2017 SMU Mustangs football team

2017 SMU Mustangs football
Frisco Bowl, L 10–51 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Division	West Division
2017 record	7–6 (4–4 American)
Head coach	Chad Morris (regular season, 3rd season) Sonny Dykes (bowl game)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Craddock (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Van Malone (3rd season)
Home stadium	Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Capacity: 32,000)
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 American Athletic Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 6 UCF xy$		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 21 South Florida		6	–	2					10	–	2
Temple		4	–	4					7	–	6
Cincinnati		2	–	6					4	–	8
UConn		2	–	6					3	–	9
East Carolina		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
No. 25 Memphis xy		7	–	1					10	–	3
Houston		5	–	3					7	–	5
Navy		4	–	4					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					7	–	6
Tulane		3	–	5					5	–	7
Tulsa		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: UCF 62, Memphis 55
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 9, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2017 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by third-year coach Chad Morris during the entire regular season until December 6, when he resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas. On December 11, SMU hired Sonny Dykes as head coach, and he led them in their bowl game. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in AAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Frisco Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

Previous season[]

The Mustangs finished the 2016 season 5–7; they were 3–5 in American Athletic play, to finish in fifth place in the West Division.

Schedule Source:^[1]

Schedule[]

SMU announced its 2017 football schedule on February 9, 2017. The schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Mustangs hosted AAC foes UConn, Tulane, Tulsa, and UCF, and traveled to Cincinnati, Houston, Tulane, and UCF.^[2] The Mustangs hosted three of the four non-conference opponents, Arkansas State from the Sun Belt Conference, North Texas from Conference USA and Stephen F. Austin from the Southland Conference, and traveled to TCU of the Big 12 Conference.

With a 7–5 regular season result, the team was invited to the 2017 Frisco Bowl, to face Louisiana Tech on December 20.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Stephen F. Austin*	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPN3	W 58–14	20,478
September 9	6:00 p.m.	North Texas*	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX (Safeway Bowl)	ESPN3	W 54–32	24,638
September 16	2:30 p.m.	at No. 20 TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 36–56	44,489
September 23	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPN3	W 44–21	23,672
September 30	3:00 p.m.	UConn	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPNews	W 49–28	17,237
October 7	6:00 p.m.	at Houston	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX	CBSSN	L 22–35	31,153
October 21	3:00 p.m.	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	W 31–28 OT	30,885
October 27	8:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPN2	W 38–34	14,930
November 4	6:15 p.m.	No. 15 UCF	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPN2	L 24–31	24,445
November 11	2:30 p.m.	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Gansz Trophy)	CBSSN	L 40–43	36,157
November 18	11:00 a.m.	at No. 18 Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNews	L 45–66	35,329
November 25	11:00 a.m.	Tulane	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	CBSSN	W 41–38	14,209
December 20	7:00 p.m.	vs. Louisiana Tech*	Toyota Stadium Frisco, TX (Frisco Bowl)	ESPN	L 10–51	14,419
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Weekly awards[]

• Jordan Wyatt – Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week,^[3] AAC Defensive Player of the Week^[4]
• Trey Quinn – Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week,^[5] AAC Offensive Player of the Week^[6]

Game summaries[]

Stephen F. Austin[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	7	0	7	14
Mustangs	21	17	6	14	58

North Texas[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mean Green	10	0	7	15	32
Mustangs	10	14	16	14	54

at TCU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	16	6	7	7	36
No. 20 Horned Frogs	7	21	7	21	56

Arkansas State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Wolves	14	0	0	7	21
Mustangs	10	20	7	7	44

UConn[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	3	10	8	28
Mustangs	7	14	7	21	49

at Houston[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	9	3	10	0	22
Cougars	7	14	7	7	35

at Cincinnati[]

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Mustangs	14	7	0	7	3	31
Bearcats	10	10	0	8	0	28

Tulsa[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Hurricane	14	14	6	0	34
Mustangs	7	14	7	10	38

UCF[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Knights	7	14	7	3	31
Mustangs	7	7	10	0	24

at Navy[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	5	6	21	8	40
Midshipmen	13	21	6	3	43

at Memphis[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	10	14	14	7	45
No. 18 Tigers	10	21	14	21	66

Tulane[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Green Wave	7	14	17	0	38
Mustangs	14	13	7	7	41

vs. Louisiana Tech–Frisco Bowl[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	21	21	6	3	51
Mustangs	3	7	0	0	10

Players in the 2018 NFL Draft[]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Courtland Sutton	WR	2	40	Denver Broncos
Justin Lawler	DE	7	244	Los Angeles Rams
Trey Quinn	WR	7	256	Washington Redskins

References[]