Safeway Bowl

History

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."

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 was expected to continue as North Texas joined the American Athletic Conference in 2023, which SMU has previously been a member of. However, on September 1, 2023, it was announced that SMU would be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.

Game results

|October 7, 1922 | Armstrong Field |SMU | 66 | North Texas State Normal | 0 |September 29, 1923 | Armstrong Field |SMU | 41 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 27, 1924 | Armstrong Field |SMU | 7 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 26, 1925 | Armstrong Field |SMU | 48 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 24, 1926 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 42 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 24, 1927 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 68 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 22, 1928 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 60 | North Texas State Teachers | 6 |September 21, 1929 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 13 | North Texas State Teachers | 3 |September 26, 1931 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 13 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 24, 1932 | Ownby Stadium |Tie | 0 | Tie | 0 |September 23, 1933 | Ownby Stadium |North Texas State Teachers | 7 | SMU | 0 |September 22, 1934 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 33 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 21, 1935 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 39 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 26, 1936 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 6 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 25, 1937 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 14 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 24, 1938 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 34 | North Texas State Teachers | 7 |October 7, 1939 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 16 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |October 5, 1940 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 20 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 27, 1941 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 54 | North Texas State Teachers | 0 |September 26, 1942 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 26 | North Texas State Teachers | 7 |September 14, 1974 | Cotton Bowl |SMU | 7 | North Texas State | 6 |September 25, 1976 | Cotton Bowl |SMU | 38 | North Texas State | 31 |September 17, 1977 | Texas Stadium |North Texas State | 24 | SMU | 13 |September 22, 1979 | Texas Stadium |#18 SMU | 20 | North Texas State | 9 |September 13, 1980 | Texas Stadium |SMU | 28 | North Texas State | 9 |September 12, 1981 | Texas Stadium |SMU | 34 | North Texas State | 7 |October 2, 1982 | Texas Stadium |#7 SMU | 38 | North Texas State | 10 |September 22, 1984 | Texas Stadium |#13 SMU | 24 | North Texas State | 6 |October 28, 1989 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 35 | North Texas | 9 |October 6, 1990 | Fouts Field |North Texas | 14 | SMU | 7 |September 12, 1992 | Ownby Stadium |SMU | 28 | North Texas | 14 |September 9, 2006 | Fouts Field |North Texas | 24 | SMU | 6 |September 8, 2007 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium |SMU | 45 | North Texas | 31 |September 6, 2014 | Apogee Stadium |North Texas | 43 | SMU | 6 |September 12, 2015 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 31 | North Texas |13 |September 3, 2016 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 34 | North Texas |21 |September 9, 2017 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 54 | North Texas | 32 |September 1, 2018 | Apogee Stadium | North Texas | 46 | SMU | 23 |September 7, 2019 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 49 | North Texas | 27 |September 19, 2020 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 65 | North Texas | 35 |September 11, 2021 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 35 | North Texas | 12 |September 3, 2022 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 48 | North Texas | 10 |November 10, 2023 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 45 | North Texas | 21

Notes

• 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.

References

References

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