2017 SMU Mustangs football team

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.

2017 SMU Mustangs football
Frisco Bowl, L 10–51 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 The American)
Head coach	Chad Morris (3rd season; regular season) Sonny Dykes (bowl game)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Craddock (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Power spread
Defensive coordinator	Van Malone (3rd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	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 football team taking the field before the game against North Texas

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.^[1] 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.

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 (rivalry)	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,^[2] AAC Defensive Player of the Week^[3]
• Trey Quinn – Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week,^[4] AAC Offensive Player of the Week^[5]

Game summaries

Stephen F. Austin

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

See also: 2017 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team

North Texas

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

See also: 2017 North Texas Mean Green football team

At TCU

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

See also: 2017 TCU Horned Frogs football team

Arkansas State

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

See also: 2017 Arkansas State Red Wolves football team

UConn

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

See also: 2017 UConn Huskies football team

At Houston

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

See also: 2017 Houston Cougars football team

At Cincinnati

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

See also: 2017 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Tulsa

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

See also: 2017 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

UCF

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

See also: 2017 UCF Knights football team

At Navy

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

See also: 2017 Navy Midshipmen football team

At Memphis

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

See also: 2017 Memphis Tigers football team

Tulane

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

See also: 2017 Tulane Green Wave football team

Vs. Louisiana Tech–Frisco Bowl

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

See also: 2017 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team and 2017 Frisco Bowl

Players in the 2018 NFL draft

See also: 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