🏈 A Look Inside SMU’s Return To Relevance

In this city of Dallas, high school football rules on Friday, while the Cowboys own Sunday. SMU is trying to fill that gap in the middle. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Nearly four decades removed from the Pony Express and the infamous “death penalty,” SMU is trying to punch its way back to relevancy ... we take a look at the top 101 players in NFL history ... and Albert Pujols crushes a home run in his return to St. Louis. Football fans know that Fridays and Sundays are a done deal in Dallas during the fall. High school rules the end of the week, the Cowboys are the only thing that matters at the end of the weekend. “But there’s a gap in the middle,” Southern Methodist University linebacker Delano Robinson told me this week. “That’s what we’re trying to fill.” Robinson is a fifth-year senior at SMU, one of the more intriguing college programs in the country with benefits and difficulties like few others. On the plus side, it is situated in the middle of Dallas, where football runs as deep in the blood as anywhere. On the tricky side … it is situated in the middle of Dallas … where, you might have noticed, there is plenty of competition for your football and entertainment attention span. Nearly four decades removed from when the Pony Express saw Eric Dickerson and Craig James in full flow, followed by the infamous “death penalty” NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations, SMU is trying to punch its way back to relevancy. [STORY IMAGE 1] “The most disappointing thing about it was how long it took for the program to recover,” Kansas City Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who played soccer for SMU in the 1980s and is a key donor, told me. “We didn’t expect it would be decades to bounce back. It is great to see things looking up and with new aspirations. Dallas is a great football town, but Dallas likes a winner. It is important for the school to promote itself.” Hunt believes SMU’s history and location gives it the potential to be a regular top 20 team, with the kind of big city feel you get when USC or UCLA are going through a golden patch. Given that Dallas doesn’t do small, SMU’s approach in the lead-up to the new campaign has been unapologetically bold. The school took out a giant billboard in Times Square to get some national buzz and backed that up with a series of similar signs in local communities. [STORY IMAGE 2] SMU has also recruited luminaries such as Troy Aikman and Mark Cuban for promotional radio spots in the Dallas area, trying to get into the hearts and minds of both fans and potential recruits. It faces a monumental battle for a generous slice of the pie, with the scene dominated by the religion of Texas high school football and yep, those ever-present Cowboys, guaranteed to make news whether they are thriving … or nose-diving. But rather than be swallowed up by those collective forces, SMU aims to stand alongside them as part of the overall Texas football experience, and has specifically targeted its recruiting policy to tap into the talent-packed local pool. “We have to be fighting to get noticed,” head coach Sonny Dykes told me. “There is a lot going on in Dallas. People in Dallas can spend their money in a lot of ways and we are fighting to be an option. To do that we have to be consistently putting a good product on the field.” The “Born and Raised” marketing blueprint that tries to get elite players to stay at home instead of trekking off to flashier programs elsewhere, or welcoming them back through the transfer portal, appealed to Robinson, who is hoping to land in the NFL once this season is done. [STORY IMAGE 3] “Being able to be close to my roots was a strong thing,” Robinson said. “For the Dallas players, we can be the men of the city right here. Why go somewhere to try to get that feeling?” It is a method Dykes, former head coach at Cal and Louisiana Tech, regards as a core part of SMU’s future. “We figured out how to recruit Dallas,” Dykes added. “We needed to be in our own backyard. I tried to take a holistic approach, building relationships with the high school coaches. Once they trust me, they will send me their players. “We hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area hard, then sometimes we get a second go at it with the transfer portal, showing these young men they have an opportunity come back home and thrive.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Among the movers, quarterback Tanner Mordecai hails from Waco, and transferred from Oklahoma. Kicker Blake Mazza was starting at Washington State but moved to SMU largely due to family considerations. Cornerback Jahari Rogers transferred from Florida following his freshman season. The current season began with a 56-9 walloping of Abilene Christian but will ultimately be judged on how things fare in the American Athletic Conference, where Cincinnati is the reigning power. After a 7-3 run last year, playing for a conference title this time would be a dream, albeit the kind of dream Dykes wants to turn into a reality. “We are doing some good things, playing some good football and the players are having fun,” Dykes said. “What we really want? To be Dallas’ college football team.” [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Roberto Jose Andrade Franco, DM Magazine: “SMU football—the program synonymous with death—is breathing again.” Josh Planos, FiveThirtyEight.com: “If June Jones was the first to resurrect the program, (Sonny) Dykes is the first to show it can flourish in the modern era.” John Hoover, Sports Illustrated: “Maybe former Oklahoma quarterback Tanner Mordecai just needed a clear path, with no future NFL players in front of him.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Welcome to Pro Football 101! [Joe Posnanski ranks the 101 best players in NFL history](. - [Skip Bayless says Tim Tebow’s NFL career came to a sad end]( because of the overwhelming fervor of “Tebowmania.” - A shaky start mixed with a key suspension has all eyes on the USMNT against Honduras tonight. [FOX Sports Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre has the story](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Heading into Tuesday night’s Cardinals vs. Dodgers game, all eyes were on future MLB Hall of Famer Albert Pujols and his return to St. Louis. Pujols, who spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cardinals, did not disappoint in his return. Check out this video, which shows Pujols crush a home run in his first at-bat of the game. The Dodgers would go on to win the game 7-2. Baseball is the best! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] U.S. Open Tennis (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Novak Djokovic takes on Matteo Berrettini in a quarterfinal matchup. Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals (ESPN+, 7:45 p.m. ET) Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals take on Justin Turner and the Los Angeles Dodgers. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( The summer is winding down, kids are getting back to school, the days are getting shorter. You know what that means: It's football season, and we're back with [FOX Bet Super 6](. The 2021 NFL season kicks off tomorrow, and with it comes your chance to win one of the biggest jackpots in Super 6 history. To start the season, [FOX Bet is giving away a cool $1 million of Terry Bradshaw's money](. Best of all, [entering the Super 6 contest is absolutely free](. Here is a look at FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre’s thoughts and picks for this week. Good luck! PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (+4) at ATLANTA FALCONS The Eagles will look different on offense with new head coach Nick Sirianni and second-year QB Jalen Hurts. One team is retooling with a veteran QB for one last playoff run; the other is in the early stages of a teardown/rebuild job. PICK: Falcons to win by 10-14 points. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (+6.5) at BUFFALO BILLS From a spread perspective, I have a strong lean to the Steelers on the road. This is a rematch of a Sunday night beatdown last year, when Ben Roethlisberger threw a terrible pick-six late in the first half, and the Steelers' offense could muster only 4.1 yards per play and went 1-for-10 on third down. PICK: Bills to win by 3-4 points. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (-3.5) at CINCINNATI BENGALS This one has all the makings of a 40-37 shootout with whoever has the ball last winning. Even if you like Mike Zimmer’s Vikings a lot this year to bounce back, wait to back them at home in Week 2, as opposed to on the road. PICK: Vikings to win by 1-2 points. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (-7.5) at DETROIT LIONS The 49ers are one of four West Coast teams traveling east for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff to start the season. When you hear that as a red flag, just hit ‘em with the numbers: In the past 10 years, teams traveling west to east for a 1 p.m. kickoff are 60-48-4 against the spread. The greatest strength of the Lions is the offensive line; good luck pushing around the 49ers' front seven. PICK: 49ers to win by 7-9 points. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-1) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Seattle will need Russ to cook because the Seahawks' defense is devoid of high-end talent outside of Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams. The Colts were 6-2 at home last season, and the two teams that beat them – Baltimore and Tennessee – feature formidable running games. PICK: Seahawks to win by 3-4 points. GREEN BAY PACKERS (-3) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS The Saints should have success on the ground versus a below-average run defense from last year. Jameis Winston got LASIK in the offseason, but you can still pencil in Jaire Alexander for at least one interception. PICK: Packers to win by 10-14 points. [WHAT THEY SAID] “I don't give players a chance to hit me.” — Eric Dickerson [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900