Saturday, August 31, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
[RV/RV] SMU (1-0, ACC) vs. Houston Christian (0-0, SLC)
Gerald J. Ford Stadium – Dallas, Texas
TV: ACCNX
Radio: The Ticket - KTCK 96.7 FM/1310 AM | Streaming: SMU App (Google Play | Apple App Store)
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SETTING THE SCENE
• [RV/RV] SMU gets ready to start its seven-game home schedule with a meeting against Houston Christian on Saturday at 7 pm.
• The Mustangs took out Nevada on the road, 29-24, on August 24 to start the season, their sixth straight season-opening victory.
• RJ Maryland turned in the best performance of his Mustang career, finishing with career bests in catches (eight) and receiving yards (162).  
• Preston Stone found his groove in the second half, finishing the game 17-for-30 for 254 passing yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 35 yards. 
• Brashard Smith made an impressive debut, finishing with 151 all-purpose yards (67 rush, 26 receiving, 58 kick return) and a touchdown at Nevada. 

QUICK HITS
• SMU has won its last five home openers going back to 2019. 
• The Mustangs currently have an eight-game home winning streak dating back to 2022, highlighted by an unbeaten mark (6-0) in 2023 at Ford Stadium.
• SMU averaged 52.3 points per game in six home wins in 2023.  
•The eight-game home winning streak is tied for fourth longest in program history, and currently ranks as the sixth longest active streak in all of college football. 
• The Mustangs have had at least seven receivers catch a pass in 18 straight games, dating back to at Tulane on Nov. 17, 2022. 
• Maryland's 162 yards were the most by an SMU receiver since Rashee Rice's 180 yards at Tulsa on Oct. 29, 2022.
• Maryland also tied the program record for career touchdowns by a tight end recording his 14th on a game-winning catch at Nevada on Saturday. 
• Stone improved his career record as a starter to 12-2 with the victory against the Wolf Pack. 
• SMU received votes in both the AP and US LBM Coaches Preseason Polls, the fifth straight season receiving votes in the preseason Coaches Poll.  
• SMU had 20 players earn various accolades prior to the start of the season. 
• SMU was undefeated (10-0) last season with scoring at least 30 points in a game, pushing its winning streak to 15 games dating back to Oct. 14, 2022 when it scores 30 or more.

THE SERIES
• This is the second meeting in the series with SMU leading 1-0.
• The Mustangs won the only meeting, 62-27 at home on Sept. 29, 2018. 

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
• HCU is coming off a 6-5 season in 2023. 
• The Huskies were 3-3 on the road last year. 
• Houston Christian has won its last two road contests. 

THE COACHES
• Rhett Lashlee is in his third season as the head coach at SMU and has a 19-9 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).

• Lashlee was named a finalist last season for the prestigious Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, handed out the nation's top coach as voted on by the National Sports Media Association, the Bryant Awards' Executive Leadership Team, and the Bryant Family. The Arkansas native was also named Co-Coach of the Year by the Dave Campbell's Texas Football publication, a finalist of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, and a semi-finalist for Coach of the Year Award by the Maxwell Football Club for the job he did in 2023.

• Jason Bachtel is in his first season as head coach at HCU after spending one year as the program's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2023. He spent two seasons prior to joining the Huskies as the head coach at Howard Payne University in Brownwood. While leading the Yellow Jackets, Bachtel posted back-to-back 7-3 seasons for a 14-6 record as a collegiate head coach.

MUSTANG CAPTAINS
• Kevin Jennings, Jonathan McGill, Justin Osborne, Elijah Roberts, Preston Stone and Kobe Wilson were voted captains for the 2024 season. 

HOME SWEET HOME
• SMU is 24-4 at home since the start of the 2019 season, which included a 6-0 mark in 2023, a 5-1 record in 2021 and a 6-0 record in 2019. 
• The Mustangs currently have an eight-game winning streak in Ford Stadium dating back to 2022, tied for fourth longest in program history, and currently ranks sixth longest in all of college football. 
• SMU set a record for the largest regular season attendance in Ford Stadium at the Sept. 24, 2022 contest against TCU with 35,569 fans, including a record 4,590 students. 
• The previous regular season record was 35,481 vs TCU (2010). The stadium record is 36,742 (Armed Forces Bowl, SMU vs Army, 2010).