SMU lands 2024 matchup with Nevada as schools agree to series
SMU Football has its final game of the 2024 season scheduled as the Mustangs will head to Nevada for a Week Zero matchup, the schools announced. The matchup replaces Vanderbilt, which skirted away from a series with the Mustangs.
Nevada finished the 2023 campaign 2-10 overall and 2-6 in Mountain West play. Nevada will come to the Hilltop in 2028.
“Who would’ve thought here at SMU that the SEC would be scared of us?” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee chirped during his national signing day press conference. “But Vanderbilt didn’t want to play.”
The Mustangs open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 inside Gerald J. Ford Stadium against Houston Christian. Next up, SMU will host BYU on Fri., Sept. 6 in a rematch of the 2022 New Mexico Bowl. On Sept. 21, SMU cranks up another edition of the Battle for the Iron Skillet against TCU.
Florida State, the marquee home matchup for SMU this season, is set for Sat., Sept. 28. It’s the first game of ACC play for the Mustangs as they join the conference.
SMU drew a road matchup against the likely second-best team, according to many early 2024 ACC polls, Louisville. The Cardinals, once brief members with SMU of the Big East, will host the Mustangs on Sat., Oct. 5.
For head coach Rhett Lashlee, the Mustangs face an opportunity to make a statement in Year 1 of the league with two high-profile matchups to open ACC play.
“We’re excited. We get to start our ACC schedule with the defending champs at home,” Lashlee said on the ACC Network when the schedule was revealed. “Should be a great opportunity to invite Mike and the ‘Noles to Dallas. It’s great opportunities. We’re playing the two best teams from the league last year back-to-back to start conference play off. I got a lot of respect for Mike, he’s a good friend of mine. I think we both have a lot in common. Our programs this last year, we probably felt like we got the short end of the stick at the end of the season. Going up to Louisville, I’ve had a chance to play there before. It’s an incredible environment. Great opportunity for us to show we belong.”
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SMU heads to Stanford on Sat., Oct. 19 for a highly-anticipated first trip to the West Coast against one of its fellow ACC newbies. The Mustangs then head to Duke on Sat., Oct. 26.
Pitt rolls into Ford Stadium on Sat., Nov. 2 then Boston College will head to Dallas on Sat., 16. For an East Coast trip, SMU heads to Virginia on Sat., Nov. 23.
The Mustangs close out the regular season against Cal on Sat., Nov. 30. The Golden Bears are one of two protected matchups for SMU, along with Stanford.
