SMU2006

Agreed. It was his first year as a head coach and he won 7 games. I thought we could be an 8 or 9 win team last year but those two nail biter losses to Cincinnati and Maryland put us a bit off schedule. If he doesn't win 9 games or more this year I'll be concerned, especially given the massive talent upgrade through the portal. Rhett knows this. Comes with the territory.

First year head coach that had a couple of really nice wins against Houston and Memphis. One score losses to TCU and Cincinnati were tough but kind of expected that in his first year. Fully expect RL (and the staff) to be better next season. You're right that NIL doesn't guarantee anything but I'll take my chances with having a Top 20 NIL over not having it.

I think it was a decent first year for Rhett given the fallout from Sonny. He's pulled in a top five transfer class in the nation and currently has two four star high school recruits committed for 2024. With the financial resources he enjoys at SMU another 7 or 8 win season won't be acceptable. He knows this.

I assure you he was not in the picture for 2023 with the two four star RB transfers we're bringing in added with Camar Wheaton and Lavine. That's nothing to take away from him. Really good young man with a bright future. I hope he's able to find a place that allows him to get on the field and enjoy his last season of college ball.

Agreeing to have the clock run in the 4th quarter of the national championship game is absolutely mind-blowing.

Also, didn't win their conference. Granted they kept that one within one score and not 7,000 points like last night.

They needed a missed FG by Ohio State to even be in the game. Cool DP dig bruh..

Had they not lost in literally THE WORST DEFEAT IN BOWL HISTORY you could maybe put things into context but ya know....they did.

That's perfectly fine for you but the vast majority of fans (and certainly casual fans) are going to remember the historic beatdown last night. There really isn't even a close comparison.

It'll be a fun party trick in a decade if you name the team that UGA dropped a Hiroshima/Nagasaki bomb on in the national championship game.

No one is going to remember you beat Michigan if you lose the following game by the largest margin in the history of college football bowl games. Do you remember who the 92 Bills beat in the AFC Championship Game?

There won't be any PAC defections when they announce a media rights package w/ AMAZON that exceeds the $/school that the new Big 12 just announced.

And you'd be correct. I'd have done unspeakable things for SMU to be in the position TCU was in this year. Everything fell their way until well....it didn't in the most humiliating fashion in the history of the sport. If you get to the national championship game and lose in the most lopsided outcome in the history of bowl games then you deserve to get drug to the grave. 2022 TCU football will be a great trivia question someday. Nothing more.

Tulane is going to be good again next year with Pratt back as QB. I fully expect them to be the early favorite to win the conference. I could also see UTSA making some noise and getting some preseason #1 votes. We'll see how SMU rounds out the roster in the portal. Right now its a top five transfer class and potentially could be #1 or #2 if we land a couple of whales that we're heavily in the mix to land. Big unknown at QB and a totally revamped defense through NIL/portal. If we're anything less than 9-3 and playing in the AAC title game it should be seen as a disappointment.

It was a horror show and truly embarrassing, especially with the context of Sonny taking pot shots at the SEC scheduling. TCU had the second oldest team in college football this year with an average age of over 23. They also had some truly miracle comeback wins. You can't rationalize losing the most lopsided bowl game IN HISTORY ON THE BIGGEST STAGE. There were people googling TCU for all the wrong reasons last night. In two years no one outside of Cowtown will remember the great run the Frogs went on to make it the title game but everyone will remember 65-7. It was a nuclear meltdown. That is not to take away from what was an unbelievable run but they lost the Big 12 CCG and were utterly humiliated in the NCG. They'll still recruit well and be a major player in the portal but they'll be replacing a ton of production and depth on both sides of the ball next season. Funny that they can't even hang a Big 12 Championship banner.

Lavine is coming back next year too.

Now that is some dynamic feedback. Thanks.

Can't argue or deny the success Dykes has had this year at TCU but he walked into a pretty great situation. Also, if not for an early Chandler Morris injury the Frogs likely finish in the 7-9 win category. I guess he was such a great coach that he didn't know he had a Heisman candidate as a backup? Funny how things work out. TCU also won several games this year where they were trailing at halftime or the fourth quarter. That's nothing to take away from the outcome. A win is a win but those things tend to even out over the course of a larger sample size. We'll see how the Frogs respond to being the hunted next year as opposed to being the hunter. They won't be sneaking up on anybody. That said they are recruiting at an elite level and their NIL is very competitive. They'll be able to build off of this title game appearance and I'd expect a top ten recruiting class next year.

There's a lot more to expansion that attendance. You could also make the argument that playing teams that the average fan knows and associates with P5 would be a nice boost (in addition to the $200m stadium expansion/renovation). I think the pitch to the PAC is a) strong academics with a multi-billion endowment b) exposure in Texas where a ton of West Coasters relocate and c) financial commitment to athletics unrivaled in the current G5 and lower tier P5.

SMU is in a much better position today than 2011, especially with the current landscape of viable expansion candidates.

Good kid that fought injuries all year. Wish him the best. With Camar Wheaton, LJ Johnson, and Jaylan Knighton in the fold he was looking at 4th or 5th string. Hope he's able to land somewhere that will give him a shot to get on the field.

https://sports360az.com/2023/01/hotline-mailbag-smus-value-in-expansion-fresno-states-future-asus-revenue-edge-cals-woes-and-more/ SMU is exponentially more valuable than Boise, Fresno, et al in the MWC. $2b endowment, UNSWR rankings, and financial commitment to athletics is what will matter most to the PAC presidents. Not to mention access to Texas recruiting which the PAC desperately needs.

That's why NIL is so important. We have a top five transfer class right now in large part due to the two separate NIL groups working in tandem. We can absolutely go head to head with just about anyone in the country in the portal thanks to NIL.

Take a midol dude good grief.

Yep there were some bad losses in there for sure. And I'm not sure that giving up 60 to Houston matters is you score 77. And the two "close" wins you cite (Tulsa and Navy) were 20 plus point fourth quarter leads. SMU was simply bleeding out the clock with backups. I would say for a first year HC it was more good than bad but you would certainly expect Lashlee and the staff to grow from year one to year two. We will absolutely be more talented (especially on defense) next year. If we can snag a couple of these whales we're after we will be favored in every game except OU and TCU.