The BYU Cougars are facing an SMU Mustangs squad Friday night that has a the entirety of the Southern Methodist University community behind it as On3 reports Billy Embody detailed, citing the financial investment into the total infrastructure of the school, SMU athletics facilities and other initiatives which have spurred their return to the Power 4 ranks in the ACC.
Jake Hatch and Billy talked about the matchup between SMU and the BYU football program as Rhett Lashlee and Kalani Sitake match wits for the second time leading their respective programs and Billy believes it will be imperative for Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings to get rolling early to offset the challenges posed by Jake Retzlaff and a physical BYU team.
Finally, the show wrapped up with a look at keys to game between SMU and BYU with Billy detailing why the Mustangs look at this contest as a "revenge game" against Brigham Young University (BYU), what fans can expect to see at Gerald R. Ford Stadium Friday night and what he believes the ultimate outcome of the game will be when the final horn sounds.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Five-hour energy shots give you the feeling of alertness and energy you need to get in the zone and get things done. With zero sugar, a convenient portable size, and coming in several flavors like watermelon, tropical burst, or my personal favorite grape, it's exactly what you need to get through the day. Head to 5hourenergy.com, the set of our 5hourenergy.com, and use our code LockdownCFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourenergy.com today. If you are looking to refinance or get a loan right now, let me tell you about inter-cap lending. Inter-cap lending is one of the largest independent lenders in the country. They are hyper-responsive. They embrace change, and their borrower experience is absolutely fabulous. 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We're going to get an inside look at what SMU poses for BYU from Billy M. Body. We're talking about all things BYU and SMU. Next. You are locked on Cougars, your daily podcast on the BYU Cougars, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, everybody? I'm Jake Hatch, your host here on locked on Cougars, resident BYU insider. Thank you for making locked on Cougars, your first listen and/or view of the day. And I appreciate all of you who are every dayers with us right here on your original daily podcast focused on the BYU Cougars. Today's show is brought to you by our friends over at Fandil. Now through September 22nd, all Fandil customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit fandil.com to get started and take advantage of that offer today. All right, please welcome in a special guest on today's podcast. He is Billy M. Body from On3 Sports. And Billy, I wanted to start off by asking you, SMU is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, or the ACCs they're probably are preferring to call it. How has the experience been overall for SMU so far in their new conference home? - I mean, it's been unbelievable. SMU has waited a long time to be back in a power conference. And they're the only program outside of BYU, actually, that is now back in a power conference from either independent or group of five that has national championships under its belt. So that's one of the reasons why SMU's administration, coaches, people that support the program all felt like they needed to get back there at some point. This is a program with a lot of history. They made all the investments you could possibly ask for to an extent in this program and all the different athletic programs in it. I mean, they've spent, you know, probably $500 million close to it in facilities alone over the last decade and a half. I mean, that type of investment that SMU's made, and they'll continue to do that as the waters get settled with revenue sharing and things like that, and people know what that looks like. But between NIL, facilities, coaching salaries, and, you know, boost your support, they want to run a high-level, powerful program. And that's what they're committed to. That's part of the reason why the ACC wanted them. That's part of the reason why the PAC-12 before that fell apart, wanted them. And quite frankly, if it wasn't for Baylor TCU and Texas Tech, most of the big 12 would probably want a team that is this committed to winning. And they're gonna try to find a way, you know, they let go of Roblinier after two seasons after a 20-win season this year. Because they said, we want to go get a coach who's done it at a high level. And they went out and got Andy Enfield. They're giving Rhett Lashley all the support he could possibly need. It's an exciting time to be covering the program. I did go to SMU, so it feels really like some validation to cover them as long as I have and stick with covering them. And now they're in a power conference. So that has been nice as well. But overall, I mean, it is the most exciting time in SMU history since the death penalty, quite honestly. - Now, you said you're an SMU alum. This is a university that stands for Southern Methodist University. So it has religious roots, obviously, and BYU sponsored by the LDS Church. I hear in Utah, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Latter-day Saints. Do these two universities, I know they're not in the same conference, but do you get any sense that they kind of share a similar, I guess, mission in a way? - Yeah, I mean, SMU is an interesting, just university overall. I mean, it is a very wealthy, you know, a fluent, you know, university. I went there on a full ride, actually. And so it was really lucky to have that in my pocket, so to speak. But, you know, there are also a school that pulls from all over the country. Probably like BYU does, I'm not too familiar with it, but, you know, SMU is two largest states outside of Texas or California and Florida. You know, they go coast to coast. They've done a lot more in the Northeast, and the DMV, and a lot of Chicago influence now kind of coming in to the picture as well. So, I mean, SMU is truly a national university. They really like to go out as well and get kids from, you know, international, you know, and bring them in, like most universities. But, you know, where SMU is really kind of separated itself, I feel like, is just kind of a commitment to having, you know, this impeccable university, you know, from a building and facility perspective, you know, when I was there from 2010 to '14, there was a lot of building going on, a lot of new areas of the school, the sports management major was just started. They've done a lot of investing in facilities, and not only on the athletics front, but academically as well. I mean, they just completed an incredible overall of the business school, which is one of the best in the country. It's all brand new facilities for that entire business school, and they've just done that throughout the campus. And, you know, it's a really, I think the thing that's nice is it's not tiny, you know, it's not a thousand kids or something like that. It's about five, six thousand plus graduate, plus law school, things like that. And so, you kind of get to know a lot of people, and the connection building that you can have in Dallas is really a big part of the mission. It's so much more about connections, and, you know, building those relationships than, you know, in the classroom. I mean, everybody can get their flowers for performing, and I certainly didn't, but there is a lot of, you know, truth to the fact that you can build connections that'll absolutely change your life at SMU. And I think that's a big piece of BYU as well. - Well, I was gonna say, I think any BYU fan listening in or watching this is like, yeah, that sounds pretty good, that sounds exactly what BYU's doing. I know BYU has 32,000 students, but the whole philosophy sounds very much the same as what SMU's gunning for. And yes, BYU polls heavily, as you mentioned, from all over the country, internationally as well. So yeah, I think these are two universities kind of a like mind in a way. Now, members of the ACC, they aren't gonna be pulling revenue from the ACC for the time being, how is that gonna go down? Can you, I'm curious about this myself, just how are they going to fund things in the interim? - So this has kind of gotten a lot of coverage and, you know, people have talked about, oh, they're buying their way in. Well, they're really not buying their way in if they're, quote unquote, giving up money or they were, you know, treated like a charity case 'cause they aren't getting money or whatever. But the reality is, is that SMU is earning $7 million a year from the AAC, total. That's what they were getting. The boosters, the donors, they helped pump money into the program. We're at Lashley now, makes around $4 million bucks. So like, there's gotta be money at play, right? Plus the facilities that have been, you know, built. They're private school. There's no state funding for any of that. All that being said, SMU is getting money from the ACC. They are giving up their tier one revenue rights, which is around $30 million, $35 million a year that they don't get. What they do get is around $15 million to $20 million a year depending on college football playoff and NCAA tournament performances and all those different things, as well as the ACC network and its performance. That's where they get that money, which is, I mean, at least double of what they were getting in the AAC, where the $200 million comments come from and the, you know, $159 million that SMU raised in the past year for athletics. That is all, hey, we're going to, you know, close the delta of what everybody else in the ACC gets from the TV revenue. And you guys are gonna have all of that and quite frankly more because this university, like I said at the beginning is committed to winning and one thing they got handed the bill for as well is they got into the ACC, they agreed to these terms and all those things. And then they said, by the way, you have to build a command center for the TV networks and the ACC network so that everything can be run from one room. Well, that room cost about $23 million. So they had to renovate an area on campus and it actually just got written up as one of the tops in the country. So they don't have a problem spending and it is an incredible investment in the future. I mean, for SMU to also now be associated with the Miami's, the Duke's, the UVA's, the UNCs, all of these great universities for the most part that are in the ACC. I mean, that's two SMU wants to be associated with. And so from that perspective as well, there's a lot of synergy with the conference partners and SMU now. - Last thing for me on this front and then we'll get actually into the game itself speaking of BYU and SMU. Has there been any trepidation from SMU since they joined the conference of all the rumors, the lawsuits being filed by Florida State and Clemson? Is there any trepidation about the future, obviously of their home in the ACC? - Well, here's the thing with that. Clemson and Florida State are suing the league. So I don't ever like to get it twisted. Like I would say right now that the future of the ACC is at some point not gonna have Clemson and Florida State. Unless ESPN changes the money picture and that keeps them happy or makes them happy. It's funny, the ACC came up with success initiatives. And if you win the league and if you go to a national championship, you can earn a 25 extra million bucks a year. And Clemson and Florida State haven't been doing their part to get to that this year. But with this league, they have a large number of schools. So they should be able to hold together. If Clemson and Florida State eventually leave, there's probably going to be a ton of money that comes into the fold for all these other schools, as far as exit fees whenever they do come up with that or however that works. But, you know, SMU's not worried about that. You know, they have without a doubt upgraded in terms of conferences. And this conference is very different than the PAC-12 when it dissolved. You know, the ACC believes and ESPN will back this up that they have a grant of rights through 2036. And what they're going to work out is the next iteration of the TV contract. And they have this look in window. And so at the same time where people want to create some type of nervousness around that, the ACC network is wildly successful and is now in California, in Dallas, in the state of Texas. And so those fees that are going to come in from that network are only going to go up as well. So ESPN has a really good thing going with the ACC network. I highly doubt they want to mess with that at all and to allow a big 12 to somehow take a Clemson and Florida state that doesn't make a lot of sense. And if Clemson and Florida state find a way in the SEC, they're going to have to go in at a discount too. And money's still going to be a thing. So it's all just quite a, just mess. But no, SMU's not too worried about what's really happened there. - Well, it's a mess is a good term for it because it's the gift that keeps on giving to us in the media. There's no doubt about that. All right, we will actually dig into the BYU and SMU momentarily. I got some good questions of what to expect for BYU fans, maybe making the trip down there to watch this game. We'll get into that next to be roll on right here on Lockdown Cougars. Today's show is brought to you by our friends over at eBay Motors. Now passion, drive and patience. The same things that bring championships to you on the football field is what keeps your rider die alive and that's where even motors comes in. And it's everything to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance right now. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has got you covered. 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That's right, you could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network. You earn and discover doubles. See terms at discover.com/creditcard. - If you want to see information about Lockdown Cougars, your first view end or listen to the day, if you have not done so already, check out our sister show, The Lockdown College Football Podcast. Spencer McLaughlin getting you up to date on everything going on in the college football universe. It's available where you get your podcasts also available on YouTube. And it's proud to be part of the Lockdown Podcast. Network your team every day. All right, continuing on now with Billy M. Body from On3 and Billy, I wanted to ask you, in terms of this game coming up between BYU and SMU, SMU through two games has rotated quarterbacks. Now, most programs are out there. We'll tell you, if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one, but seems so far so good for the Mustangs rotating these two QBs. - Yeah, the Nevada game was an adventure. And I was talking about this with, you know, some other people this week. The thing that has hurt SMU is not rotating quarterbacks. It's Preston Stone starting slow. And that's kind of been the thing that against Nevada, those in interception on his first pass, then they gave him another drive. He went, I think, three and out. And then they rotated and then on their fourth drive, they were able to score touchdown. And that kind of got them going a little bit. But they were on their heels from that standpoint against Nevada and then, you know, Houston Christian, they go out three and out. On the first drive, Houston Christian gets a little couple first downs when they get the ball and then, you know, defense shuts them down. And then they pour it on and roll. But I don't think the two quarterback rotation is really hurting them. I think it's more just being loose and ready to go from the start that has been something that, for me, going into this game is hugely important. I think BYU is a physical, mature football team that if SMU starts slow and BYU says, okay, all right, here we go, we can take advantage of this. That's where it gets a little dicey. So I think it's worked out well as far as rotating them. I think the big thing is they've got to start fast offensively. - What is it going to take? 'Cause Preston Stone was a guy that in the preseason, I'd read up on these previews and they would talk about him as a French first round NFL draft prospect. What's been the key to get him going in these games? What do they need to do to get him going earlier, as you mentioned? - Yeah, I think that's a good question. They've had Richard Smith have some success running the football I ran for over 100 yards this past week against Houston Christian. I also feel like Preston has to take some higher percentage throws. He likes to make the big play and he has not necessarily been able to find the routine throw underneath across the middle, things like that early on. And so setting himself up with a nice confidence booster would really go a long ways. We're going to see a lot of Preston Stone. We're also going to see SMU go with Kevin Jennings a little bit and Kevin is very good at the underneath and the intermediate throws. He needs to work a little bit more on his deep ball, but SMU has a system that is really unique, just the power spread with Rhett Lashley. And sometimes they don't find that underneath throw as much as maybe they should. And Preston's got to find that so Rhett Lashley is to scheme up some opportunities for him early on. - Now you mentioned Broshard. He is absolutely dynamite. I watched a lot of that game and he's 175 yards on the season already. Was he the guy who was kind of expected to be the guy running back? 'Cause there's also a bunch of guys who have yardage in terms of the running game. Is it more by committee approach? And he just happens to have the biggest game so far. - Yeah, they do rotate, but Broshard Smith is so explosive, I mean, he's a top return, one of the top return men in the country. I think he's leading the country in PFF grade as a running back right now, which is really impressive as well. This is his first time playing running back in his college career. He was a slot guy from Miami, super explosive, but they felt like with what he could do with the ball in his hands, they wanted to give him a go at running back and it's worked out really well. L.J. Johnson, kind of their total package, so to speak, bruiser, you know, physical, but also has a little bit of burst running back. He's nicked up right now. So I think we're gonna see a heavy dose of Broshard Smith. He's played really well. He deserves to be the number one guy and his shiftiness and ability to finish runs has really been impressive, especially for his size. It's not the biggest guy in the world. It's not tiny, he's not some like gadget, but he's been really, really good and I think they'll ride him for the most part. - Now, I know a lot of the offense is predicated on RPO, just based on what I've seen in that Nevada and also the Houston Christian game, and that lends itself to the QB run game a little bit. And we do, if you look at the stats, you see both Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings, both have had some success on the ground. How much is it a true, there's actual QB run element to this offense or is it all predicated off that RPO action? - Yeah, I think for me, you look at the two different quarterbacks that they've got and Preston does a lot better, kind of a traditional drop back passer and they take a little bit at RPO decision-making off of his plate and let him not freelance, but he does a good job extending plays and he's very unique in his ability to do that. And he hasn't been running the football that much. He did run it a little bit late in the Nevada game and he's got some size to him now and he's an older quarterback, so he can certainly run the football a little bit. Kevin's got the suddenness, the ability to move around and make people miss. I mean, it was Houston Christian over the weekend, but there are still some athletes out there that looked a little foolish trying to tackle Kevin Jennings and he even, I mean, he made some runs last year that were impressive, but he really moved around very well against Houston Christian. I think that built his confidence up in that regard. He is really good at RPO. He's really good getting out on the edge with different options and different reads. And so you could argue that Rhett Lashes offense might be a little bit better suited to fit him in terms of what Rhett probably wants to do overall, but Preston's done a really nice job and you know, is the veteran guys got the experience. And so they've been playing both because they're both playing well, but they do have different skill sets as well that they feel like can help them be successful. - Now for football fans of a certain age, the name Russell Maryland will stick with people, but RJ Russell Jr. is the leading receiver for this team. Now he's a tight end just like his dad, but I've been really impressed with what I have seen from him so far this season. It seems like he is far and away with the number one option in the passing game. - Yeah, he is so far. I mean, this is an offense that has been waiting for a wide receiver to step up since Rishi Rice left, you know, for the NFL. And I assume you hasn't gotten that number one guy. They've seen flashes from various guys at different points in their career, whether it be Romelo Brinson or Jordan Hudson or Jake Bailey and Roger Daniels or Mutri Dix and Kishan Smith, they haven't gotten it, but they do have two really talented receivers in Romelo Brinson and Jordan Hudson. Mutri Dix and Kishan Smith are both talented, but they're not as consistent. I feel like as Romelo and Jordan are, but RJ Maryland is a complete stud. He is what you draw up now as the prototypical NFL tight end, kind of like a shorter Kyle Pitts type. He's not as, you know, lanky and long as some guys are. I don't know his exact measurements, but he's probably around six, three, but he can run, he can move around really well. And when you find a matchup that is working, it's usually very successful for SMU. And there are games that, you know, like you watch the Nevada game, he can take over. And SMU is looking for that, you know, from him more as they get into this point of the season. They've got to have him be one of the best players on offense. And, you know, I think he's shown that ability to, against Nevada and he's trying to build off of that now as the power conference games begin. Now flipping over the defense for just a minute, I want, I want you to correct me if I'm wrong in this, but what I have seen from SMU's defense so far is it, it's a pretty vanilla scheme. And I mean that meaning they just, they feel like they've got a very good set of athletes and they're just going to go out there and essentially out athlete you and just make plays. Am I right in that assessment? And just what do things look like defensively for the, for the Mustangs? - Yeah, I think for me, this defense, they've kind of had an interesting start to the year. Nevada put them in some difficult situations. They were brand new coaching staff with a bunch of new players. Their quarterback was much better than they anticipated, I think, running the ball. And that turned them into a defense that had to sit back on the defensive line and not, you know, rush and be all aggressive and things like that because they were getting burnt. And so that scaled that back. They had some first game tackling issues, but they were able to, you know, write the ship and if not for what turned out to be a phantom spitting call on Brandon Crosley, they would have shut them out in the second half against Nevada. And then they played really well against Houston Christian and I just think this, we don't know enough about this defense yet. They have depth, they have talent on the defensive line. They have their entire linebacker unit back, entire safety unit back. They're a talented bunch, corner is a question, but we haven't seen it all be stressed yet by a complete football team. Like BYU can run the ball. They have a quarterback who's coming in with some confidence and he threw for a heavy yardage output against Southern Illinois. But, you know, they, we haven't seen SMU face a team that's complete offensively. And BYU is the first team that at least comes in looking like that. I think for SMU's defense, where they're gonna have an opportunity here is Jake Rett's laugh isn't the most mobile guy from what I've seen and that can allow them to maybe tee off a little bit more in terms of rushing the passer because they do have depth, talent on the defensive line. And they've shown that throughout the last, you know, two games and then last year that against pocket passers, they can really get after him and make life difficult. - Last thing on this game is they last played in 2022 in that new Mexico ball. And I know that the coaches are the same. I mean, I mean, you know, they didn't want to come in and they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in. They didn't want to come in, they didn't want to come in. It was just kind of the perfect storm of the bad defense too that didn't have any depth compared to this year's. But, you know, BYU's really tough. You know, there's a reason why BYU hasn't lost SMU in the history of the two programs going against each other. We've seen a bunch of different versions of each team, but SMU hasn't gotten over the hump yet. And I can say this, you know, Rhett Lashley went on a, I would say kind of like a diatribe of sorts on how SMU should be underdogs their entire season because no teams have really done well moving up in conferences and things like that. And BYU saw some of that last year, but this team has been invested in and they do have experience at the quarterback position. They have a bunch of guys who've played a bunch of football in this program back. This is a game that you're favored by 13. I think that's a high number from where I've seen it. It might have moved, but they need to go out and win this game. And if not, you're going to look down the barrel of the rest of the season and you're going to say, okay, TCU, you're going to lose that game probably. Florida State is bad as they are. You're going to lose that game because this is a good measuring stick from a standpoint of physicality, nastiness, assignment football that SMU needs to prove that it can deal with and win, especially at home. So it's got all the things. It's got revenge that they need, you know, to get the first win in program history. But it's also a, it's a complete, like, confidence riding type of game for where this program is from a talent level. So a lot on the line here for Rhett Lash. I think it's an underrated game in terms of maybe where this season could go versus, you know, the opposite direction of where it can go. - All right, we will get some final thoughts, prediction, or two on the game as well. We'll get to all that momentarily right here. Unlocked on Cougars. Today's show is brought to you by our friends over at Fandil. Now Fandil is here for you guys, no matter what you're into when it comes to your sports gambling needs. We hear, you hear us talk all the time about what they offer to you guys as America's number one sports book. They got a special offer that's kind of unique. Right now, you can go through September 22nd. All Fandil customers, all you gotta do is bet $5 and get a three week free trial of NFL Sunday ticker from YouTube and YouTube TV. Then with the YouTube TV base plan, we'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of market game when it comes to your NFL needs. All you need is a Google account, a current form of payment, and of course, you can cancel at any time. Don't wait. Like I said, this offer's only available until September 22nd, $5, three week free trial. No other thing better than that, my friends, visit fanduels.com to download America's number one sports book right now. That's fanduels.com and I take advantage of that offer for your NFL Sunday ticket. Thank you once again for making lockdown. Cougars, your first listen of the day if you've not done so already, sign up for our lockdown Cougars insider group at the inside scoop on all things BYU sports by joining us. Click the link in the show notes below. It's a 14 day free trial to check it out. Get one-on-one communication with myself via text message. You can get all that intel you want via our lockdown Cougars insider group. All right. Final stanza here with Billy M. Body from On3 and Billy, I wanted, you kind of referred to it just barely, talking about what SMU is looking at in this game. So with BYU going down there, if I'm not mistaken, this is the second time the crews will have been playing down there at Gerald R. Ford Stadium, what are they going to be essentially the keys to SMU getting over the hump and getting their first ever win over the Cougars? I think for me, SMU has to start fast. And the reason why is because BYU plays with the tempo that is going to grind you down. And if you're behind, if you're trying to play catch up, it's going to only make it more difficult. And it's going to play into the hands of BYU. If SMU can start off and go down the field and maybe score touchdown or even if they're moving the ball and come away with the field going, the defense is playing well and kind of set a tone early that is in their favor, that's where I think SMU will have an opportunity to win this game. They, I don't see it being like Nevada, where they can come from behind by, you know, 14 in the fourth quarter to win the game. I just don't, BYU is too physical running the football. They, you know, slow the tempo down enough. They're well coached. They're not going to let up enough for SMU to do that. A fast start is imperative for SMU on both sides of the ball. Now, if BYU fan is going down to this game, give them one or two things you would say, either see/do/eat down there in the general vicinity of SMU. Yeah, it's quite the area down there. You can get super fancy with it or you can be super casual, but if you're coming into town, go to the boulevard. I know BYU will probably have their own area. It's a way normally from the boulevard. Go over to the main drag of campus, which is a tree covered, basically shady lane down the middle and just walk the boulevard and people will be very friendly to you, I'm sure, and offer you some food or whatever. And I think that's a big thing to see. You know, a lot of opposing fans, especially this year as a bunch of ACC fans come to Dallas now, that's the thing that SMU fans are generally pretty welcoming to everybody but TCU fans, I'd say, and Baylor and, you know, those type of former Southwest Conference rivals. But for everybody else, come enjoy. Talk some ball, watch some ball with the TVs and just enjoy the boulevard. And then, you know, I mean, there's some good eats around campus. I would say if you're looking for a sports bar to watch some games, there's goodbye horses, milos, barley house. There's also some good tax max with banditos or mikasina. And, you know, it's good tax max to an extent. There's some other better tax max, but you get the whole experience at some of those places. And, you know, just enjoy Dallas. I mean, it's a city that has a lot to do. So if you're coming in early, there's museums, there's Clyde Horn Park, there's all sorts of things to do. So definitely check it all out. Now, in terms of just real quick, the fan support, have they seen an uptick essentially in fan interest since joining the ACC? Yeah, 100%. The Mustang Club hit an all-time high of members at 5,000 over the summer. So that stepped up. Ticket sales are at an all-time record. And for SMU fans, I mean, at the home opener, it was Houston Christian and it was Labor Day weekend. And, you know, a lot of other things people could be doing. They could be at the lake, whatever. And people were, it was a solid, 27-announced, I think 27-something, thousand people in there. And Ford's not the biggest stadium. And the student body is 5,000. But they set student attendance records last year. And if, I mean, I think they scanned around 4,000 at some of the big games last year. So you're talking about 80% of the students showing up. And they're going to be behind BYU's bench too. So that's another thing that is actually pretty cool about Ford is they've kind of matched it now, where the home sideline is generally pretty well-filled. And then the end zones are kind of, you know, I think that's where they've moved visitors and they've done some different things. So, but for BYU, I think this game is going to be crowded. The 1X factor is high school football in Texas this Friday. But fan turnout, I mean, they were winning last year. And it was the worst home schedule in history of SMU football. I mean, it had to have been. Not only did they get, you know, some programs that nobody wants to watch quite frankly, but they also got 11 AM home games. It was hot. It was the worst. This year, they're getting some night games, got some big opponents. The Florida State game is almost sold out, TCU sold out, BYU is close to a sellout. So people should be there. It should be a good atmosphere. And just final thing, you had a prediction for this game, what you expect? Yeah, I went lower scoring. I saw the over-under was about 55 and a half from where I saw it. I've got SMU 31-20. I think this defense is not getting the credit it deserves early in the season. And I like BYU's run game. I think they're going to put together some 12-15 play drives, you know, two of them probably that will have SMU fans throwing remotes at TVs and things like that. But they've just got enough depth to kind of weather that storm at other points. And I do think Jake Rhett's lap being a little bit more of a pocket passer can help SMU's defensive line tee off a little bit more. So I'm interested to see how BYU tries to get them off balance, you know, maybe some screens and things like that. But yeah, I think SMU's offense is going to be able to make enough plays if SMU's defense can, you know, play that style of football. It really all depends on SMU's offense starting fast and channeling that confidence. If they don't, it's going to be a dogfight. It's going to be one anyway, but I just have some trust in this SMU defense. All right. Well, we'll see how it goes. Billy, thank you so much for carving out some time to join us here. And we look forward to catching up with you down the road, hopefully. Anytime, thanks for having me. All right, that's Billy M. body. I'm Jake Hatch. A big thank you to all of you for tuning in and making locked on cougars your first view and or listen of the day. Of course, we'll have plenty more coverage in the lead up to this game against SMU. And of course, thank you for being every day or is with us right here on the locked on Cougars podcast. A prime members, you can listen to this locked on podcast, add free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.
