Two are ones that the Mustangs want to see continue: The Cougars have lost five consecutive road games, while SMU has won nine straight home games.

The other, however, is in BYU’s favor.

The Cougars have faced the Mustangs four times and won all four, which they want to turn into a 5-0 record.

But it wasn’t easy — and likely won’t be easy this time either.

Three of the four past meetings between the two schools have been decided by three points or less, including two wild one-point bowl game wins.

The first was the iconic Miracle Bowl win, where Jim McMahon rallied BYU from a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to edge SMU, 46-45, on a game-winning Hail Mary pass to Clay Brown on the last play of the 1980 Holiday Bowl game in San Diego.

More recently, the Cougars needed a big goal-line stop by defensive back Jakob Robinson on a two-point conversion in the final moments to edge the Mustangs, 24-23, in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake took advantage of the New Mexico Bowl festivities to get to know SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee, a friendship he said he has come to value greatly.

“Rhett Lashlee is a good friend of mine,” Sitake said earlier in the week. “He’s an amazing coach who knows how to run an offense, call a game and run a program. I think he’s one of the best coaches in college football. He’s done a great job with that program. [While at the 2022 New Mexico Bowl], we were able to sit down and share a meal together. I was really impressed with him as I got to be around him and his family. He has a brilliant mind when it comes to football.”

Lashlee, for his part, expressed his own appreciate of Sitake in his weekly press conference.

“There’s not a better human being, coach, ambassador for our game in college football than Kalani,” Lashlee said. “There’s no ego. He wants to win and compete for his team, but he does it with class and character. His teams always represent them that way. I have the utmost respect for him.”

But while friendship and respect between the coaches is great, both definitely want to win and continue their respective good streaks.

Sitake said he sees a tough challenge facing his Cougars when they line up against the Mustangs.

“They have an explosive team and are favored in this game, so this is an opportunity for our guys to get in there and figure out ways to improve and take-on a very impressive SMU team,” Sitake said. “They have really good athletes. They have a few quarterbacks who can play. They’re very active, very athletic and can throw the ball well too.”

One of the uncertainties for BYU is how the Mustangs will use their two talented quarterbacks. Junior Preston Stone earned the nod as the starter but Lashlee said sophomore Kevin Jennings would get some opportunities.

BYU senior defensive lineman Isaiah Bagnah said that makes preparing for SMU more complicated.

“You don’t really know exactly what you’re going to get, especially when it comes to the scouting report and how you prepare,” Bagnah said. “When we deal with something like that, you have to be more intentional and purposeful with your own prep and doing what you do best as a defensive whole. We have to know our identity and how we come to play the game.”

He said they compared it to how they didn’t want to be a thermometer that just measures the temperature of a room. They want to be a thermostat that controls how hot or cold the room is.

“We want to come in and set the tone regardless of who we’re playing,” Bagnah said.

On the other side of the ball, Cougar junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff said the BYU offense has to be better as well to have success against the Mustangs.

“We need to clean up the little things,” Retzlaff said. “The little mistakes sometimes aren’t amplified against a team like (Southern Illinois) but will be amplified against a ACC opponent. I know every position has their things that they need to improve on, communication and stuff like that. In the game everything is a little faster so getting use to that is a big deal and something that will be better in Week 2 for us.”

BYU at SMU

TIME:5 p.m. MT

TV:ESPN2

WHERE:Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas

THE WORD: This will be the fifth meeting between BYU and SMU. The Cougars are a perfect 4-0 against the Mustangs … SMU became a member of the ACC prior to the 2024 season. The Cougars have played 15 games previously against ACC teams (not including SMU) and are 6-9 overall … The Cougars have played 11 regalar-season Friday games under Kalani Sitake with a record of 8-4 in those contests. Last year, BYU defeated Cincinnati 35-27 for its first Big 12 victory. The Cougars have two Friday night contests scheduled in 2024, starting at SMU and then hosting Oklahoma State on Oct. 18.