SMU Mustangs Preview 2024
Last year Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF made the step up in weight class from the American Athletic Conference to the Power Five, and the Big 12 greeted them - and BYU - rather rudely.
SMU will be a more interesting test case.
The defending American Athletic Conference champions were helped in a big way by not having to deal with the strong former members - it was fine against Houston, 2-12 in the previous seven years against UCF and Cincinnati - but went 0-3 against Oklahoma, TCU, and Boston College, losing to all three by double-digits.
SMU was able to beat TCU twice, but outside of that the last victory over a then-Power Five program was against Pitt in the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl. 2010 against a miserable Washington State team was the last regular season win over a Power Five team other than TCU.
So SMU is going to just roll on up into the ACC and matter right away with ten games against Power Four teams?
Yeah. It’s possible. Few smallish, private schools are better set up to rock in the new era of college athletics than SMU.
Money isn’t a thing. The school is blowing off short-term revenue for long-term status and potential payouts, keeping the important players from going through the portal wasn’t a problem, and the transfers started to pour in.
With almost everyone of note back from last year’s 11-3 team - only 1935 12-1 SMU won more games; 1982 11-0-1 squad is the only other team to get past ten wins - and after such a strong showing before the bowl clunker to BC, the hype might be real going into 2024.
SMU Preview 2024: Offense
- The major playmakers are back, the transfer portal helped, and the high-octane offense should keep on rolling. The Mustangs finished 16th in the nation in total offense, were eighth in scoring, and were tremendously efficient in all ways. The ground game will once again be strong, but …
- The passing attack makes the thing go. QB Preston Stone came up with a massive season throwing 28 touchdown passes with just six picks, and he ran well, too. He spreads the ball around, and the top seven receivers are back.
Leading receiver Jake Bailey is reliable, but TE RJ Maryland is the real star, finishing second of the team in catches to go with seven touchdowns. The receiving corps is loaded, and Stone should get plenty of time to work because …
- The Mustangs were fine for the running game, they were fantastic in pass protection. All-stars OG Logan Parr and OT Justin Osborne should be among the best blockers in the ACC, and the rest of the starting five around them are strong.
Stone can run a bit, but the combination of Jaylan Knighton, LJ Johnson, and Camar Wheaton will combine for over 1,500 rushing yards averaging over five yards per pop.
SMU Preview 2024: Defense
- The offense was fun, but it was the defense that won SMU the AAC Championship. The pass rush was outstanding, the big plays were there - including for a slew of points - and there’s a lot to like with most of the key parts back.
- The pass rush will be a problem for the ACC. It comes from everywhere, but ten-sack leader Elijah Roberts is the main playmaker at one end spot. The interior has a veteran in Kori Roberson, but the transfer portal loaded up the prospects with Jonathan Jefferson (Georgia), Anthony Booker (Arkansas), and Mike Lockhart (West Virginia).
- The top seven and ten of the top 11 tacklers are back. The linebacking corps can be disruptive in the backfield, but the AAC all-star linebacking combination of Kobe Wilson and Ahmad Walker - who finished 1-2 in stops - are rocks against the run, and the safety combination of Isaiah Nwokobia and Jonathan McGill finished third and fourth in stops, respectively.
The corners are hardly a negative, but they’re not quite as strong as the rest of the D. Texas A&M transfer Deuce Harmon will help.
SMU Key To The Season
Dominate against the run. Always.
This is the one area where the then-Power Five talent gave SMU real problems. The offense struggled in the three games against P5ers last year, but the defense overall wasn’t bad. The run D, though, had its three worst days against Boston College, TCU, and Oklahoma. SMU was 11-0 when allowing fewer than 189 rushing yards, and 0-3 when giving up that many or more.
SMU Key Player
Isaac Pearson, P Soph.
Of course with the move up to the ACC there are several other key players who’ll be a bigger deal - all of the main men have to rise up and rock.
The stats on the punt return team are far worse than the actual production - there were just 17 returns averaging 9.65 yards per try. Punter Ryan Bujcevski, though, was fantastic, averaging 44.5 yards per kick in a consistently strong season. SMU has done well with Australian punters,
SMU Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: OT Savion Byrd
Georgia DT Jonathan Jefferson is close, and Oregon WR Ashton Cozart will be a playmaker, but landing a ready-made versatile blocker like the former Oklahoma Sooner - Byrd will probably start out at guard, but can play tackle - is an instant boost to the line that lost …
Top Transfer Out: C Brandon Hickman
SMU came out of transfer portal season way ahead, but it lost its starting center. It might have grabbed Byrd from Oklahoma, but lost Hickman to the Sooners.
SMU Key Game
at Louisville, Oct. 5
Welcome to the ACC, SMU - now start your era with Florida State. After the conference opener comes three straight road games. There’s a week off in there, and the dates at Stanford and Duke are gettable, so a good performance with a win at Louisville would make SMU a player.
The two teams met twice, opening both the 1983 and 1984 seasons. SMU won the two by a combined score of 65-13.
SMU 10 Best Players
1. Preston Stone, QB Jr.
2. Justin Osborne, OT Sr.
3. Logan Parr, OG Sr.
4. RJ Maryland, TE Jr.
5. Elijah Roberts, DE Sr.
6. Isaiah Nwokobia, S Jr.
7. Kobe Wilson, LB Sr.
8. Ahmad Walker, LB Sr.
9. Jonathan McGill, S Sr.
10. Jaylan Knighton, RB Sr.
SMU 2023 Fun Stats
- 1st Quarter Scoring: SMU 174, Opponents 58
- Sacks: SMU 48 for 270 yards, Opponents 16 for 106 yards
- Penalties: 95 for 902 yards, Opponents 65 for 577 yards
SMU 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Sometimes you just stay away from win totals - too many X factors. Even with all of the talent in place, there’s no bigger factor than figuring out whether or not SMU really can be that good against the better teams.
Getting by Nevada on the road and Houston Christian at home to start the season won’t be an issue, but there’s a big, big problem if SMU can’t win home games against BYU and TCU.
The Mustangs almost certainly aren’t beating Florida State, and going to Louisville is hard before going on the road against Stanford and Duke. On the plus side, Pitt, Boston College, and Cal are coming to Dallas, and the trip to Virginia is manageable.
There’s no road game SMU can’t win, and there's no Clemson, Miami, NC State, or North Carolina - and no part-timer Notre Dame - to deal with.
Even so, in the first year as a Power Four program, getting to a bowl game and getting this era off the ground would be a success.
Set The SMU Win Total At … 7
Likely Wins: Houston Christian, at Nevada
50/50 Games: Boston College, BYU, Cal, at Duke, Pitt, at Stanford, TCU, at Virginia
Likely Losses: Florida State, at Louisville
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