ACC Media Days are underway in Charlotte, North Carolina, and SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee fueled the excitement surrounding the Mustangs’ arrival in the conference.
Rhett Lashlee Hypes Up SMU-Florida State ACC Opener
When asked about the team’s ACC opener against reigning league champion Florida State, Lashlee responded, “We played them in Miami, and to see where, in those two years, [Mike Norvell] has brought the program to now, it’s not a shock. They happen to be our first conference game. They won the league last year.
“So, in a lot of ways, they are the measuring stick for everybody this year. I think being at Miami and having probably seven or eight guys on our roster that have transferred from Miami — there’s some guys that are going to be excited.”
After a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator and QBs coach at SMU, Lashlee joined Manny Diaz’s 2020 Miami staff in the same roles. At the same time, Florida State hired Mike Norvell as their head coach following two disappointing seasons under Willie Taggart.
In Lashlee’s two years with the Canes, the programs faced off twice, with Miami taking home a decisive 52-10 victory in 2020 but falling 31-28 in 2021. Following the 2021 campaign, Lashlee became the head coach at SMU and has led them to 7-6 and 11-3 seasons, the latter of which is the most wins in program history since 1982.
Meanwhile, Norvell helped his Seminoles reach new heights, going 10-3 with a Cheez-It Bowl win in 2022 and the famed 13-0 regular-season outing last year that saw them become the first undefeated power conference champion to ever miss out on the College Football Playoff.
The 2023 campaign culminated in a 63-3 blowout loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, but we don’t need to delve into that further.
The two head coaches are obviously familiar with each other, but they’ll become even more so in 2024, as SMU is moving to the ACC after 11 years in the AAC. Lashlee and Norvell aren’t the only two within the programs that have history.
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As Lashlee said, eight current Mustangs transferred from Miami to SMU, and they certainly have no love lost for Florida State.
DL Jared Harrison-Hunte, WR Brashard Smith, and EDGE Jahfari Harvey made the move out west in 2024, while OL Jakai Clark, RB Jaylan Knighton, WR Key’Shawn Smith, EDGE Elijah Roberts, and WR Romello Brinson landed in University Park, Texas, last offseason.
SMU and FSU will face off at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Sept. 28. While it will be the Mustangs’ first conference game as a part of the ACC, the Seminoles will have already played three games in the league (Week 0 vs. Georgia Tech, Week 1 vs. Boston College, and Week 3 vs. newcomer Cal).
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