SMU in Difficult Position in Terms of Potential Viewership Against Temple

One thing ACC will improve upon over AAC is no more Friday game for Lashlee, Mustangs

DALLAS – There's one aspect of playing in the American Athletic Conference that SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee probably won't miss – playing an October game on a Friday night. 

It's tough enough to have a prime recruiting day taken away for his staff to go watch various targets across the nation in person, but to also go up against Highland Park's homecoming game, Texas high school football games in general and Houston vs. Texas in the American League Championship Series greatly reduces the eyes on what should be a game that builds energy and confidence within the fan base.

Unfortunately, a Temple team that is last place in the AAC doesn't inspire the urgency needed to cause a lot of fans to keep the game pulled up on their phones during a high school game or a split screen with the ALCS. It also means recruits won't be watching from home either. 

The positive side to the whole thing is there's no pressure on the program to draw big numbers despite the circumstances. The agreement with the ACC is settled. Otherwise, the damage a Friday night game can do to a team's perceived value because of a lower average television rating as a result is almost impossible to overcome despite bringing a large market. Just ask Temple. Philadelphia is a big market, but despite Notre Dame padding their numbers every now and then, no one is beating down their doors to join a major conference.

Still, there are two bright sides to the situation. The Astros and Rangers have a first pitch of 4:07 p.m., so if pace holds up, there's a chance people will switch over and catch the second half on ESPN as they flip channels looking for their next sports stop. Of course, Lashlee is probably hoping his defense continues it dominance and that quarterback Preston Stone and running back Jaylan Knighton have already helped put things so far out of reach fans might not be interested in sticking around much longer, but eyeballs are eyeballs no matter how long they're there.

The other positive is an extra day to continue healing up and more time to pour over Tulsa's Thursday night game against Rice in preparation. The Golden Hurricane may be one of the few mid-major teams in America that's more battle tested than SMU having already played No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Oklahoma and barely losing to a Florida Atlantic team that is hot on the Mustangs' heels in the AAC championship race.

For those who intend to make the time to take in what should be the next to last Friday night football game SMU ever plays (North Texas is the second Friday of November), the game will kick off at 6 p.m. on ESPN and FuboTV.

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