SMU announces 2023 football schedule
The 2023 SMU Football schedule was released Tuesday morning, the American Athletic Conference announced. Headlined by out-of-conference matchups at Oklahoma and TCU, the Mustangs will play their first season in the new-look AAC.
SMU opens the season on Sept. 2 in Dallas at Gerald J. Ford Stadium against Louisiana Tech, the second part of the home-and-home series. The Mustangs won in Ruston, La. on a Hail Mary in 2021 on a Hail Mary, 39-37.
The Mustangs head to Norman to face the Sooners on Sept. 9. With OU leaving for the SEC, the Mustangs filled a slot in the Sooners’ schedule and will host OU for a return game in 2027. The Sooners lead the series 5-1-1 with the last matchup coming in 1995, a 24-10 OU win.
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SMU then hosts Prairie View A&M on Sept. 16 before its rivalry matchup against TCU on Sept. 23 in Ft. Worth. The Mustangs fell to TCU in 2022 in Dallas, but SMU’s won two of the last three in the Battle for the Iron Skillet.
Charlotte enters the AAC this season and heads to Dallas to face the Mustangs on Sept. 30 for Family Weekend. It’ll be the first matchup between the two programs in history.
East Carolina plays host to SMU on Thurs., Oct. 12 after a bye week for the Mustangs. East Carolina finished 8-5 in 2022 and won the last meeting between the two teams in 2020, a 52-38 win for the Pirates.
Temple rolls back onto SMU’s schedule and hosts the Mustangs on Fri., Oct. 20 in Philadelphia. The Mustangs have won two straight in the series, including a 47-23 road win for SMU in 2020.
SMU faces Tulsa in Dallas on Oct. 28 for Homecoming. The Mustangs beat Tulsa for the first time in Tulsa since 2009 last year with a 45-34 win. Preston Stone and Kevin Henry-Jennings teamed up at quarterback to lead the team to the win.
Rice joins the AAC and will host SMU in the first matchup between the programs since 2012 when the Owls beat the Mustangs in Houston. SMU owns the all-time series lead, 48-41-1, and faces Rice this year on Nov. 4.
For the first time, SMU will face North Texas as a conference foe. The nearby programs will meet on Fri., Nov. 10 in Dallas. SMU, which has won four straight and owns a 35-6-1 all-time advantage, will face a UNT team led by first-year head coach Eric Morris.
SMU held off Memphis last year on a last-minute interception, winning the regular season finale 34-31. This year, SMU heads to the Liberty Bowl on Nov. 18.
SMU looks to continue its winning ways over Navy, having won three straight matchups. The Mustangs host the Midshipmen on Nov. 25.
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On Dec. 2, the American Athletic Conference Championship game will be held.
Times and TV information for all games are TBD and will be announced as they become available.
The Mustangs won’t face Florida Atlantic, South Florida, UAB, UTSA or Tulane in the 2023 regular season. The 2023 season will be The American’s first with 14 football-playing institutions. The schedule format calls for each team to play eight conference games each year. Each team will face the other 13 conference teams at least twice during the four-year cycle – once at home and once on the road.
