Editor’s note: This is one of a series of college football previews by The Dallas Express.
SMU MUSTANGS
2022 SEASON: 7-6 (5-3 in AAC), lost to BYU in New Mexico Bowl 24-23
After wins over North Texas and Lamar to start the season, SMU dropped three consecutive games before beating Navy in its American Athletic Conference opener.
The Mustangs followed that performance with a two-point loss to Cincinnati and three straight wins over Tulsa, Houston, and South Florida. After a blowout loss to Tulane, SMU ended the regular season with a 34-31 win over Memphis.
The Mustangs finished the season as the top overall, scoring, and passing offense in the AAC behind 3,654 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes from quarterback Tanner Mordecai and the conference’s second-most receiving yards from Rashee Rice (1,355 yards, 10 touchdowns).
The defense struggled as the team found itself in quite a few high-scoring affairs. After holding its first two opponents to just 26 points, SMU went on to allow more than 30 points in eight different games and finished in the bottom half of the conference across the board.
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WHAT’S NEW
Mordecai has transferred to Wisconsin, and Rice is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. That means Preston Stone becomes SMU’s starting quarterback, and Jordan Kerley enters the season as the team’s leading receiver with nearly 60 fewer catches than Rice, 588 yards, and six touchdowns a year ago.
Key contributors T.J. McDaniel, Trey Siggers, Beau Corrales, and Roderick Roberson Jr. are also playing elsewhere in 2023.
SMU has also added many players through the transfer portal, bringing in former highly-touted prospects on both sides of the ball.
Some of the new players that should make a difference this fall include former Texas offensive lineman Logan Parr, former TCU wide receiver Jordan Hudson and defensive back Kyron Chambers, ex-North Texas defensive end Cameron Robertson, and running backs Jaylan Knighton (Miami) and L.J. Johnson (Texas A&M).
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2023 SCHEDULE
Sep 2 (Sat) 11 a.m. vs Louisiana Tech
Sep 9 (Sat) 5 p.m. at Oklahoma
Sep 16 (Sat) 6 p.m. vs Prairie View A&M
Sep 23 (Sat) TBD at TCU
Sep 30 (Sat) TBD vs Charlotte Family Weekend
Oct 12 (Thu) 6:30 p.m. at East Carolina
Oct 20 (Fri) 6 p.m. at Temple
Oct 28 (Sat) TBD vs Tulsa Homecoming
Nov 4 (Sat) TBD at Rice
Nov 10 (Fri) 8 p.m. vs North Texas
Nov 18 (Sat) TBD at Memphis.
Nov 25 (Sat) TBD vs Navy
Dec 2 (Sat) TBD American Athletic Conference Championship
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PLAYER TO WATCH
Preston Stone
With Mordecai out of the picture, Stone assumes the starting quarterback role for a high-octane offense that loves to move up and down the field. The sophomore was a four-star recruit and U.S. Army All-American coming out of nearby Parish Episcopal School in 2021 and has had high expectations since entering college. Playing the most pivotal position on the field, his play could very well determine how far the Mustangs go this season.
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FRESHMAN TO WATCH
LB Alex Kilgore
Kilgore is SMU’s top incoming freshman, plays a position of need, and is the only true freshman listed on the two-deep depth chart, according to Ourlads.com, meaning he is right on the cusp of the regular defensive lineup. He may not get much playing time immediately, but he has the best chance to carve out a significant role as a first-year player.
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BREAKOUT CANDIDATE
WR Jordan Hudson
Hudson is the best candidate here besides Stone. The TCU transfer was a top 25 high school player in Texas entering last season and became the most impactful freshman on the Horned Frogs offense. At SMU, he will get a chance to immediately join the starting lineup and play a huge role next to Kerley and Jake Bailey.
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WHY CAN THEY CONTEND?
SMU enters the 2023 season as a legitimate contender in the American Athletic Conference and was picked to finish third at the conference’s annual media days last month.
The Mustangs will once again have a high-flying offense, and any improvements on defense make them that much more dangerous this season.
“I think we’ve improved everywhere,” Lashlee told The Dallas Express about the defense at AAC media days last month. “We brought in a lot experience in the back end out of the transfer portal, we had good returning d-linemen, we brought in four [more] d-linemen, [and] we brought in two linebackers. But the two areas I think we’ve improved the most is our defensive leadership and stopping the run. That’s still where it starts in football.”
Outside of non-conference games against Oklahoma and TCU, the schedule is favorable as SMU plays six teams who finished under .500 last season.
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OBSTACLES
Everyone in the conference will be fighting Tulane, which returns many players from last year’s historic 11-win season that culminated with an upset over USC in the Cotton Bowl. Add a veteran Memphis team, newcomer and defending Conference USA champion Texas-San Antonio, and any other teams that decide to emerge throughout the season, and SMU will have to remain sharp to stay afloat. If the defense does not help out the offense, led by a talented yet inexperienced quarterback in Stone, the Mustangs will not live up to expectations.
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2023 Prediction
Record: 9-3
Bowl: Fenway Bowl
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SMU has a favorable schedule and is much more talented than in years past. Combine all that, and it should be a successful season for the Mustangs. It all depends on how quickly the newcomers gel with the returning players, how well they are able to help out Preston Stone in his first year as starting quarterback, and if they can find enough playmakers on defense to shore up the glaring weakness that has plagued them for decades.
