Southern Methodist University‘s football program was once drowning in so much corruption that it earned the death penalty from the NCAA – no more scholarships, no more games. After a long hiatus and a slow rebuilding, June Jones helped usher respectability back to Dallas, complete with a couple of bowl victories. This season started off so poorly, however, that the most famous Mustang, Eric Dickerson, publicly considered if SMU should voluntarily end its program… again. Coach Jones has resigned, and current SMU players are left with three quarters of their season in front of them and less leadership to navigate it.

Following its latest blowout loss at the hands of Baylor (also in Texas… did you know this state’s huge?!), the Mustangs must prepare for even more firepower in the form of Kenny Hill and the Texas A&M Aggies. Plenty of programs have crumbled under the pressure of losing a Heisman Trophy winner like Johnny Manziel, but this offense has turned up its intensity to record-setting levels while improving the defense which was once a liability. These two squads appear headed in opposite directions, but expect the Mustangs to bring a renewed intensity that will challenge A&M to be more consistent than they were against Rice (also Texan!) if they want to win the game.

Kenny Hill wasted no time turning down the volume on the Johnny Football comparisons by setting new Aggies passing records in Columbia.

The average price paid for a ticket on the secondary market to Texas A&M-SMU is currently $90, and the cheapest seat available is listed at $73. That makes this the most in-demand SMU home game in two years, dating back to the last time the Aggies visited the Mustangs in Dallas on September 15, 2012, when the average price paid for a resale ticket was $116.

Tickets for this game alone are reselling for nearly the full price of a season ticket package, which includes all six SMU home games (other opponents are TCU, Cincinnati, Memphis, South Florida and Houston). Endzone season tickets sell for $99 (start at $73 on the secondary market for A&M), and sideline season tickets go for $210 (range from $103-$218 on the secondary market for A&M depending on distance from the 50-yard line). Given the Mustangs’ struggles on both sides of the ball and in the coach’s office this week, it’s going to take plenty of explosive defensive plays to contain the Aggies and give the run & shoot a chance to get going.

One of the few bright spots in the 2014 SMU campaign had its defense attacking the opposing QB; they've been vulnerable for much of the year.

Texas A&M Football Tickets & Game Dates

Ticket Demand for Texas A&M Aggies at SMU Mustangs

Texas A&M at SMU is the seventh-most in-demand college ticket for week four of the NCAA football season.

Only four college football games this weekend have a steeper get-in price (cheapest ticket available) than A&M at SMU: Auburn at Kansas State ($93), Florida at Alabama ($100), Oklahoma at West Virginia ($108) and Miami at Nebraska ($111). By average ticket price, the $90 mark for A&M-SMU ranks 7th-highest in the country this weekend. About 6,000 tickets to A&M-SMU have been resold on the secondary market to this point, and as of Thursday afternoon, about 950 were still listed for resale. The median price of those tickets still listed is $134, with a front-row seat in Section 104 behind the SMU bench going for $218.

Tickets to SMU home games are always most expensive when fellow Texas schools are in town. The top five most-in demand Mustangs games of the last five years have all come against Texas opponents: A&M in 2012 ($116 average ticket price), A&M this weekend ($90), Texas Tech in 2013 ($82), TCU in 2012 ($69) and TCU in 2010 ($54). While TCU may not sounds like a premiere program, they made strong runs during those seasons and, like SMU, are also in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. SMU’s other five home games this year are all bargains compared to this weekend’s game. Tickets for the TCU game on September 27 are averaging $41 apiece and start at $18, and the average prices of the other four (Cincinnati, Memphis, South Florida and Houston) are all between $17-$20 with the cheap seats listed for less than $10.

2014 A&M – SMU Preview

Kenny Hill Splashes on Scene in South Carolina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4sllygUsmg

Mustangs Lose to Baylor, Coach Jones Resigns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzFhkaZ2_-w