The 2022 Houston vs. SMU football game was a regular-season

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game between the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

and the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texa ...

, played on November 5, 2022 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 ...

University Park, Texas University Park is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States of America, in suburban Dallas. The population was 23,068 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Southern Methodist University. University Park is bordered on the north, east and we ...

. The game holds the record for the most combined points scored in an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) regulation game with 140 total points, breaking the previous record (137 points, set in a 2016 game played between

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

and

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 ...

) by three points.

Before the game

This was the 37th meeting between the Cougars and Mustangs, with Houston leading the series 22–13–1. The last meeting between the teams was on October 30, 2021, with the Cougars winning 44–37. In September 2021, it was announced that the Cougars accepted a bid to join the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

along with fellow American members Cincinnati and UCF. The schools had been under contract with The American through 2024, but reached an agreement that would allow them to join the Big 12 in 2023.

Houston

The Houston Cougars, led by fourth-year head coach

Dana Holgorsen Dana Carl Holgorsen (born June 21, 1971) is the head football coach at the University of Houston. He was the head coach at West Virginia University from 2011 to 2018. During his coaching career he has served under coaches such as Hal Mumme, Mike ...

, entered the game with a record of 5–3, 3–1 in

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

play. The Cougars entered the season ranked no. 24 in the AP's pre-season poll, but dropped to no. 25 after a 37–35 triple overtime victory over UTSA in week 1. The following week, Houston lost to

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

30–33 in double overtime and dropped out of the rankings as a result. The Cougars would lose again the following week, 30–48 to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, before winning four of their next five, including a 33–32 comeback victory over

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

SMU

The SMU Mustangs, led by first-year head coach

Rhett Lashlee Rhett Lashlee (born June 9, 1983) is an American college football coach who is the head coach at SMU Mustangs football, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at t ...

, entered the game with a record of 4–4, 2–2 in AAC play. The Mustangs started the season 2–0, but lost their next three games. SMU snapped its losing streak with a 40–34 victory over

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. The Mustangs lost their next game, 27–29, to then no. 21

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, then defeated

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

45–34 the following week.

Game summary

Game information

Scoring summary

Game statistics

Team statistics

Game leaders

Analysis

The two teams combined for 1,352 yards of offense, with 907 passing yards while three Houston receivers finished the game with more than 100 receiving yards. SMU quarterback

Tanner Mordecai Tanner Mordecai (born November 8, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers. High school career Mordecai attended Midway High School in Waco, Texas. During his career he passed for 4,797 yards and 51 touchdowns. He commi ...

threw for a school-record 9 touchdowns. Additionally, the Mustangs broke the school record for most points scored in a game, with the previous record being 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston vs. SMU football game 2022 2022 American Athletic Conference football season vs. SMU 2022 vs. Houston 2022 2022 in sports in Texas November 2022 sports events in the United States