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SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU heads to North Texas Saturday, Sept. 1, at 6:30 p.m. CT for the season opener at Apogee Stadium. The Mustangs have won their last two season openers with victories at UNT (2016) and against Stephen F. Austin (2017). 

• The Mustangs finished the 2017 season with seven wins and made their first bowl appearance since the 2012 season. SMU was one of only two teams in the nation to finish with a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers. The Mustangs ranked in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense (37.8) and total offense (478.5).

• Ben Hicks returns to the Hilltop after a record-setting 2017. Hicks set the SMU single-season (33) and career (52) passing touchdown records in 2017, registering 276 completions for 3,569 yards. He is a member of the Manning Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Watch Lists.

• Mustangs Xavier Jones (Maxwell, Doak Walker, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose), Jordan Wyatt (Wuerffel, AFCA Good Works), James Proche (Biletnikoff), Braeden West (Paul Hornung) and Jamie Sackville (Ray Guy) also highlight preseason watch lists.

THE SERIES
SMU and North Texas will meet for the 38th time, with the Mustangs holding a 31-5-1 advantage. The Mustangs have won the last three match-ups, including a 54-32 victory in Dallas in 2017.

ABOUT THE MEAN GREEN
North Texas is coming off a 9-5 season, which included a 7-1 record in Conference USA and a trip to the CUSA Championship game. The Mean Green fell to Troy, 50-30, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. UNT returns 2017 CUSA Offensive Player of the Year Mason Fine, who threw for 4,052 yards and 31 touchdowns a season ago, as well as receptions leader Michael Lawrence and tackles leader E.J. Ejiya.

THE COACHES
• Sonny Dykes enters his first season on the Hilltop after serving head coaching stints at Cal (2013-16) and Louisiana Tech (2010-12). Dykes spent 2017 at TCU as an offensive analyst. In seven season as a head coach, Dykes holds a career record of 41-46. 

• Seth Littrell is in his third season at UNT and has a 14-13 record with back-to-back bowl appearances. Littrell spent time as an offensive coordinator at Indiana (2012-13) and Arizona (2011), and was an assistant head coach at North Carolina before arriving in Denton in 2015.

LAST TIME VS. NORTH TEXAS
DALLAS (AP) -- Ben Hicks threw four touchdown passes to Courtland Sutton, Xavier Jones ran for two scores, and SMU beat North Texas 54-32 on Sept. 9, 2017 to win its second straight.

With eight receptions for 163 yards, Sutton tied the SMU single-game program record with four TD catches, and his 40-yard scoring reception broke a 10-all first-quarter tie and broke the game open. Hicks, 20 of 39 for 312 yards passing with one interception, also connected with Sutton on 62-, 4-, 35-yard TD passes.

Jones gained 74 yards on 13 carries, and his 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal in the third quarter was set up by Demerick Gary's interception of a pass by the Mean Green's Mason Fine. Jones also scored on a 47-yard run in the fourth.

Backup QB D.J. Gillins' first pass of the game was a 76-yard scoring strike to Myron Gailliard in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs defense held North Texas (1-1) to 69 yards rushing, scored a safety, and twice stopped the Mean Green on downs.

MAKING OUR POINT
The Ponies averaged 37.8 points per game (12th nationally) in 2017 with a pair of 50+ contests to open the season. SMU was 1 of only 3 FBS teams (Maryland & Kansas State) with 50 points in each of the first two games. It was the first season since 1928 that the Mustangs had back-to-back 50+ point games.

The Mustangs ranked seventh in the country last season in biggest improvements over 2016 in ppg (10.1).

SMU Season Scoring Average
1.    2017    37.8
2.    1981    33.2
3.    2012    30.5
4.    2009    29.2
5.    1982    28.9
    
SMU Season Total Offense - Yards Per Game
1.    2017    478.5
2.    2013    435.2
3.    2016    427.3
4.    2007    422.3
5.    2010    414.6

SMU Season Total Offense - Yards
1.    2017     6220
2.    2010     5804
3.    2013     5222
4.    2016     5127
5.    2009     5093

SMU Total Offense - Yards/Play
1.    2017    6.39
2.    2010    6.31
3.    2011    6.08
4.    2009    5.99
5.    1984    5.83

WHAT A RUSH
Over the last three seasons (2015-17), the Mustangs have rushed for 200+ yards in 13 of 37 games, while only doing so 18 other times since 2000. SMU had 26 rushing TDs last season, tied for the 4th most in a season.

The Mustangs' 311 rushing yards against Arkansas State in 2017 were the most since Nov. 21, 2015 vs. Tulane, and 13th highest total posted by an FBS team that week. The 54 attempts were the most since SMU registered 58 attempts against Tulsa in 2003, and equals the output in SMU's 2015 game against Baylor.

Three Mustangs rushed for 500+ yards in 2017 with Xavier Jones leading the group at 1,075 (Braeden West, 568 & Ke'Mon Freeman, 543). Freeman had a team-best 11 touchdowns. All three had 10+ carries in the win at Cincinnati.

'CAUSE WE'RE TNT
SMU ranked among the nation's best in 2017 when it came to explosive plays from scrimmage:

Plays    Yards    Nat. Ranking
88        20+        8th
40        30+        T14th
22        40+        19th
13        50+        T15th
8          60+        T16th
5          70+        T7th

IMPROVED DEFENSE
The Mustang defense had 31 sacks last season (tied for 4th in a season for SMU), while Justin Lawler finished the season 16th nationally at 0.73 per game. Lawler also led the nation in blocked kicks, with three.

Mikial Onu led the team with 105 tackles and the AAC with 6.5 solo tackles per game, while Lawler registered 15.5 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. Jordan Wyatt was SMU's leader with 4 interceptions for 165 yards.

TOPS IN TEXAS
The Mustangs led FBS teams in the state of Texas last season in scoring offense (37.8) and total offense (478.5).

BIG BEN
Ben Hicks set the SMU single-season (33) and career (52) passing touchdown records in 2017, registering 276 completions for 3,569 yards. The quarterback ranked ninth nationally in passing touchdowns, 18th in passing yards and 21st in completions per game (21.23) and passing yards per game (274.5).

Hicks is one of 30 candidates on the Manning Award Watch List, and is also a member of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List and was named a Player to Watch by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. He was also selected as the No. 11 player to watch on the College Football News Preseason All-American Athletic Conference list and is an All-AAC preseason selection by Athlon Sports.

In his career, Hicks is 25-for-48 with 457 yards and 5 TDs against North Texas. His first career college action was against UNT in 2016 when Hicks threw for 145 yards and a TD.    

Hicks has eight 300+ yard career passing games, including five in 2017. 
      
BACK AT IT
Jordan Wyatt ranks atop SMU's all-time lists with five defensive return touchdowns and four career interception return touchdowns. He finished 2017 with 288 career interception return yards, also the most for a Mustang, and became just the sixth player in FBS history to record an interception return and fumble recovery for touchdowns in the same game week one against Stephen F. Austin.

Wyatt is a member of the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, as well as a nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team. He has also picked up preseason accolades from College Football News, Athlon Sports and Dave Campbell's Texas Football.    

Wyatt missed the 2017 Frisco Bowl game after suffering a knee injury in the Mustangs' game against Tulane.
    
BIG GAME JAMES
With the departure of All-Americans and 2018 NFL Draft picks Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn, James Proche is the Mustangs leading returning receiver headed into 2018. 

In 13 games last season, Proche caught 40 passes for 816 yards (11th AAC) and six touchdowns (12th AAC) and earned a spot on the preseason Biletnikoff Award Watch List. He also ranked second in The American and 12th nationally at 20.40 yards per reception. Proche also spent time on special teams for the Mustangs and finished with 872 all-purpose yards.

X GON' GIVE IT TO YA
Preseason Maxwell and Doak Walker Award candidate Xavier Jones is back for his junior season after a successful 2017 campaign. Jones led the team with 1,075 yards on 182 carries, including a career-high 175 yards at Memphis on Nov. 18, and posted nine rushing touchdowns (10th AAC). He also added 14 receptions for 84 yards.

Jones has five career games of 100+ yards rushing, including games of 175, 146 and 106 in 2017, and 20 career rushing TDs.

In addition to the Maxwell and Doak Walker Watch List selections, Jones is a member of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List and earned preseason accolades from Dave Campbell's Texas Football and Athlon Sports.

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN
Braeden West played in 12 games for the Mustangs in 2017, finishing second on the team with 568 rushing yards on 73 carries and added a pair of rushing touchdowns. West also registered 18 catches for 185 yards and 423 yards on 23 kick returns. He is a member of the Paul Hornung Watch List, which honors student-athletes who play multiple positions on offense and/or multiple positions on defense and demonstrate an extreme, high-level of versatility

West has six 100+ yards rushing games in his career and sits 14th on SMU's all-time list at 1,930 yards. He has 3,439 career all-purpose yards, including a career-high 1,176 (12th AAC) in 2017. 
    
C'MON  KE'MON
Ke'Mon Freeman led the Mustangs with 11 rushing touchdowns (4th AAC) in 2017, including multiple TDs in three games (at TCU, Arkansas State, Tulane). Starting with the TCU game on Sept. 16, 2017, Freeman posted a stretch of six straight games with a rushing TD, the longest for a Mustang since Reggie Dupard's streak of 13 straight (last 6 1984, first 7 1985).

Freeman enters 2018 with 1,194 career yards on 285 carries and 15 rushing TDs.   

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
SMU welcomed eight graduate transfers, three FBS transfers and six junior college transfers who are eligible for the 2018 season. 

Graduate transfer CJ Sanders joins the Mustangs after three seasons at Notre Dame where he registered 2,641 all-purpose yards, including 2,019 on kickoff returns, which leads returners nationally. He also currently leads the nation among returners in total return yards at 2,326. Sophomore wide receiver Reggie Roberson, Jr., spent 2017 at West Virginia playing in all 12 games and registering six catches.

TRIBUTE 23
Since 2009, the SMU coaching staff has chosen a deserving student-athlete to wear the number 23 to honor Jerry LeVias.

LeVias was the first African-American to receive an athletic scholarship in the Southwest Conference. While at SMU, LeVias made athletic and academic All-America teams and, in 1966, contributed to the Mustangs' first SWC title in 18 years. He was an All-American in 1968 and was chosen All-SWC in 1966, 1967 and 1968.

Senior cornerback Jordan Wyatt has been awarded the number for 2018.

Players To Wear #23 In Honor of Jerry LeVias
Jordan Wyatt, CB, 2018
Nick Horton, DE, 2016-17
Jeremiah Gaines, TE, 2015
Stephon Sanders, LB, 2012-14
Chris Banjo, DB, 2009

SMU IN THE CLASSROOM
The SMU football team has set multiple term and cumulative GPA records since 2014.

The 2018 SMU roster features 14 student-athletes who have already earned a degree, giving them one of the highest totals in the country. Andrew Adams, Jourdan Blake, Paka Davis, Jake Hall, Ben Hicks, Larry Hughes, William Jeanlys, Nick Natour, Patrick Nelson, Chad Pursley, CJ Sanders, Cole Sterns, Noah Westerfield and Jordan Wyatt have all earned undergraduate degrees.

PONY UP-GRADES!
SMU has made significant investments in Ford Stadium improvements since 2011, including an upgraded locker room finished in August 2018, a new team meeting room with stadium-style seating and renovated positional meeting rooms, a new playing surface, lighting system, A/V system, new suites and club seating.

SMU recently broke ground on a 67,000-square-foot Indoor Performance Center, which will include a 4,000-square-foot multi-use Boulevard Club, a 2,000-square-foot recruiting lounge and access to a 1,500-square-foot outdoor patio, and a turf field with access to a training room and fitness/rehab area.

Prior to the 2016 season, Paragon Sports Constructors installed a new synthetic turf playing field at Ford Stadium. The new synthetic turf field is PowerBlade Bolt as manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf. The design for the new field remained the same, featuring the Mustang logo at mid-field with 'SMU' and 'Mustangs' in opposing end zones.

In the summer of 2013, SMU added a new 233-seat Hall of Champions Club and seven new suites in time for SMU's move to the American Athletic Conference. Among the great features of the new Club and suites is their indoor/outdoor design which allows fans to enjoy the comfort of indoor amenities as well as the excitement of sitting out in the bowl and hearing the roar of the crowd and the hard-hitting action on the field.

THE RED CARPET
SMU may need to install a red carpet in the Mustang locker room as SMU has become "the place to be" in Dallas.

Among the celebrities, legends, current and former pros that have attended practice or stopped by the stadium in recent years are: Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Terrell Owens, Tim Brown, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders, as well as former SMU standouts Reggie Dupard, Eric Dickerson, Craig James, Jerry Ball, Russell Carter and Don Meredith.

Former President George W. Bush even visits SMU football practice. Bush has also performed the ceremonial coin toss at games against Navy (2011), Memphis (2012), Texas Tech (2013), Cincinnati (2014) and North Texas (2015).

FAST LAYNE
Paul Layne holds an unrivaled Mustang record, having attended every SMU game for the last 40-plus years, even going to Tokyo.

He had to pull a "fast one" more than once to keep his streak alive – like the time his ex-wife remarried. He persuaded her to schedule her wedding on a Friday within driving distance of SMU's game at Nevada the following day. So the night before the Mustangs tangled with the Wolf Pack in Reno, Layne attended the wedding in California's Sonoma Valley, then drove 200 miles to catch the opening kickoff.

Layne even attended a game dressed in a Halloween costume to disguise his case of adult-onset chicken pox. Starting when Layne attended SMU and was a team cheerleader, he's attended 495 straight games.

WE DON'T TAILGATE, WE BOULEVARD.
The editors at Southern Living posted a roster of the top 20 Southern schools with the greatest pregame celebrations, and SMU's Boulevard made the list.

From the food and drink to the style and traditions, nobody does tailgating quite like the Mustangs. SMU's beautiful Bishop Boulevard is tailgate central for fun and entertainment.

Along The Boulevard, fans can mingle with family and friends and bring a picnic, fire up a grill or visit Mustang Alley vendors.

The Boulevard is so famous that the guys from Dude Perfect picked SMU to shoot their tailgate game trickshot video. See it here - https://goo.gl/uYCuWj.