{"id":29960,"date":"2025-11-02T06:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T06:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/29960\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T06:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T06:12:14","slug":"rhett-lashlee-turned-smu-into-a-destination-job-mustangs-win-over-miami-showed-why-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/29960\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhett Lashlee turned SMU into a \u2018destination job.\u2019 Mustangs\u2019 win over Miami showed why"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNIVERSITY PARK \u2014 Before George W. Bush presided over the coin toss Saturday or Michael Irvin prowled Miami\u2019s sideline or Bryson DeChambeau yukked it up with his \u201cHappy Gilmore\u201d pal, Shooter McGavin, or a game at Ford Stadium suddenly became the place to be for students, too; before the Mustangs\u2019 26-20 upset of the 10th-ranked Hurricanes<\/a> in overtime made history; SMU announced an extension for Rhett Lashlee<\/a>, his third in three years.<\/p>\n

Pretty nice time to come up with the biggest win of your life, only a week after one of your worst losses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The two-year bump through 2032 gets him \u201cclose,\u201d as one prominent SMU booster told me, to the $10 million club, an exclusive one, at that. Probably puts him in the top 10, somewhere between Bill Belichick and Lane Kiffin.<\/p>\n

Pretty nice company for a guy in his fourth season as a head coach.<\/p>\n

Sports Roundup<\/p>\n

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis and opinion delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

SMU has become a better gig since Sonny Dykes handed off to Lashlee, and it\u2019s getting better all the time after the Mustangs\u2019 first win over a Top 10 team since 1983.<\/p>\n

For those not old enough to remember: The \u201882 Mustangs, pinnacle of the Pony Express, beat sixth-ranked Pitt in the Cotton Bowl when Blane Smith intercepted a Dan Marino pass to preserve a 7-3 win and an 11-0-1 season.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"SMU<\/p>\n

The stakes weren\u2019t quite as high Saturday when Ahmaad Moses cut underneath Malachi Toney to steal a Carson Beck pass in OT, but try telling it to the crowd that stormed the field<\/a> and wandered off with the south end zone goalposts.<\/p>\n

Try telling it to the Mustangs, who credit the guy who just got paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cRhett Lashlee has done a great job with the brotherhood here and the bonds that he\u2019s building with everybody,\u201d said Jordan Hudson, who caught 11 passes for 136 yards. \u201cThe spark that he brings allows us to just go, cut loose and have fun. That\u2019s what he\u2019s building here at this program. And I feel like in the next five or 10 years, this is gonna be a different program from what it is now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just scratchin\u2019 the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of a sudden the 6-3 Mustangs, who, a week ago, seemed lost after a stunning 13-12 loss to Wake Forest, are among the contenders for the ACC title at 4-1. They did it on the strength of a spectacular effort from Kevin Jennings, who completed 29 of 44 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown after hopping off the field late in the third quarter and returning two plays later to lead the comeback.<\/p>\n

The Mustangs won because Jennings\u2019 passing made up for a running game that accumulated more carries (25) than yards (23); Moses picked off two Beck passes, both of which led to points; the defense, once a liability because of its youth, responded with its second straight strong performance; and the SMU crowd actually discombobulated an opponent, resulting in 12 penalties for 96 yards.<\/p>\n

Let this sink in a moment: Ford Stadium, normally a nice place for a nap on Saturdays, was so loud in OT, SMU\u2019s defensive players had to ask fans to turn it down with their offensive teammates on the field.<\/p>\n

This is not the usual around here, so I asked Lashlee to quantify the difference since he was here the first time under Sonny.<\/p>\n

He got a little wound up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we\u2019re playing Miami for homecoming,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big change. It\u2019s packed and loud, and they\u2019re carrying the goal post down to Deep Ellum. So that\u2019s a change. We beat a Top 10 team for the first time in my lifetime. That\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

On and on he went, celebrating the backing of the administration and \u201cSMU family.\u201d He called a school that has lacked an identity outside The Bubble \u201cDallas\u2019 team.\u201d Said it was \u201ccool to go to\u201d a school where a quarterback who won a state title at South Oak Cliff could beat the likes of Miami and build his brand in his hometown.<\/p>\n

He also noted they\u2019re 3-1 against Miami, Clemson and Florida State since joining the ACC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat,\u201d Lashlee said, \u201chas changed since I was here the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Points taken.<\/p>\n

Lashlee\u2019s record would make him a candidate for nearly any of the half-dozen vacancies in college football<\/a> even if he hadn\u2019t grown up and played in Arkansas, one of the primary reasons SMU boosters got out ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n

SMU has stepped up in leagues and pay rate. Lashlee is reportedly on the fringe of the $10M club, according to preseason research by USA Today. Georgia\u2019s Kirby Smart leads at $13.03 million, followed by Ohio State\u2019s Ryan Day ($12.5M), USC\u2019s Lincoln Riley ($11.5M), Clemson\u2019s Dabo Swinney ($11.3M), Texas\u2019 Steve Sarkisian ($10.8M), Oregon\u2019s Dan Lanning ($10.4M), Alabama\u2019s Kalen DeBoer ($10.4M) and Belichick at North Carolina ($10.1M).<\/p>\n

Brian Kelly ($10.2M) was also a member when he was at LSU<\/a>, and I suppose he still is, depending on how good his lawyers are.<\/p>\n

As for Lashlee, he\u2019s not going anywhere any time soon. He made it sound like an easy call. For one thing, he said, nearly emotional, SMU chose him first.<\/p>\n

The other reason? <\/p>\n

\u201cSMU is a destination job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

No question it was the place to be Saturday and for the foreseeable future, for that matter. Just as soon as they find those goalposts.<\/p>\n

Twitter\/X: @KSherringtonDMN<\/a><\/p>\n

More coverage from SMU-Miami<\/p>\n

\u2014 In a season full of adversity, SMU restores hope with \u2018culture win\u2019 over No. 10 Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 5 thoughts from SMU-Miami: Mustangs pull off improbable win, keep ACC title hopes alive<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Watch: SMU fans storm the field after upset win over No. 10 Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2018Awesome win for SMU\u2019: National reaction to Mustangs\u2019 upset win over No. 10 Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Irvin, George W. Bush among celebrities in attendance for SMU-Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

Georgia Tech stunned by NC State for first loss, helping SMU in the process<\/a>In a season full of adversity, SMU restores hope with \u2018culture win\u2019 over No. 10 Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UNIVERSITY PARK \u2014 Before George W. Bush presided over the coin toss Saturday or Michael Irvin prowled Miami\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[20228,8472,123,125,124,10892,4700],"class_list":["post-29960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-colleges","tag-kevin-jennings","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-rhett-lashlee","tag-smu-mustangs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}