In-state foes will square off on Saturday night with the SMU Mustangs visiting the North Texas Mean Green at Apogee Stadium. SMU turned in an 8-4 campaign a year ago, and will now move forward under first-year head coach Rhett Lashlee. North Texas has already opened its 2022 campaign, taking down UTEP 31-13 on the road to cover easily as a one-point underdog.
This local rivalry has been dominated by SMU, which leads 34-6-1 all-time with North Texas last winning in 2018. SMU cruised to a 35-12 win last season.
SMU seemed to be building solid momentum in 2021 with a third straight winning season, only for head coach Sonny Dykes to leave for local rival TCU. The best win for the Mustangs all year was over those Horned Frogs, but the team fell short in a number of key games against AAC contenders and unfortunatley had the Fenway Bowl cancelled due to COVID.
The program is now in the hands of Rhett Lashlee, who was the offensive coordinator at SMU from 2018-19 before taking the same job at Miami the last two years. That means the team will stick with a version of the Air Raid offense, which is good news for quarterback Tanner Mordecai after he went 308 for 454 with 3,628 yards, 39 touchdowns and 12 picks last season.
Tre Siggers is also back as the leading rusher, having carried the ball 147 times for 727 yards and nine scores in 2021. Rashee Rice could be in line for another huge year after reeling in 64 catches for 640 yards and nine scores last campaign.
This was a top 10 scoring offense last season with the Mustangs piling up 38.4 points on 463.8 yards per game. The defense struggled statistically, allowing 28.4 points and 422.1 yards per contest.
Camar Wheaton, a high-profile running back transfer from Alabama, is not listed on the SMU depth chart for injury reasons. Wideout Beau Corrales is dealing with a shoulder injury.