The 2011 SMU Mustangs football team represented

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs were led by fourth year head coach

June Jones June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1 ...

and played their home games at

Gerald J. Ford Stadium Gerald J. Ford Stadium is a stadium in University Park, Texas, with a Dallas mailing address. The stadium is owned by Southern Methodist University (SMU) and used primarily for games played by the SMU Mustangs football team. About Ford Stadiu ...

. They are a member of the West Division of

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the

BBVA Compass Bowl The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the l ...

where they defeated

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

28–6.

Schedule

Awards and award watch lists

Kyle Padron Kyle Padron (born March 27, 1991) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Eastern Washington University and Southern Methodist University. Prep career Padron graduated from Carroll Senior High School in Southlak ...

was named to the

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

and

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...

watch lists. *

Kelvin Beachum Kelvin Lee Beachum Jr. (born June 8, 1989) is an American football offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seven ...

, Ja’Gared Davis, Taylor Reed and Taylor Thompson were named to the watch list for the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

. *Beachum was named to the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

watch list, Thompson made the

Nagurski Award The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athl ...

List,

Cole Beasley Cole Dickson Beasley (born April 26, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Methodist University and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an ...

and Darius Johnson were named to the

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

watch list. *

Zach Line Zach Line (born April 26, 1990) is a former American football fullback who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Sout ...

was named to the watch list for the Maxwell and

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

, Thompson And

Margus Hunt Margus Hunt (born July 14, 1987) is an Estonian professional American football defensive end who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at SMU. He also ...

were selected to the Pony Express Award watch list *Blake McJunkin was named to the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

watch list.

Rankings

Game summaries

Texas A&M

This game was the 78th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Texas A&M Aggies. The previous match-up was September 17, 2005, a game in which Texas A&M defeated SMU with a final score of 66–8. After the Mustangs lost in College Station, Texas A&M now leads the series 42–29–7.

UTEP

This game was the 19th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the UTEP Miners. They last met in the previous season on November 6, 2010, when UTEP defeated SMU with a final score of 28–14. After winning 28–17, SMU leads the series 11–8. Ja'Gared Davis was named

Defensive Player of the Week for his 4th quarter fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.

Northwestern State

This game was the 1st meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Northwestern State Demons. After winning 40–7, SMU leads the series 1–0.

Memphis

This game was the 4th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Memphis Tigers. They last met on November 8, 2008, when Memphis defeated SMU with a final score of 31–26. The Mustangs' 42–0 victory in the

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The s ...

marks the first time SMU has defeated Memphis and Memphis now leads the series 3–1.

TCU

This game marked the 91st edition of the

Battle for the Iron Skillet A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The two teams last met on September 24, 2010, when TCU defeated SMU 41–24. After the Mustangs' overtime victory in Fort Worth, SMU now trails the series 40–43–7. This marked SMU's second victory over a ranked team since receiving the NCAA Death Penalty for the 1987–8 seasons. After this game, SMU received 5 points in the AP Poll and 10 points in the Coaches Poll. SMU became the first team to beat TCU in Fort Worth since the 2007 season. Wide receiver Darius Johnson was named

Offensive Player of the Week for his two receiving touchdowns, 12 catches, and 152 yards in the game. This game was the last away win for SMU in the 2011 season. This would be the Mustangs' last win over the Horned Frogs until 2019.

UCF

This game was the 4th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and UCF Knights. The two teams last met on December 4, 2010, during the 2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game when UCF defeated SMU 17–7. The Mustangs' 38–17 victory marks the first time SMU has defeated UCF and UCF now leads the series 3–1. For his third straight 300-yard game, QB J.J. McDermott was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. PR Richard Crawford was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week for his 92-yard punt return for a touchdown which ties the all-time SMU record.

Southern Miss

This game was the 3rd meeting of the SMU Mustangs and Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The two teams last met on November 29, 2008, when Southern Miss defeated SMU 28–12. Southern Miss' 27–3 victory propelled them into the top 25 and extends their lead in the overall head-to-head record to an undefeated 3–0.

Tulsa

This game marked the 19th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. They last met in the previous season on October 9, 2010, where SMU defeated Tulsa with a final score of 21–18. Following Tulsa's 38–7 victory this season, SMU now leads the series 12–7.

Tulane

This game marked the 20th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Tulane Green Wave. They last met in the previous season on October 30, 2011, where SMU defeated Tulane with a final score of 31–17. Following SMU's 45–24 victory, Tulane now lead the series 12–8. This victory made SMU bowl eligible.

Navy

This game marked the 16th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Navy Midshipmen. The two teams have a heated rivalry in which they compete for the

Gansz Trophy The Gansz Trophy is awarded to the winner of the United States Naval Academy and Southern Methodist University rivalry football game. It was created in 2009 through a collaboration between the two athletic departments.Battle for the Mayor's Cup A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. They last met in the previous season on October 2, 2010, where SMU defeated Rice with a final score of 42–31. Following SMU's 27–24 victory, SMU now leads the series 48–40–1.

Pittsburgh (BBVA Compass Bowl)

This game marked the 6th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Pittsburgh Panthers. They last met on January 1, 1983, in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

, where SMU defeated Pittsburgh 7–3. After SMU won the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl, the series now stands in the Mustangs' favor 3–2–1

Roster

References

{{SMU Mustangs football navbox SMU SMU Mustangs football seasons Birmingham Bowl champion seasons

SMU Mustangs football The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team representing Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park in Dallas County, Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the American ...