Tag: SMU Mustangs

Cam Ward honored as ACC quarterback of the week after Week 4

See who took home ACC Player of the Week honors in an exciting Week 4 of college football action.

Week 4 of the college football season saw quite a bit of chaos in the ACC. North Carolina gave up 70 points to James Madison in a loss, Virginia Tech fell to Rutgers, Stanford and SMU each picked up big wins, while Florida State finally got into the win column by taking down Cal.

However, the team at the top of the standings, Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes, remains untouched thanks to another elite performance from veteran quarterback Cam Ward.

Ward threw for 404 passing yards and three touchdowns in Miami’s 50-15 win on the road at South Florida on Saturday, earning him ACC Quarterback of the Week by the conference as voted on by a select media panel.

Ward has now thrown for over 300 yards in all four games this season, putting him squarely in the conversation to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy Award if he and the ‘Canes can keep this up.

Below is a look at the other ACC Players of the Week, starting on the offensive side of the ball:

Offensive Players of the Week

Running Back – Brashard Smith, SMU

Smith totaled 190 all-purpose yards during SMU’s 66 point offensive explosion against in-state rival TCU. Smith also had a career-high four touchdowns – the most for an SMU player since receiver Courtland Sutton did it against North Texas in 2017. Smith has now totaled over 100 all-purpose yards in each of SMU’s games this season.

Receiver – Lewis Bond, Boston College

Bond hauled in a 42-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to put away Michigan State and secure a nice win for the Eagles against a Big Ten opponent. Bond finished the game with six catches and 102 receiving yards, his second career 100-yard game.

Offensive Lineman – Noah Josey, LG, Virginia

Virginia ran all over Coastal Carolina in Week 4, totaling a whopping 384 rushing yards thanks in large part to the work of left guard Noah Josey. Josey played every offensive snap and had the third-highest pass blocking grade (86.2) of any guard in the country at Pro Football Focus.

Specialist – Emmet Kenney, K, Stanford

Hard to go with anyone other than Kenney here, who booted a game-winning 39-yard field goal to pick up Stanford’s first ACC victory on the road at Syracuse. Kenney also set his personal record with a 51-yard field goal earlier in the game, and is now a perfect 8-for-8 on the year.

Defensive Players of the Week

Defensive Lineman – Patrick Payton, Florida State

Payton racked up a trio of sacks for FSU in the team’s first victory of the season over Cal, all which came in a decisive second half. Payton had two of his sacks on fourth down, one which led to a missed field goal for the Golden Bears.

Linebacker – David Bailey, Stanford

Bailey had a pair of sacks for the Cardinal against the Orange on Friday. It was Bailey’s second career multi-sack game and first of the season. Bailey had four total tackles and a forced fumble in the game as his strong season continues.

Defensive Back – Ahmaad Moses, SMU

Moses had a pass breakup and four tackles in SMU’s win over TCU, but his big impact was a pair of interceptions including one which he took 60 yards to the house for a touchdown.

Four-star wing and son of 6-time NBA All-Star commits to SMU

Jermaine O’Neal Jr committed to Andy Enfield and SMU on Wednesday, citing the program’s move to the ACC as a major factor.

Andy Enfield left the USC Trojans this offseason to take over as head coach of the SMU Mustangs – but it doesn’t mean he’s done coaching the sons of NBA legends. After coaching Bronny James and DJ Rodman at USC last year, Enfield will now coach Jermaine O’Neal Jr – son of 6-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal – in the 2025-26 season.

O’Neal, the No. 149 ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class at 247Sports, announced his commitment to SMU on Wednesday on the 247Sports Channel.

O’Neal becomes Enfield’s first commitment in the 2025 class, choosing the Mustangs over Vanderbilt, his only other finalist.

The 6’5 forward from Southlake, Texas chose SMU for a variety of reasons, mentioning the location in Dallas, the track record of success for Enfield and his staff, and the team’s new conference affiliation:

“First and foremost, their move to the ACC was a major attraction for me,” O’Neal said. “The ACC is, without a doubt, one of the most prestigious conferences in college basketball history. The level of competition and exposure it provides is second to none.”

BYU moves to 2-0 with road win over SMU in low scoring affair

BYU went into Dallas and defeated new ACC squad SMU on Friday evening, 18-15, in a low scoring affair.

It was a fun night of college football at Gerald J. Ford in Dallas on Friday. Especially for the road team, the BYU Cougars. The Cougars went to Dallas in front of more than 31,000 fans and upset the SMU Mustangs, 18-15, to move to 2-0 on the year despite being 11.5 point underdogs.

After SMU started taking control of the game, including going to the locker room ahead 9-7 at halftime, they started the third with their fourth field goal to go ahead by five points. Then, Enouch Nawahine put the Cougars ahead with a nine-yard rushing touchdown, and the Cougars went for two and converted.

In the fourth, a fifth Mustangs field goal moved the game to 15-15 with 6:22 to go in the game. That’s when quarterback Jake Retzlaff moved his Cougars offense down the field enough to set up the game-winning 26-yard field goal from Will Ferrin.

Ratzlaff finished with 202 passing yards and a touchdown. He also had 10 carries for 35 yards in the game. His top target was Darius Lassiter, who caught two passes for 62 yards in the game. Miles Davis finished the game with 37 rushing yards for the Cougars.

BYU is now 2-0 and will face a road test next Saturday, as they are at Wyoming. The Cougars are at home against Kansas State in Week 4.

Notre Dame is trying to flip two 2025 wide receivers, both offered Thursday night

The Irish are looking to flip a pair of 2025 wide receivers

Unfortunately, some of Notre Dame football’s top 2025 wide receiver targets have opted to play at other places.

It hasn’t been all bad news. The Irish still have commitments from Elijah Burress and Jerome Bettis Jr. The need for a third is obvious, and on Thursday night, two new offers went out to committed prospects.

First it was California resident [autotag]Jace Brown[/autotag], a massive 6-foot, 4-inch 200-pound target. While he’s committed to UCLA, the Notre Dame offer could prompt him to reconsider his options. Brown is ranked 748th overall and 112th among wide receivers on the 247Sports composite.

Just a few hours later, Texas resident [autotag]Jalen Cooper[/autotag] received the good news. At 6 feet, 2 inches and 165 pounds, he’s ranked as the country’s 256th overall prospect by 247Sports. Just last month, Cooper committed to SMU. Unlike Brown, he had a very solid offer list before making his decision.

It’s clear the Irish believe they will need to flip a wide receiver prospect in the 2025 class to fill the open spot. Both would be solid additions to Notre Dame’s class, but they will have to make up ground late in the process.

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Ranking the four Week 0 matchups in 2024 college football season

A look at Week 0, college football’s first four matchups of the 2024 season featuring Florida State and Georgia Tech in Dublin.

The 2024 College Football season is officially here. Four games are set to kick off this Saturday, August 24, as part of ‘Week 0’ ahead of a full slate of games the following week.

Week 0 opens with a conference matchup between ACC programs Florida State and Georgia Tech. The game kicks off at 12:00 PT ET and will take place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The ‘Noles are 11.5 point favorites after running through the ACC last season, but especially in an overseas game anything can happen.

Next on the schedule is New Mexico hosting Montana State on campus, with a 4:00 PM start on FS1. The Lobos are projected at or near the bottom in the Mountain West, and the Bobcats are favored by more than a touchdown here despite being an FCS program from the Big Sky.

What follows is another matchup involving a Mountain West school, with Nevada hosting new ACC foe SMU at Mackay Stadium in Reno starting at 8:00 PM ET. The Mustangs will be favored big in this one, and have a chance to set the tone regarding their status as a legit player in the ACC.

Finally, the night closes out in beautiful Hawaii, where the Rainbow Warriors host Delaware State out of the MEAC right at midnight ET. It could be an ugly day for the Mountain West, with both Nevada and New Mexico projected to lose, although Hawaii should hold the fort down at home and give the conference their first win of the season.

Fans will wet their beak with four games this Saturday, and five days later things fully get underway with 21 games slated for Thursday, August 29.

CW to host Iron Skillet rivalry game between TCU and SMU

The SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs will battle for the Iron Skillet this season, with the game televised on the CW Network.

The College Football season is rapidly approaching, and schedule announcements are coming in fast and furious. One of the best rivalry games on the schedule was announced on Tuesday.

The SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs will face off in the Battle For The Iron Skillet at 3 p.m. on Sept. 21 on the CW. The winner of the game receives an iron skillet as the trophy.

This rivalry has taken place since 1915, with only seven years without a game on the calendar. The last time they did not play was back in 2020. Many times, these two were in the same conference, and this year’s matchup will be between Big 12 and ACC opponents with SMU’s move.

The current agreement has the Mustangs and Horned Frogs alternating home and away through the 2025 season.

The first game was won by TCU, and the most recent was won by TCU. Last season it was 34-17 Horned Frogs.  Over the years though, it’s been fairly close, as TCU holds a 53-42 lead, and seven times it has tied. The SMU Mustangs dominated the series from 1972-1986 with 16 straight wins.

This season, the game will be played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. SMU received votes in the first Associated Press poll that came out earlier in the week.

The Mustangs are 4th on the list behind Louisville, Virginia Tech and Boise State. TCU did not make the list or receive votes, but five Big 12 teams were ranked, and three others picked up votes.

SMU and Butler agree to home-and-home series starting in 2024

The SMU Mustangs and Butler Bulldogs will square off in November at Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of a home-and-home series.

The SMU Mustangs and Butler Bulldogs agreed to a home-and-home series that will begin at the start of this upcoming college basketball season.

The first matchup will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on November 15, 2024, while the return game will be in Dallas during the 2025-26 season. A date for that game has yet to be announced.

SMU is set to compete in the ACC this season after years in the AAC, and they will be headed up by new coach Andy Enfield who left USC to replace Rob Lanier in Dallas.

The Mustangs overhauled the roster with a litany of talented transfers, including Kevin Miller (Wake Forest) Kario Oquendo (Georgia) and Yohan Traore (Santa Barbara).

They’ll face a nice early season test on the road against the Bulldogs, who went 18-15 last year and 9-11 in the highly competitive Big East. Coach Thad Matta lost guards Posh Alexander and DJ Davis in the transfer portal to Dayton and Washington, respectively, but the team is hoping newcomers Patrick McCaffery (Iowa), Jamie Kaiser (Maryland) and Kolby King (Tulane) can pick up the slack.

Both teams project to be outside the NCAA Tournament next March, but whoever wins this game will have a quality nonconference victory on the resume and a momentum builder at the start of the 2024-25 season.

LSU men’s basketball to face SMU in 2-game neutral site series

LSU will face SMU in Fort Worth this December and in New Orleans the following season.

The LSU men’s basketball team will be facing a new ACC squad during non-conference play over each of the next two seasons.

The Tigers have agreed to a two-game neutral site series against SMU, as was first reported by Made for March. The first game will take place on Dec. 14 in Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, and the two teams will face at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans during the 2025-26 season.

The Mustangs are coming off a 20-13 season that saw coach Rob Lanier fired after just his second campaign. To replace him, SMU hired away Andy Enfield from USC.

The first matchup this coming December in Fort Worth will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

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California, Stanford, and SMU officially join the ACC

The long-awaited conference realignment finally became official on Monday with three new teams joining Duke in the ACC.

The Atlantic Coast Conference officially got a little bigger on Monday.

The Stanford Cardinal, the California Golden Bears, and the SMU Mustangs became members of the ACC on Monday with the 2024-25 athletic calendar kicking off in July.

The Golden Bears and the Cardinal come from the Pac-12, and the West Coast conference now only has Oregon State and Washington State left as teams fled to the Big 12 and the Big Ten. SMU joins from the American Athletic Conference, and the Mustangs won the football conference championship last season.

There are now 18 teams in the conference for the athletic calendar, although there will only be 17 teams on the football slate since Notre Dame remains independent.

The move does not come as a surprise with schedules already in place for months including the new schools. Duke will play SMU during the last weekend in October, but the Blue Devils don’t play either of the two West Coast teams this season.

Alabama lands commitment from highly-touted 2025 quarterback

The highly-touted 2025 signal caller committed to Alabama in recent days.

Earlier this week, the Alabama Crimson Tide landed a significant commit to their 2025 recruiting class when highly-touted quarterback Keelon Russell officially committed to the program Tuesday.

Russell, who is one of the nation’s premier players at his position in the 2025 cycle, flipped his commitment to the Crimson Tide from the SMU Mustangs, whom he had previously been committed to since September of 2023.

A four-star prospect, Russell attends national powerhouse Duncanville High School in Texas where he ranks as the nation’s No. 38 overall prospect in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Russell is also the No. 6 quarterback in the class, as well as the No. 10 player in the state of Texas where he helped lead Duncanville to a Texas 6A D-1 state title as a junior last season by completing 74.1% of passes for 3,267 yards and a 35-3 TD-INT ratio, while also rushing for 304 yards and four more scores.

The four-star is now commitment No. 11 in Alabama’s 2025 class, as well as the first quarterback of the cycle.