Saturday, September 2, 2023 – 11 a.m. CT
Ford Stadium – Dallas, Texas
2023 Gameday Updates & Improvements
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SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU opens the season at home on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT against Louisiana Tech. 
• The Mustangs are coming off a 7-6 season in 2022, the fourth straight year with at least seven wins. 
• SMU opened the season receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

QUICK HITS
• SMU finished the 2022 regular season, the first under Head Coach Rhett Lashlee, 7-5 to become bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. The streak is the longest since SMU went to four bowls from 2009-12 and made the Mustangs bowl eligible in five of the past six seasons and nine of the past 14. The Mustangs used a three-game win streak with victories over Tulsa, Houston and USF to secure bowl eligibility. 
•  The Mustangs finished the 2022 season in the top 15 among FBS rankings for passing offense (7th, 316.7), scoring offense (12th, 37.2), total offense (14th, 472.8), first down offense (13th, 331), red zone offense (7th, .919), blocked kicks (10th, 4) and fewest penalties per game (9th, 4.31).
• In SMU single-season rankings, the 2022 season ranked in the top five for scoring average (5th, 37.2), scoring (3rd, 484), passing yards (1st, 4,117) and passing yards per game (3rd, 316.9).
• SMU has won at least seven games each season dating back to 2019, making it the longest stretch with at least seven wins since the 2009-12 seasons. It is also the first season the Mustangs have won five conference games since going 6-2 in league play in 2019.

THE SERIES
• The Mustangs are 2-4 all-time against the Bulldogs. 
• The last time these teams met was on Sept. 18, 2021 where the Mustangs came out victorious 39-37 down in Ruston, La.
• Reggie Roberson Jr secured the win for the Mustangs with a last-second hail mary.
• Senior Jordan Kerley caught an 18-yard touchdown pass in the win. 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• The Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0 Conference USA) enter the game coming off a 22-17 win versus FIU this past Saturday. 
• This is the Bulldogs first trip coming to Gerald J. Ford Stadium since 2004.
• La. Tech picked up its first season-opening victory since 2020 with the win over FIU. 

THE COACHES
• Rhett Lashlee is in his second season as the head coach at SMU and has a 7-6 career record. Lashlee, who served as
offensive coordinator for the Mustangs for two seasons (2018-19), 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).
• Sonny Cumbie is in his second season with the Bulldogs with a career record of 4-9. In Cumbies first season, he led the Bulldogs to a 3-9 record with 2 of those wins coming in conference play. 

LAST TIME VS. LOUISIANA TECH
• The Mustangs and Bulldogs last met on Sept. 18, 2021 in Ruston, La. SMU pulled out the two-point victory to snap a three-game losing streak in the series. The win gave the Mustangs their first victory in the series since 2002.