Nov 16, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) sets the play against the Boston College Eagles during the first half at the Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

No. 13 SMU visits Virginia, vying to seal ACC title-game spot

League newcomer SMU can clinch a berth in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game when the No. 13 Mustangs visit Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Va.

The Mustangs (9-1, 6-0) have a seven-game winning streak and are the only program in the 17-team conference without a loss in league play. The ACC champion will earn an automatic bid into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

SMU is 4-0 on the road heading into its first-ever meeting with Virginia (5-5, 3-3), which has lost four of its last five games and has not won at Scott Stadium since beating Boston College on Oct. 5.

The Cavaliers need one more victory to have a shot at their first bowl game since the 2019 season.

SMU was tested last week, trailing early in the third quarter before pulling out a 38-28 home win against Boston College.

It was the Mustangs’ third win by 10 points or less in ACC play, following a 34-27 victory at then-No. 22 Louisville on Oct. 5 and a 28-27 overtime decision at Duke on Oct. 26.

“They’re the hardest ones to win,” Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee said. “I think our guys did a nice job of hanging in there and understanding the only thing we’ve got to do is win. … It’s going to get harder and harder as the season shrinks and the games mean more.”

Kevin Jennings passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles. Brashard Smith rushed for 120 yards and a score, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark (1,026) for the season.

The unexpected challenge from Boston College reminded the Mustangs that anything can happen on Saturdays.

“The exciting thing about college football right now is every week you see somebody lose that wasn’t really supposed to lose,” SMU safety Isaiah Nwokobia said, per The Dallas Morning News. “Any given week, you could lose if you don’t come prepared.”

The Mustangs will face a Virginia team that is coming off a 35-14 loss to another CFP hopeful last Saturday at Notre Dame. The Cavaliers turned the ball over five times in the first half and trailed 35-0 before backup quarterback Tony Muskett ran for two touchdowns.

To have any chance of springing an upset, Virginia must take care of the football against an SMU defense that has allowed only 17 points off 17 turnovers this season.

“You can’t expect to beat a top-10 team turning the ball over,” Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott said after the loss to the then-No. 8 Fighting Irish.

Elliott has a decision to make at quarterback with two games remaining: vs. SMU and then a Nov. 30 rivalry game at Virginia Tech.

Anthony Colandrea was benched after throwing three first-half interceptions at Notre Dame. He has 12 touchdown passes and 11 picks in 10 starts this season. Muskett, a graduate student who started six games last season, has completed 65 percent of his passes for 367 yards with three TDs and one interception in six appearances this season.

“We’re fighting, we’re scrapping for postseason play,” Elliott said. “That’s been a huge goal of ours as a team. And so we’re gonna look at whatever gives us the best opportunity.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 2, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) and running back Brashard Smith (1) celebrate a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

No. 20 SMU hands No. 18 Pittsburgh its first loss in blowout fashion

Kevin Jennings threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night as No. 20 SMU stayed unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 48-25 drubbing of No. 18 Pittsburgh in Dallas.

Jennings completed 17 of 25 passes as the Mustangs (8-1, 5-0) joined No. 5 Miami atop the conference standings while handing the Panthers (7-1, 3-1) their first defeat. The result was never in doubt after SMU scored 24 points in the second quarter to take a 31-3 halftime lead.

Eli Holstein hit 29 of 47 attempts for 248 yards with an interception for Pittsburgh, which could fall out of the top 25 after the lopsided loss. The Panthers yielded a season-high 467 yards, turned it over twice and committed six penalties for 66 yards.

The Mustangs wasted little time putting their stamp on the game, scoring less than three minutes into it when LJ Johnson punched it in from the 2-yard line. Ben Sauls then got Pittsburgh on the board with a 44-yard field goal at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter.

But it was all SMU for the rest of the half. Roderick Daniels made it 14-3 less than a minute into the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run and Brashard Smith, who rushed for 161 yards and two scores on 23 carries, zoomed 71 yards to paydirt on the first play of the Mustangs’ next possession.

Jennings and Smith hooked up for a 3-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the two-minute timeout, followed by Collin Rogers’ 50-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.

Rogers added a 27-yard field goal on SMU’s first drive of the third quarter before Desmond Reid scored on a 1-yard run for the Panthers with 38 seconds left in the period.

Smith’s 18-yard touchdown run and Jennings’ 80-yard scoring strike to Matthew Hibner upped the Mustangs’ advantage to 48-11 with 9:56 remaining in the game.

Backup quarterback Nate Yarnell made the final margin a bit more respectable with a pair of touchdown passes for Pittsburgh in the last four minutes.

–Field Level Media

Oct 20, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; SMU Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) throws the ball against the Temple Owls during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

No. 22 SMU takes high-powered offense on road vs. Duke

If No. 22 SMU is going to contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, there obviously are going to be big games along the way.

Count Saturday night against host Duke at Durham, N.C., among those.

SMU (6-1, 3-0) is riding a four-game winning streak and is trying to stay unblemished in league play along with Clemson, Miami and Pitt.

Duke (6-1, 2-1) is in the mix as well, but the Blue Devils need to take care of business Saturday in their penultimate home game of the season.

SMU has 34 or more points in four consecutive games. The Mustangs are 22-1 under coach Rhett Lashlee when racking up 30 or more points.

Despite the production, there wasn’t a sense from the Mustangs that all of it has been smooth.

“A lot of things to clean up as we get ready to go play a big-time defense,” Lashlee said.

Much of SMU’s firepower comes from dual-threat quarterback Kevin Jennings, a sophomore who posted a career-high 322 passing yards in SMU’s 40-10 victory over Stanford last Saturday.

So disrupting what Jennings is able to do is among the priorities for Duke’s defense.

“To put pressure on somebody where they had to throw to win,” Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz said.

Part of the plan for Duke will come with using a steady diet of fresh linemen on defense.

“You got to get subs in all the time, especially with the tempo they play,” Diaz said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons on offense, but football always starts with the big guys up front.”

SMU has lost tight end RJ Maryland for the season with a knee injury, Lashlee said Tuesday.

Duke defensive back Chandler Rivers and linebacker Ozzie Nicholas were picked as ACC Players of the Week at their respective positions based on performances in a 23-16 win over Florida State last week.

On offense, there were snags for the Blue Devils, particularly with the passing attack. After reviewing the footage, Diaz said it was nothing “to hang in the passing game Hall of Fame.”

Duke is trying to figure out the tight end position after it was revealed that Nicky Dalmolin is out for the season with a lower leg injury. Jake Taylor played 55 snaps in the Florida State game as his replacement.

The Blue Devils could have receiver Jordan Moore available for a heavier workload considering he was limited to special situations against Florida State.

The Blue Devils notched a piece of history by defeating Florida State. That was the first time in 23 all-time meetings that Duke beat the Seminoles.

SMU has won eight straight road games, matching Texas for the longest streak in the country. Saturday’s game will be the Mustangs’ third straight road assignment.

Duke is 15-2 at home across three seasons.

“Wallace Wade (Stadium) is just a difficult place for folks to come and play,” Diaz said. “That’s what the facts say. … The more you win at home, the more special home games you get.”

Duke and SMU haven’t met since 1956. The Mustangs are 2-0 all-time in the series.

SMU, a first-year ACC member after being in the American Athletic Conference, is going for its 13th consecutive victory in conference play dating to November 2022. The 12-game string for league games already is a program record.

–Field Level Media

Oct 19, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs safety Isaiah Nwokobia (23) gestures after intercepting a pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the fourth quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

No. 21 SMU strikes early, scores big in rout of Stanford

Kevin Jennings threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns, including an 87-yarder to Moochie Dixon on the first offensive play of the game, and 21st-ranked SMU remained unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 40-10 shellacking of host Stanford on Saturday night.

LJ Johnson Jr. added two rushing scores for the Mustangs (6-1, 3-0), who have won four in a row since a narrow loss to BYU. They have run up 182 points in the process.

Heralded freshman Elijah Brown came off the bench and threw for 153 yards in his first extensive playing time for the Cardinal (2-5, 1-3), who lost their fourth in a row.

Jennings followed his connection to Dixon with 45- and 38-yard scores to Key’Shawn Smith and RJ Maryland, respectively, before the end of the first quarter, giving the Mustangs a 21-0 lead just 13:13 into the schools’ first-ever ACC meeting.

A Mitch Leigber interception at the SMU 14 and Brown’s 18-yard TD strike to Elic Ayomanor three plays later gave Stanford life with 6:39 left in the half.

But SMU responded immediately with a 59-yard drive culminated by a Johnson 5-yard score, and when Collin Rogers drilled a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the second period, the visitors rolled into the break with a 31-7 cushion.

Jennings had 278 of his 322 passing yards by halftime as part of the Mustangs’ 364-77 dominance in total yards in the first two periods. He finished 17-for-27 with the one interception.

Stanford did the game’s only scoring of the third period on a 42-yard field goal by Emmet Kenney. But SMU ran up its 30-point margin of victory over the final 11:40 when Cale Sanders Jr. sacked Brown for a safety and Johnson plowed in from 2 yards out.

Brashard Smith led a balanced running attack with 67 yards on eight carries for the Mustangs, who outrushed the hosts 179-11 en route to a 501-169 advantage in total yards.

Each team had two turnovers in the schools’ first meeting since the 1935 Rose Bowl.

Brown, who replaced Ashton Daniels at quarterback late in the first quarter, went 16-for-32 for 123 yards with two interceptions.

Stanford’s Sam Roush was the game’s top pass-catcher with six catches for 45 yards.

–Field Level Media

Oct 5, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA;  Southern Methodist Mustangs running back Brashard Smith (1) runs the ball against Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tamarion McDonald (12) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

No. 21 SMU hits the road for ACC game vs. Stanford

Having successfully dealt with two of their new rivals to the east, SMU turns its attention west when the No. 21 Mustangs make their first Atlantic Coast Conference trip to Stanford on Saturday night.

Riding high off a bye following a 34-27 win at then-No. 22 Louisville, SMU (5-1, 2-0 ACC) will face an opponent it hasn’t seen since the 1935 Rose Bowl, a game Stanford won 7-0 to hand the Mustangs their only loss that season.

Despite the defeat, SMU was declared the 1935 national champion by two prominent ranking methods — a mathematical points formula known as the Dickinson System and a strength-of-schedule calculation known as the Houlgate System.

The Mustangs haven’t won a widely recognized national title since.

The Associated Press poll made its debut in 1936.

Looking ahead to a remaining schedule that doesn’t include either ACC frontrunners Clemson or Miami and features just one other currently ranked team (No. 20 Pittsburgh), SMU will be seeking its fourth straight win against a Stanford squad that has lost three in a row.

The Mustangs head west as a ranked team. They moved into the rankings after the Louisville victory prior to having a bye. They moved up four spots in Sunday’s poll.

Being ranked is something coach Rhett Lashlee has cautioned his guys has its positives and negatives.

“We’ve had a week to hear about our press, our ranking and all that. And that’s great — our guys have earned it,” Lashlee said. “But if we don’t stay present, we don’t focus on the task at hand when we go to Stanford, then we’re going to be that statistic that they played well, but then they fell off.”

The Mustangs have averaged 40.8 points in their first six games, led by running back Brashard Smith, who currently is tied for second in the ACC with eight touchdowns, seven of which have been on the ground.

SMU will be looking for its eighth straight road victory.

Meanwhile, Stanford (2-4, 1-2) has allowed 30.8 points per game, including a season-high in a 49-7 drubbing at the hands of Notre Dame last week.

Interestingly, the game matches teams that like to play multiple quarterbacks.

After beginning the season with Preston Stone as their primary signal-caller, the Mustangs have gradually transitioned to sophomore Keith Jennings, who threw for a season-best 254 yards in a win over Florida State on Sept. 28 before bettering that with 281 yards in SMU’s most recent game against Louisville.

Stone threw just one pass in the Louisville game, but it was a big one — a 10-yard touchdown to Key’Shawn Smith that gave SMU an early lead.

Stanford coach Troy Taylor, a former collegiate quarterback at Cal, has been impressed by both guys and the game plan they share.

“Real explosive on offense. Fast tempo. They have two quarterbacks who can play,” Taylor observed. “You have to be able to really handle them tempo-wise, one of the fastest in the country. So be ready for their tempo.”

The Cardinal began ACC play with a 26-24 win at Syracuse on Sept. 20, but they have since lost conference games to Clemson and Virginia Tech by a total score of 71-21.

Stanford used both its quarterbacks — Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson — in last week’s loss to Notre Dame. Daniels returned after missing the Cardinal’s loss to Virginia Tech with a leg injury.

The Cardinal’s most productive offensive player of late has been freshman running back Chris Davis Jr., who has gone from three to eight to 10 carries in his last three games. His 233 rushing yards for the season rank second on the team behind Daniels’ 292.

–Field Level Media

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) receives the snap during their game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

No. 22 Louisville looks to bounce back vs. SMU

A loss at Notre Dame last week not only dropped 22nd-ranked Louisville from the ranks of the unbeaten but also provided the Cardinals with learning experiences, according to second-year coach Jeff Brohm.

“There are all kinds of things to clean up, but you’re going to have that when you’re facing really good football teams every week,” he said. “We just have to find a way to be sharper with the turnover battle, try to limit big plays, execute in critical time situations, have a good plan for that and be better.”

The Cardinals will try to put those theories to good use Saturday when they welcome SMU to town for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Louisville (3-1, 1-0 ACC) outgained Notre Dame 395-280 but made too many mistakes to beat a good team on the road, falling 31-24. The Cardinals committed three turnovers, allowed three sacks and were flagged six times for 50 yards, including a key delay-of-game call before a fourth-and-1 play from the Fighting Irish 46 in the last minute. After the penalty, an incomplete pass sealed the outcome.

Louisville lost despite receiving 264 yards and three touchdowns in the air from Tyler Shough. The Texas Tech transfer is off to a hot start, completing 65 percent of his passes for 1,114 yards with 11 scores and only one interception in 117 attempts.

His favorite target has been Ja’Corey Brooks, an Alabama transfer. Brooks has 22 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns, two of them at Notre Dame. However, Louisville will have to be vigilant in terms of ball security as the Mustangs are tied for the FBS lead with 14 takeaways in five games.

SMU (4-1, 1-0) came up with three interceptions last week as it routed Florida State 42-16 in Dallas during a smashing ACC debut. One of those picks resulted in a game-sealing, 82-yard touchdown by Kobe Wilson early in the fourth quarter.

“On third down, they get very exotic and they come after the quarterback,” Brohm said of the Mustangs. “They do some things that other teams aren’t aggressive doing, so I give them credit. They’re well-coached and they’re believing in what they’re doing.”

While Florida State is clearly not living up to its top-10 preseason ranking, the result was everything the Mustangs could have hoped for and more. They haven’t been in a “power” conference since 1995, when the Southwest Conference folded. They subsequently wound up in various Group of Five leagues.

SMU is averaging 42.2 points per game behind a balanced offense that logs 419.4 yards per game — more than 200 yards per contest both running and passing. Miami transfer Brashard Smith has rushed for 509 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs’ defense has been sharp except in a 66-42 win over TCU, holding the other four opponents to an average of 16.3 points.

“I don’t know what to say about our defense,” Lashlee said. “They keep responding. That’s what we want to do. … It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our defensive staff and players.”

This will be the first matchup of the schools in 40 years. The Mustangs won both previous meetings in 1983 and 1984 by a combined score of 65-13.

–Field Level Media

Sep 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee motions to his players during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Kevin Jennings (3 TDs), SMU drub Florida State in ACC debut

Kevin Jennings completed 16 of 23 passes for 254 yards and threw three touchdown passes to lead host SMU to a 42-16 win over Florida State on Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.

The Mustangs (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their first-ever ACC contest. Former President George W. Bush attended and helped conduct the game’s coin toss.

SMU amassed 467 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to beat Florida State (1-4, 1-3) in the first meeting between the programs.

The Mustangs led 14-9 at halftime before breaking the game open with 14 points in each of the final two quarters.

Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled once again, completing only 12 of 30 passes for 222 yards. Uiagalelei threw a pair of touchdown passes but also had three interceptions. Kobe Wilson snatched the last of that trio of takeaways and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring.

Jonathan McGill and Ahmad Walker had the other two interceptions as SMU also held FSU to 75 yards rushing.

On the flipside, the Mustangs ran for 213 yards led by Brashard Smith’s 129 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Roderick Daniels Jr. also ran for 53 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Florida State, which hosts No. 17 Clemson next week, remained even with SMU for a large part of the first half after Uiagalelei found Kentron Poitier for a 9-yard touchdown.

Jennings’ 42-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Hudson gave SMU the lead for good with 10:20 left in the second quarter.

Jennings then connected with RJ Maryland on an 11-yard TD and a 15-yard TD within the first 7:18 of the third quarter to give SMU a 28-9 edge.

The Mustangs will play their next three games on the road against No. 15 Louisville, Stanford and Duke.

–Field Level Media

Oct 8, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats running back Charles McClelland (10) runs with the ball against the South Florida Bulls in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

No. 21 Cincinnati aims to continue domination of SMU

For No. 21 Cincinnati, seeing SMU on its schedule has always been a welcome sight.

The Bearcats have won five of six all-time meetings between the conference rivals while outscoring the Mustangs 213-106.

Now visiting Cincinnati will look to continue its reign over SMU on Saturday when the teams meet in Dallas.

Fresh off a bye week, the Bearcats (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) are riding a five-game winning streak after defeating South Florida 28-24 on Oct. 8.

Cincinnati running back Charles McClelland ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and Ben Bryant completed 15 of 21 passes for 178 yards and two TDs, with two interceptions.

However, Bryant exited the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury that later was diagnosed as a concussion. Top receiver Tyler Scott also had to leave the contest early with an ankle injury, but both are working toward a return this week.

“Obviously Ben has been able to get back — I think some of the concussion protocol type of stuff,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “Tyler’s still a guy that we’re hoping throughout the rest of this week he’ll continue to get better and better and be able to play.

“You want those guys to be at their best in order to play. … You don’t want to put a guy out there that’s not going to be able to play and perform at the best of his ability.”

With a potentially hampered passing game, the Bearcats likely will have to lean on McClelland again, and he’ll have a chance to feast on a Mustangs defense that has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards per game in the FBS (209).

That defense allowed a whopping 372 yards on the ground against Navy last Friday, but SMU still won 40-34 thanks to quarterback Tanner Mordecai’s sterling performance.

Mordecai threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-27 passing. He also rushed for a score and 74 yards on six carries.

“He’s getting better and better,” Mustangs offensive coordinator Casey Woods said on The Pony Express podcast. “Early in the season, boy he was missing some things and doing some stuff like that. It’s funny how the statistics of a game or the flow of a game can shine a certain light on him.

“He got more credit than he deserved, then he got more blame than he deserved, and he’s kind of just stayed consistent and improved every week and is really playing at a high level right now.”

The senior already has eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark through the air this season and will try to replicate his performance against the Midshipmen and end the Mustangs’ woes against Cincinnati.

But that might not be easy. Opposing quarterbacks have struggled against the Bearcats, throwing for just an average of 186.3 yards per game.

“Cincinnati was (a) remarkable team last year, and they still remain to be,” Woods said of the Bearcats, who reached the College Football Playoffs, where they lost to Alabama. “You get a shot at the champ. Bring ‘em in.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 20, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Virginia Cavaliers head coach Bronco Mendenhall looks on from the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia, SMU meet at Fenway Bowl amid coaching transitions

Two coaching eras end when Virginia and SMU meet in the inaugural Fenway Bowl on Wednesday at Boston.

It is the final game for Cavaliers coach Bronco Mendenhall, who made the surprising announcement on Dec. 2 that he was stepping down after six seasons. His successor, former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, will take charge after the bowl game.

Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt is the Mustangs’ acting head coach for the game at Fenway Park, home of baseball’s Boston Red Sox. Head coach Sonny Dykes departed for TCU at the end of November and his replacement, former Miami and SMU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, takes the Mustangs’ reins in 2022.

Virginia (6-6) and SMU (8-4) both stumbled toward the end of the regular season. The Cavaliers are on a four-game losing streak and the Mustangs have dropped four of their last five.

Virginia fell 29-24 to rival Virginia Tech in its last game on Nov. 27.

“We don’t want to send (Mendenhall) off with the V-Tech game,” Cavaliers quarterback Brennan Armstrong said. “I’m glad we get one more opportunity to send him on a good note, send our fifth-year seniors out, and the COVID-year seniors. That’s my goal. That’s what I really want: to send those guys out on a high note, because you always remember your last game here, and you want it to be a W.”

Armstrong ranks second in the nation with 4,449 passing yards and set a UVA record with 31 touchdown passes.

SMU counterpart Tanner Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, has passed for 3,628 yards and ranks fourth in the country with 39 TD passes.

After going 5-7 in Dykes’ first full season in 2018, the Mustangs have posted a 25-10 record since. They started 7-0 this season and climbed to No. 19 in the polls before the rough finish.

Running back Tyler Lavine said he is happy to “be a part of a team that’s changed this program around” and he is hoping for a home-run finish in Boston’s ballpark.

“I feel like everyone has been killing it,” Lavine told Spectrum News 1 in Dallas. “Everyone sees the end goal and I think we can keep going.”

The Mustangs are 7-9-1 in bowl games, with their most recent victory coming at the 2012 Hawaii Bowl. The Cavaliers are 8-13 all-time in bowl games, including 1-2 during Mendenhall’s six seasons.

This is the first meeting between the programs.

–Field Level Media

Nov 14, 2020; Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA;  Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Sonny Dykes on the sidelines during the game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Tulsa won 28-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Sonny Dykes leaving SMU for TCU gig

SMU coach Sonny Dykes is leaving the program for a metro rival, accepting a deal to become the new coach at TCU, ESPN and Action Network reported Friday.

Dykes was offered $4 million to stay at SMU but TCU’s package was worth “significantly more,” according to ESPN.

Multiple media outlets reported that SMU is turning to former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to fill its impending head-coaching vacancy. Lashlee is currently the offensive coordinator at Miami.

Dykes, 52, served as the head coach at Louisiana Tech (2010-2012) and Cal (2013-16) before the Golden Bears’ program fired him after the 2016 season. Dykes spent a year as an offensive analyst for TCU before accepting the head job with SMU in December 2017.

His Mustangs are 8-3 this season entering Saturday’s regular-season finale against Tulsa. He has a 30-17 record in four seasons with SMU and a 71-62 overall record as a head coach.

TCU needed a replacement for Gary Patterson, the longtime Horned Frogs coach who left the job earlier this month.

The programs are separated by roughly 40 miles, with SMU in Dallas and TCU in Fort Worth. They were longtime rivals in the Southwest Conference and have maintained an annual rivalry game for the Iron Skillet.

–Field Level Media