UNIVERSITY PARK -- The feeling around SMU's football program after its last bye was wildly different from the feeling when players returned to practice Tuesday.
Last bye, the Mustangs were coming off their first loss of the season to BYU in a game where they were favored after nearly falling to Nevada two weeks prior. The offense was disjointed, and through three games, they hadn't put together a compelling performance to state they were ready for power-conference play.
Fast forward a month, and the Mustangs pulled off three consecutive wins over rival TCU, reigning ACC champion Florida State and No. 22 Louisville. SMU is clicking in all three phases of the game and has climbed the national rankings to No. 21 in the nation in the latest AP poll.
Now, the focus turns to maintaining that momentum.
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"When you're playing well, you want to keep playing," SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said Tuesday. "We've got to do a good job of trying to pick up where we left off and play good football and try to continue to build on what we've been doing. ... What we did the in last three weeks gives us confidence. It doesn't do anything for us this Saturday."
The Mustangs like to view their season in quarters. With three byes separated by three games each, it's easy to break it down that way. The first quarter (Nevada, Houston Christian and BYU) focused on building an identity. The second quarter (TCU, Florida State and Louisville) focused on showing the Mustangs belong in a power conference.
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Now that they've accomplished both those feats, the third and fourth quarters focus on sustaining success through the remainder of this season and even beyond.
The next few weeks provide SMU with some significant opportunities. After taking on Stanford this week, the Mustangs will face 5-1 Duke and 6-0 Pitt with a chance to continue to hang with ACC frontrunners Clemson and Miami as the only undefeated teams in conference play.
That Pitt matchup will mark the Mustangs' homecoming after a month away from Ford Stadium and could even see College Game Day come to campus for the first time ever if both teams are still ranked.
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"If you continue to play good football and win, then every game after that becomes a bigger game," Lashlee said.
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With those opportunities comes a brighter future for SMU, which has already seen a boost in recruiting since joining the ACC and the early success this season.
The national spotlight, AP ranking and upset wins have already caught the attention of recruits, Lashlee said.
"I think there's a lot of buzz in the city about SMU," Lashlee said. "That's great. That's what we wanted, to be in this position and be in this league. The best thing you can do for recruiting is win. If you let it fizzle out in the second half of the season, people forget about some of that."
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But just like SMU can't make an ACC championship without success in the second half of the season, it needs to maintain its on-field performance to continue ushering in the next class of recruits.
If the third quarter of the season can be as successful as the first two, SMU is poised to see the positive impacts from this season down the line.
"It's going to take two and three and four, you've got to stack recruiting classes when you go to this level of football to sustain it, so it's good to show that we belong," Lashlee said. "Now we've got to continue to compete and finish the second half of the season, so we can maybe capitalize on some of the potential recruiting opportunities we'll have."
On X/Twitter: @Lassimak
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