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Safeway Bowl

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Safeway Bowl
SportFootball
First meetingOctober 7, 1922
SMU 66, North Texas State Normal 0
Latest meetingNovember 10, 2023
SMU 45, North Texas 21
Statistics
Meetings total43
All-time seriesSMU leads 36–6–1 (.849)[1]
Largest victorySMU, 68–0 (1927)
Longest win streakSMU, 11 (1934–1976)
Current win streakSMU, 5 (2019–present)
Locations of North Texas and SMU

The Safeway Bowl is the name given to the North Texas–SMU football rivalry.[2] It is a college football rivalry game between the Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team and the University of North Texas Mean Green football team, two universities in Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[3]

History

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The two teams first met in 1922, with a 66–0 win for SMU over North Texas. The match-up has geographic relevance, as North Texas and SMU are the largest public and private universities in the DFW area respectively. As bitter cross-Metroplex rivals, the two teams have met 41 times in total.

Its name is derived from a challenge from former UNT head coach Matt Simon, who after a two year break in the series, stated "I'd like to play because I think we could beat them, and my players feel the same way. If they'd like to play on a Safeway parking lot ... just give us a date and time."[4]

SMU leads the series 36–6–1, as the series had three major hiatuses since its original start. The series has been ongoing since its renewal in 2013, and is expected to continue as North Texas joins SMU in the American Athletic Conference in 2023.[5] However, on September 1, 2023, it was announced that SMU would be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.[6]

Game results

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SMU victoriesNorth Texas victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1October 7, 1922 Armstrong Field SMU 66–0
2September 29, 1923 Armstrong Field SMU 41–0
3September 27, 1924 Armstrong Field SMU 7–0
4September 26, 1925 Armstrong Field SMU 48–0
5September 24, 1926 Ownby Stadium SMU 42–0
6September 24, 1927 Ownby Stadium SMU 68–0
7September 22, 1928 Ownby Stadium SMU 60–6
8September 21, 1929 Ownby Stadium SMU 13–3
9September 26, 1931 Ownby Stadium SMU 13–0
10September 24, 1932 Ownby Stadium Tie0–0
11September 23, 1933 Ownby Stadium North Texas State Teachers 7–0
12September 22, 1934 Ownby Stadium SMU 33–0
13September 21, 1935 Ownby Stadium SMU 39–0
14September 26, 1936 Ownby Stadium SMU 6–0
15September 25, 1937 Ownby Stadium SMU 14–0
16September 24, 1938 Ownby Stadium SMU 34–7
17October 7, 1939 Ownby Stadium SMU 16–0
18October 5, 1940 Ownby Stadium SMU 20–0
19September 27, 1941 Ownby Stadium SMU 54–0
20September 26, 1942 Ownby Stadium SMU 26–7
21September 14, 1974 Cotton Bowl SMU 7–6
22September 25, 1976 Cotton Bowl SMU 38–31
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
23September 17, 1977 Texas Stadium North Texas State 24–13
24September 22, 1979 Texas Stadium #18 SMU 20–9
25September 13, 1980 Texas Stadium SMU 28–9
26September 12, 1981 Texas Stadium SMU 34–7
27October 2, 1982 Texas Stadium #7 SMU 38–10
28September 22, 1984 Texas Stadium #13 SMU 24–6
29October 28, 1989 Ownby Stadium SMU 35–9
30October 6, 1990 Fouts Field North Texas 14–7
31September 12, 1992 Ownby Stadium SMU 28–14
32September 9, 2006 Fouts Field North Texas 24–6
33September 8, 2007 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 45–31
34September 6, 2014 Apogee Stadium North Texas 43–6
35September 12, 2015 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 31–13
36September 3, 2016 Apogee Stadium SMU 34–21
37September 9, 2017 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 54–32
38September 1, 2018 Apogee Stadium North Texas 46–23
39September 7, 2019 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 49–27
40September 19, 2020 Apogee Stadium SMU 65–35
41September 11, 2021 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 35–12
42September 3, 2022 Apogee Stadium SMU 48–10
43November 10, 2023 Gerald J. Ford Stadium SMU 45–21
Series: SMU leads 36–6–1[1]

Notes

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• Despite having their home games at the Cotton Bowl for 46 years, North Texas played SMU there just twice. The first 21 games of the series came before the arrival of Doak Walker to SMU, whose play attracted the large crowds that prompted the school to move its home games out of Ownby Stadium to the larger venue in Fair Park.
• Of the 39 games played between the two schools, just five of those have taken place in Denton. Ownby Stadium was seen as the far superior venue to the tiny Eagle Field that North Texas played on before 1952, which sat just 5,000 people to Ownby's 23,000. When the series resumed in the 1970s, the Cotton Bowl and Texas Stadium both held vastly more fans than Fouts Field could. Only after SMU moved its home games back on campus following the death penalty did the schools start playing games in Denton. Fouts Field hosted its first Safeway Bowl in 1990, which North Texas won to snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
• Both schools have largely had success in the series when playing on their campuses. North Texas holds a 4–3–0 record in games played at Fouts Field or Apogee Stadium, while SMU holds a remarkable 23–1–1 record in games played at Armstrong Field, Ownby Stadium, or Ford Stadium. SMU's only win on UNT's campus came on September 3, 2016, while UNT's only win on SMU's campus came on September 23, 1933. SMU leads the series 7–1–0 when the game was played at either the Cotton Bowl or Texas Stadium.
• 16 of the 40 contests have ended with a shutout (40%), including the 1932 game which ended in a scoreless tie. North Texas was on the losing end of all of those shutouts except the tie and a 7–0 win in 1933 (UNT's most recent win on SMU's campus). The first six games of the series, all won by SMU, were also shutouts.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Winsipedia - North Texas Mean Green vs. SMU Mustangs football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. ^ "The Safeway Bowl returns to Denton for the 5th time in 96 years – North Texas Daily". August 25, 2018.
  3. ^ Gregory, Dekota (September 1, 2018). "North Texas shines in all phases, thumping SMU in Safeway Bowl". Underdog Dynasty.
  4. ^ Watkins, Calvin (February 8, 2005). "SMU, North Texas to Resume Football Series". The Dallas Morning News.
  5. ^ "UNT Accepted as Member of the American Athletic Conference". University of North Texas Athletics. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Dodd, Dennis (September 1, 2023). "Stanford, Cal, SMU join ACC: Conference membership growing to 18 schools as latest realignment domino falls". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 1, 2023.