Rhett Lashlee on Vanderbilt cancellation: 'Who would’ve thought here at SMU that the SEC would be scared of us?'

In December, it looked like SMU had finalized its 2024 non-conference schedule. The Mustangs were set to play Vanderbilt in Nashville as part of a series announced in 2019, along with three other out-of-conference opponents.

However, the Commodores canceled the series, meaning SMU has to look for one more team to round out its first schedule as a member of the ACC. While he hopes to wrap things up soon, Rhett Lashlee made sure to remind fans why his team is looking for one final opponent.

“Who would’ve thought here at SMU that the SEC would be scared of us?” Lashlee said during his national signing day press conference. “But Vanderbilt didn’t want to play.”

The series between SMU and Vanderbilt would’ve started in September 2024 with two more games coming up in 2028 in Dallas and 2029 back in Nashville. The first game would’ve marked the fifth matchup between the two programs, with the last coming in 1991.

After the news came out, SMU athletic director Rick Hart confirmed the news in a statement and expressed his disappointment in the decision.

“Yesterday evening, Vanderbilt formally notified us that they were cancelling our football series,” Hart said, via On The Pony Express’ Billy Embody. “We were looking forward to traveling to Nashville this fall and are disappointed for our team and our fans that these games will no longer take place as scheduled.”

SMU will kick off the 2024 season Aug. 31 against Houston Christian before a game against BYU the next week. The Mustangs currently have three open dates on their schedule as a result of the Vanderbilt cancellation, including the Sept. 14 opening left by the Vanderbilt game.

SMU is coming off one final American Athletic Conference championship in 2023 – a 26-14 victory over Tulane – as part of an 11-3 campaign in Rhett Lashlee’s second season. The Mustangs are one of three newcomers to the ACC, along with Stanford and Cal, as part of a groundbreaking wave of conference realignment.

With an easier path to the College Football Playoff in the ACC, though, there were questions about how much money SMU would receive from the CFP. Right before the national championship game in January, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported SMU may be withheld the revenue distribution of $6 million from the CFP once joining the ACC this summer. Instead, they would still receive the amount as a Group of Five program, coming to around $1 million.

Things have now changed. While the Mustangs won’t get the full P5 distribution, the CFP committee came to an agreement on a “compromise,” according to executive director Bill Hancock.