Livescore
For nearly 40 years, SMU just wanted to be heard. The proud program with some of the wealthiest supporters in the country was in the wilderness, navigating a treacherous landscape of conference realignment, struggling to be taken seriously because of the black mark it carried as the only program to face the NCAA’s death penalty.
Times have changed.
Dallas’ brightest diamond is shining again. The No. 20 Mustangs (7-1, 4-0 ACC) are a power player, and in their first season back in a power conference are experiencing unparalleled success. The Mustangs are undefeated in the ACC, and with unbeaten Pitt (7-0, 3-0) coming to Dallas on Saturday, arguably the biggest game in school history has set the stage for the Mustangs’ coronation.
“It’s not over, so we’re not celebrating anything yet, but it’s validating,” SMU athletic director Rick Hart told CBS Sports. “Maybe vindicating is another word, because we have believed for some time that if given the opportunity we could compete at this level.”
SMU hasn’t just risen from the ashes — the Mustangs are galloping across the nation. No school transitioning from a Group of Five conference to a power conference has ever started better than 1-1 in their new league. SMU is 4-0 and in the thick of the ACC championship race.
“This was the vision,” third-year SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said.
For all the waiting since the program was resurrected in 1989, the jump to the ACC happened quickly. In a span of just a few months in 2022 and 2023, SMU went from pursuing the Pac-12 to landing in the ACC — and with only 14 months to prepare for the shift to the big show. Within seven days of accepting the ACC’s invite, 30 donors stepped up and donated a total of $100 million to help fund the school’s transition.
For the football program, the work to bolster the roster was swift. They had done enough to win 11 games and a conference title for the first time in 41 years in 2023 but didn’t necessarily have the depth to grind against power teams week after week. Knowing what lay ahead, the staff hit the transfer portal, targeting big men with experience. They landed 13 offensive and defensive linemen with experience at power conference schools. Today, nine of them are key contributors on SMU’s two-deep.
“Our depth throughout the course of the year and the last three weeks has really carried us,” Lashlee said. “We knew we were going to have to run the ball and stop the run to compete on the Power Four level.”
The plan has been tested as injuries have piled up. Two offensive linemen were injured last week in a thrilling 28-27 overtime win at Duke. The defensive line has been without at least one starter in the last three games. Meanwhile, SMU just kept winning, and somehow eked out a win at Duke, becoming only the second team this century to win with a six-turnover disadvantage.
“That was one of the wildest nightmares,” quarterback Kevin Jennings said. “To be able to win the game just shows you how far this team can go.”
SMU heads into the final month of the season leading the ACC in rushing offense (201 ypg) and defense (88.4), solidifying itself as a bully in the trenches thanks to the additional bodies recruited in the offseason.
“We had depth to compete,” Lashlee said.
“I was confident that we could play with everybody on our schedule this year, but I was also confident that everybody could beat us,” defensive coordinator Scott Symons said. “I still think it’s the same way with four games left.”
The grind of the ACC has been relentless. SMU hasn’t played a home game since September, which has ratcheted up the anticipation for only the second top-20 showdown in the history of Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Only 145 tickets remained unsold 48 hours before kickoff against Pitt. A sellout is expected.
“When we got here (in 2021) this place was a sleep dome on game day. I mean, it was terrible,” Symons said. “Now every home game we’ve had has been pretty much sold out with a great student atmosphere.”
Home games against Big 12 leader BYU and rival TCU brought big crowds, but those were trumped by the ACC opener against defending champion Florida State, which the Mustangs thrashed 42-16.
SMU is an incredible 16-2 in its last 18 games, and the Mustangs have won 50 games since 2019, the most by any FBS team in the state of Texas. The program has flirted with success over the last decade, winning 10 games under Sonny Dykes in 2019, but had mostly sputtered to five-, seven- and eight-win seasons before the breakthrough in 2023. Lashlee is 25-10 overall with a nation-leading nine straight road wins in his third season leading the program.
Despite all that success, it does seem SMU is flying under the radar as an ACC contender.
“Man, I don’t know, because all people do is talk about how we’re the favorites, and we should do this, and we should do that, which I think is crazy,” Lashlee said. ” It’s our first year in the league. I’m like, man, if we get bowl eligible, that’s more than what most people do.”
Pitt is the toughest challenge yet. A reformed offense under coordinator Kade Bell and quarterback Eli Holstein has propelled the Panthers, whose defense continues to strangle opponents with defensive-minded Pat Narduzzi leading the program. They forced five turnovers, including three interceptions returned for touchdowns, in a 41-16 demolition of Syracuse last week. Like SMU, they have won close games, with three wins decided by four points or less, and they’re second behind the Mustangs in rushing defense.
To prove it belongs in the same breath as the ACC’s other four undefeated teams (Clemson, Pitt and Miami), all SMU can do is continue to win. Everything else they’ve done so far has worked. From building a new $100 million football facility to the politicking and fundraising amid conference realignment, the Mustangs have hit all the high notes to perfection.
“It happened fast. It shows we belong,” Lashlee said. “It shows we can be a team that can be in a league like this and add a lot of value, and hopefully over time build a consistent winner. But there’s a lot of work to be done.”
A win against Pitt would grab the nation’s attention.
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