Saturday, November 4, 2023 – 6:30 p.m. CT
[-/RV] SMU (6-2, 4-0 American) vs. Rice (4-4, 2-2 American)
Rice Stadium - Houston, Texas

TV: ESPNU
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SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU takes its four-game winning streak on the road in a battle for the Mayor's Cup at Rice on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
• The Mustangs continued their dominant run in conference play this past weekend, knocking off Tulsa 69-10 at Ford Stadium to go to 4-0 in AAC games this season. 
• The 52 first-half points are the most in the first half this season against an FBS opponent and the 49-point halftime lead is the highest by an FBS team this season. 
• The Mustangs have outscored their opponents 189-36 in four conference games this year. 
• SMU received votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll for a second straight week. 

QUICK HITS
• The Mustangs are 6-0 this year when they have scored at least 30 points in a game. 
• SMU has had at least eight receivers catch a pass in every game in 2023. 
• Preston Stone ranks 10th in the NCAA in touchdown passes with 19 on the season. 
• Stone took home multiple weekly honors for his day against Tulsa, finishing with a career-best 371 passing yards and three touchdowns in less than two quarters, including being named National Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA), being one of eight quarterbacks chosen by the Manning Award for its "Stars of the Week" honor, American Athletic Conference (AAC) Offensive Player of the Week for a second time this year and honorable mention honors for the second time this season by the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
• SMU's defense has been on another level this year, ranking in the top-20 in NCAA in third down pct defense (10th), defensive touchdowns (3rd), first downs allowed (16th), passing yards allowed (8th), red zone defense (8th), scoring defense (5th), team passing efficiency defense (15th), team sacks (10th), tackles for loss (7th) and total defense (12th).
• The Mustangs have taken it to the conference opposition, posting an average margin of victory of 38.3 points (47.3-9.0) in conference games this year. 

THE SERIES
• This is the 91st meeting in the all-time series. 
• SMU holds a 48-41-1 advantage in the series. 
• The teams last met up on Nov. 17, 2012, a 36-14 victory for Rice at Rice Stadium. 
• SMU has won three of the last four meetings. 

ABOUT THE OWLS
• Rice has a record of 4-4 on the year. 
• The Owls are coming off a 30-28 loss at home to Tulane on Oct. 28. 
• Rice is 3-2 at home this season. 
• The Owls average 37.0 points per game at home in 2023. 

THE COACHES
• Rhett Lashlee is in his second season as the head coach at SMU and has a 13-8 career record. Lashlee, who served as offensive coordinator for the Mustangs for two seasons (2018-19), also served as the offensive coordinator at Miami in 2020 and 2021. A one-time finalist (2013) and two-time semifinalist (2019, 2020) for the Broyles Award, Lashlee has the distinction of being the only coach ever nominated for the Broyles Award four different times at four different schools (Arkansas State, Auburn, SMU, Miami).

• Mike Bloomgren is in his sixth season as head coach of Rice. He has a career record of 20-43. Rice enters the AAC coming off a season that saw the team return to bowl action for the first time in eight years.

COMING SOON 
• The Mustangs announced their 2024 season schedule as part of the ACC's seven-year conference model on Oct. 30.
• SMU will host TCU, BYU and HCU in non-conference home games to go with ACC opponents Boston College, Cal, Florida State and Pitt in Ford Stadium next year.
• The Mustangs will play Vanderbilt in their lone non-conference road game and make trips to Duke, Louisville, Stanford and Virginia for conference play in 2024.