2023 SMU Mustangs football team

2023 SMU Mustangs football
AAC champion
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 24
APNo. 22
Record11–3 (8–0 The American)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorCasey Woods (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJonathan Brewer (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorRob Likens (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorScott Symons (2nd season)
Base defenseMultiple 3–4
Home stadiumGerald J. Ford Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 22 SMU y$   8 0     11 3  
Tulane y   8 0     11 3  
UTSA   7 1     9 4  
Memphis   6 2     10 3  
South Florida   4 4     7 6  
Rice   4 4     6 7  
Navy   4 4     5 7  
North Texas   3 5     5 7  
UAB   3 5     4 8  
Florida Atlantic   3 5     4 8  
Charlotte   2 6     3 9  
Tulsa   2 6     4 8  
Temple   1 7     3 9  
East Carolina   1 7     2 10  
Championship: SMU 26, Tulane 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas, and competed in the American Athletic Conference (The American). They were led by second-year head coach Rhett Lashlee.

For the first time since 2019, the Mustanges won six conference games. The Mustangs finished the regular season going 8–0 in conference play to qualify for the AAC Championship Game, for the Mustangs' first appearance in a conference championship game since the 2010 CUSA Championship Game. SMU defeated Tulane 26–14 in the title game for the program's first conference title since 1984 when the Mustangs won a share of the Southwest Conference title.[1] After defeating Tulane, SMU accepted a bid to compete in the 2023 Fenway Bowl against Boston College. In the final CFP rankings, SMU fell one spot behind undefeated C-USA champion Liberty University, narrowly missing the opportunity to play in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon on New Year's Day.[2][3][4]

This was SMU's final season in the American before they moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.[5]

  1. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (December 2, 2023). "SMU asserts dominance over Tulane, secures first conference championship win in 39 years". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "SMU snubbed from New Year's Six matchup, will head to Fenway Bowl instead". Dallas News. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "AAC Commissioner objects to SMU's exclusion from New Year's Day bowls". wfaa.com. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Hodges, Andy (December 3, 2023). "Committee Wrong Again: SMU on Receiving End This Time". Sports Illustrated Inside the Mustangs News, Analysis and More. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Dodd, Dennis (September 1, 2023). "Stanford, Cal, SMU join ACC: Conference membership growing to 18 schools as latest realignment domino falls". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 1, 2023.