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SMU begins its first campaign as a Power Four program Saturday as it travels to face Nevada in Week 0’s primetime slot. Though it’s been a while since the Mustangs and Wolf Pack have met, these two teams do have some history with one another.
They were each members of the WAC from 2000-04 and played one another each year in that span. Nevada held a 3-2 record in those five games with all three of its wins coming consecutively from 2001-03. When SMU left for Conference USA ahead of the 2005 season, its brief series with Nevada was put on hiatus until 2009.
There, the Mustangs met the Wolf Pack in the Hawaii Bowl and cruised to a 45-10 victory, their first postseason win since 1984. Since then, SMU has largely been on an upward trajectory — barring a rough first few years in the AAC — and are coming off an 11-win season under coach Rhett Lashlee in which it won its first American title.
Nevada, meanwhile, has struggled since former coach Jay Norvell — who took the program to four straight bowl games from 2018-21 — left for Colorado State three years ago. The Wolf Pack are 4-20 in two seasons since.
Nevada vs. SMU: Need to know
SMU enters new era: Saturday will be SMU’s first official game as an ACC program. The Mustangs are making their transition to the Power Four ranks for the first time since the dividing line between FBS levels was drawn. Running with the big dogs isn’t entirely unfamiliar territory for SMU — it used to share the Southwest Conference with the likes of Texas, Texas A&M and Arkansas — but it is still a big adjustment in the modern era. Saturday will at least give SMU a taste of its wonky new travel schedule.
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Author : Will Backus
Publish date : 2024-08-24 23:45:43
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