CORAL GABLES, Fla. – As Miami continues making its way through the heart of its ACC schedule, each week brings another test, another challenge.

And head coach Mario Cristobal hasn’t shied away from very specifically describing this critical stretch and making sure his players fully understand the stakes every week.

For the 10th-ranked Hurricanes, the postseason doesn’t begin in December.

It’s here now and the next crucial game is Saturday’s showdown against an SMU team that played for the ACC title last season and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff.

“Every single game that you play, even out-of-conference games, they’re all playoff games,” Cristobal said. “They all have value, right? And when you head into conference play as the weeks go by, the level of difficulty and importance just continues to elevate. So, for us, it’s always about a 1-0 focus, making sure we take care of our business, making sure that we are preparing in the manner of – whether it be a walkthrough, a meeting, a practice – that we’re preparing to our standards so that we can execute to the best that we possibly can.”

This week, that preparation has meant building on the success the Hurricanes (6-1, 2-1) had last week in their win over Stanford.

In that game, Miami’s defense held the Cardinal to just one score, eight first downs, and forced two turnovers. The offense, meanwhile, rushed for five touchdowns and posted 199 rushing yards.

Continuing to put up numbers like those, the Hurricanes know, will go a long way in helping them reach their ultimate goal and the next test for them comes on Saturday in Dallas.

SMU comes into the game after a stunning 13-12 loss on the road at Wake Forest. It marked the Mustangs’ first loss in regular-season conference play in 20 games, dating back to their time in the American Athletic Conference.

But that win streak, and what SMU has been able to do since joining the ACC last year, has not gone unnoticed in Coral Gables.

Neither has the Mustangs’ talented roster, which features quarterback Kevin Jennings.

Though Jennings has been hampered by an ankle injury this season, he’s still completed 66 percent of his passes and thrown for 2,119 yards and 17 touchdowns. Both those numbers rank in the top 20 among quarterbacks nationally.

With Jennings at the helm, the Mustangs (5-3, 3-1) have shown their ability to make more than a few explosive plays.

Entering Saturday’s game, SMU has put together 10 scoring drives that have resulted in touchdowns in under two minutes.

So Miami’s defenders know full well what a challenge the Mustangs pose.

“That’s a big, physical o-line. Great quarterback, great job on the perimeter. Overall, [a] good offense. I mean, you can see why they made it so far last year and this year, they’re doing a good job so far,” said Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., who has collected 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception this season. “They’re playing football the right way. They’re physical. They’re big. They’re fast. They’re quick … everything pretty much. They’re playing football the right way.”

On the other side of the ball, SMU’s defense has shown a knack for forcing turnovers.

The Mustangs had five takeaways in their loss at Wake Forest, including a pair of recovered fumbles inside their own 5-yard line during the fourth quarter.

In all, SMU has forced 20 turnovers on the year. That’s tops in the nation.

The Mustangs also rank third in red-zone defense (0.645), fourth in fumbles recovered (8), sixth in defensive touchdowns (3), 10^th in team sacks (3.13) and 15^th in rushing defense (95.5).

“In my opinion, it’s one of the best defenses in the conference, if not the best, and definitely one of the best defenses in the nation if you watch it from an aspect of turnovers,” said Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who is third in the nation with a 73.3 completion percentage and has thrown for 1,673 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. “You look at their d-line and what they’re able to do and creating havoc in the run game and just honestly being able to be physical and kind of push people around is one of their strong suits.

“I feel like [that’s] what we do well, so that’s going to kind of be the key of the game, who’s able to kind of win that battle. And again, like I said, they’re a really talented defense and they do a really good job. They’re going to pose a challenge for us but just looking forward to having that opportunity to go out and execute and continue to have good practices and build on them as we lead up to Saturday.”

For the Hurricanes, Saturday’s game comes with another kind of challenge: playing out of state for the first time this year and playing early in the day.

The Hurricanes have played their first seven games within the state of Florida, but Saturday’s contest at SMU will kick off a stretch in which they’ll be on the road for three of their last five.

Also slightly different for Miami? The noon kickoff will be its earliest of the season. All season long, the Hurricanes have found themselves playing in the evening or late afternoon.

But Miami’s players and coaches say they’re confident they can handle the change in the gameday routine.

After all, they practice early in the day on Greentree and for them, the key is focusing on what they can control and not what they can’t.

“For us, those are our work hours. We’re up early, right? Our wakeup times and our treatment and taping times really mimic that of Saturday’s contest, so we feel great about that,” Cristobal said. “Just the importance of knowing and understanding that, as opposed to the last several weeks, when you wake up on Saturday, you’ve got to hit the ground running because we’re rolling. …

“It’s going to be a great football day, great stadium, great environment against a great program. I mean, it’s what college football is all about.”