, all from a proven computer model that has returned over $4,200 in profit over the past four seasons.