Opponents for SMU’s inaugural Big East season have been finalized, and the 2013 visitors to Ford Stadium will include UCF, UConn, Rutgers and Temple. The Mustangs will travel to Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis and USF.

While the final dates of the games have not been announced yet, the Mustangs non-conference schedule also includes Texas Tech and Baylor at Ford Stadium and Texas A&M and TCU on the road.

The UConn game holds historical significance, as it is a rematch of the 1989 “Miracle On Mockingbird.”

When SMU returned to the football field in 1989, critics claimed that it was going to take a miracle for Forrest Gregg and the Mustangs to win a game. After the Mustangs lost their first game to rival Rice, two weeks later, the Connecticut Huskies were beating the Mustangs 30-14 with five minutes to go in the game.

The Mustangs scored 17 points to win 31-30. The victory that took two games to achieve instead of the five years that some predicted was quickly dubbed the “Miracle On Mockingbird.”

Signing Day Approaching

The Mustangs also have National Signing Day coming up on Feb. 6, and the Mustangs currently have 25 commitments for their 2013 signing class. The Mustangs also have already picked up two 2014 commitments in safety Jesse Montgomery and linebacker Lance Cottrell.

The Mustangs have all but finished their 2013 class with over half of the class committing either before or over the summer. The most heralded recruit is Red Oak, Texas tight-end Jeremiah Gaines, who can play tight-end, slot receiver or outside receiver in SMU head coach June Jones Run-n-Shoot offense. He has been committed since July.

The Mustangs filled a big need with Navarro Junior College running back Traylon Shead, a former five-star running back from Corsicana, Texas, who spent the beginning of his college career at the University of Texas Austin, but spent the past year at Navarro. Shead, at 6-2, 225, is expected to fill the huge hole left behind by running back Zach Line, who graduated this year.