TCU Football Week 4 Opponent Lookahead: SMU Mustangs

TCU takes on cross-town rival SMU in Week 4. What can we expect for Coach Sonny Dykes' homecoming?

Brett Gibbons | Sep 19, 2022

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Hopefully you took advantage of last week's bye and finished those fall projects we all swear get done before morning kickoffs each weekend. The TCU Horned Frogs (2-0) are back in action against the cross-town rival SMU Mustangs (2-1).

A Rivalry Renewed

TCU and SMU kick off their 101st meeting on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 11:00 a.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. This is a rivalry that's gone strong since 1915 and has only missed a handful of years.

TCU leads the all-time series 52-41-7, but have dropped the last two meetings dating back to 2019. Since 2000, though, it's been all Frogs as they have a 16-4 record over the past two decades.

The Frogs have won the last six meetings in Dallas dating back to 2005 (note: this game was not played in 2020). The last two meetings between these two have produced razor-thin margins, with SMU winning by an average of 5.5 points.

What makes this matchup even more intriguing is the early homecoming for Coach Sonny Dykes, who TCU hired away from SMU this past offseason. Dykes brings along plenty of assistants and players that too made the move from Dallas to Fort Worth.

SMU Players To Note

One player that didn't come with Coach Dykes is star QB Tanner Mordecai. The 6' 2" fifth-year already has over 1,000 yards passing and 10 touchdowns on the season.

Mordecai began his career with Oklahoma as a four-star recruit and 11th-ranked QB in the country. He sat behind Heisman winner Kyler Murray, Heisman finalist Jalen Hurts, and Heisman hopeful Spencer Rattler before transferring to SMU. He immediately caught on, throwing for over 3,600 yards and 39 TDs in his first year starting.

His go-to target is senior Rashee Rice, who's eclipsed 130 yards receiving in all three starts. Rice's best game came last week against Maryland, where he pulled in 11 receptions for 193 yards, although he wasn't able to find the end zone. Rice has three receiving TDs on the season.

Rice will certainly draw the attention of defensive coaches and will likely see his fair share of Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson in coverage.

The Mustangs roster a pair of strong senior defensive tackles: Elijah Chatman and DeVere Levelton. Both were named to multiple all-conference teams, but notably with Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.

A New Regime

Since TCU lured away Dykes, SMU had to hire an entirely new coaching staff. They landed Miami (FL) offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, who served as OC and QB coach under Dykes in 2018 and 2019. Lashlee was a near immediate replacement for Dykes, as it was clear neither side had eyes for any other direction.

Under Lashlee, Miami was an efficient scoring offense, landing 24th in the nation in 2020 and 41st in 2021; both seasons saw a mark of over 30 points per game.

His flowers really came down the stretch of the 2021 season, where a 2-4 Miami team made the switch to young star Tyler Van Dyke. The 'Canes won five of their last six (including upsets over Pitt and NC State), scoring 30 points in each win.

Lashlee brought in longtime assistant Casey Woods, who worked with him at Auburn and Arkansas State from 2009-15. Woods' last stop was at Missouri, where he served as the recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach. Under Woods, Mizzou signed their highest-ever rated class for 2021.

Scott Symons comes aboard to coach the defense after serving the same position at Liberty. He led the Flames to a top-30 mark in scoring defense and a top-10 mark in passing defense in 2021. Symons was named to the Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 list this past offseason.

Opponent Rundown

Team: SMU Mustangs

Record: 2-1 (0-0 AAC)

Coach: Rhett Lashlee (1st year, 2-1 career record)

Previous Outcome: L, 34-27 at Maryland

Scoring Offense: 37.5 points per game (t-26th)

Scoring Defense: 22.0 points allowed per game (44th)

SMU 2022 Schedule & Results

Date	Opponent	Result
Sept. 3	at North Texas	W, 48-10
Sept. 10	Lamar (FCS)	W, 45-16
Sept. 17	at Maryland	L, 34-27
Sept. 24	TCU
Oct. 1	at UCF
Oct. 8	BYE
Oct. 14	Navy
Oct. 22	Cincinnati
Oct. 29	at Tulsa
Nov. 5	Houston
Nov. 12	at USF
Nov. 17	at Tulane
Nov. 26	Memphis

TCU at SMU Game Info

When: Saturday, Sept. 24, 11:00 a.m. CT
Where: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (University Park, TX)
TV: ESPNU

TCU vs. SMU Past Results

2021: SMU 42, TCU 34 (Fort Worth)
2020: Did not play (COVID-19)
2019: SMU 41, TCU 38 (Fort Worth)
2018: TCU 42, SMU 12 (Dallas)
2017: TCU 56, SMU 36 (Fort Worth)
2016: TCU 33, SMU 3 (Dallas)
2015: TCU 56, SMU 37 (Fort Worth)
2014: TCU 56, SMU 0 (Dallas)
2013: TCU 48, SMU 17 (Fort Worth)
2012: TCU 24, SMU 16 (Dallas)

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Published Sep 19, 2022

BRETT GIBBONS

Brett is an avid sports traveler and former Division-I football recruiter for Bowling Green and Texas State. He’s covered college sports for Fansided, Stadium Journey, and several independent outlets over the past five years. A graduate of BGSU, Brett currently works on-site at Google as a project lead for content curation products.