:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70232042/usa_today_17226306.0.jpg)
The SMU Mustangs and Virginia Cavaliers will face off in the 2021 Fenway Bowl, per Brett McMurphy. The game will take place at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, December 29th. The game will air on ESPN and will be available via live stream at WatchESPN.
SMU cracked the top 25 in the middle of the regular season with an 8-0 start but lost four of their last five games including consecutive losses to end the year. The Mustangs struggled as rumors swirled about head coach Sonny Dykes leaving for their rival TCU Horned Frogs. He ended up doing that, and SMU replaced him with Rhett Lashlee, the offensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes. Oklahoma Sooners transfer Tanner Mordecai had a big year in his first season as the SMU quarterback.
For the fifth consecutive season under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Cavaliers have reached bowl eligibility, consistency not seen in Charlottesville since the turn of the century. However, their bowl game will serve as a sendoff for Mendenhall, who announced plans to step down and take time away from football on Dec. 2. Virginia will try to bookend their head coach’s tenure with a victory, and quarterback Brennan Armstrong gives the team a fighting chance to do so.