The Reclamation Initiative | The Coaching Career of Nico Augustine

[redsox907]

love seeing Clemson get the belt

[djp73]

Smoked em

[Caesar]

Is this the season that you win a natty?

[Captain Canada]

love seeing Clemson get the belt

Smoked em

The get back was potent

Is this the season that you win a natty?

the only team that could beat us is ourselves (and a handful of teams in the conference we don’t speak about)

[ShireNiner]

Way to turn that into a blowout. 5 touchdowns against a ranked team and not player of the week. Cheese got screwed.

[Soapy]

have we all broken this game?

[Captain Canada]

Way to turn that into a blowout. 5 touchdowns against a ranked team and not player of the week. Cheese got screwed.

The disrespect, am I right?

have we all broken this game?

There seems to be a method to the madness, but I would say there's still a way to manage the competitiveness in the game. We're just like that right now

[Agent]

Holy 2nd & 4th quarter offense

Smacked the taste out of Clemson

[Captain Canada]

How Santiago Silvestro Became the Spark of SMU's undefeated start
By ESPN Staff Writer

DALLAS -- Opportunity has a way of finding players who are willing to start over.

For SMU sophomore wide receiver Santiago Silvestro, that opportunity arrived the moment he stepped onto campus after spending his first year with Tulane. He was a three-star transfer entering a wide receiver room burdened with expectation and stinging from loss. The Mustangs were coming off a season that sent J.J. Harrell and Jeremiah McClellan to the NFL, leaving behind not just vacated snaps, but a void in identity.

Four games into the season, that void has a name,

"You have to credit head coach Nico Augustine," an ACC analyst commented. "All of his best wide receivers in recent years have been guys who came over from a different school situation and blew up into top-tier guys."

Keep in mind, Harrell had three 1,000+ yard receiving seasons, including one with Arkansas State where Augustine started his career as a prized offensive coordinator. McClellan bounced around at Oregon and Missouri before making his way to Dallas himself.

Silvestro has emerged as the unquestioned focal point of SMU's passing attack, even more than reigning Mackey Trophy winner tight end Dwayne Kasay, or last year's receiving leader in Marquis Avant. He leads the team in receiving yards while hauling in an intriguing seven touchdowns during the Mustangs' undefeated start. His rise hasn't been gradual - its been immediate, emphatic, and impossible to ignore.

I feel revived here," Silvestro told ESPN. "Dallas just gave me a different kind of energy than I received in New Orleans. From the coaches to the locker room, it felt like people really believed in what I could be. That changes everything for a player."

At Tulane, Silvestro showed flashes - reliable hands, sharp routes, a knack for finding the hole int he zone - but consistency and opportunity were harder to come by. At SMU, necessity accelerated trust. With veteran production gone, someone had to become the guy. Silvestro didn't wait for permission.

"We have no problem playing freshmen in this game," said offensive coordinator Tony Sanchez. "It's all about what you can handle and what you can bring to the team. Santiago knew what was expected of him when he got here, and we're not shocked by his ability to produce."

What stands out most isn't just the touchdowns - its the timing. Silvestro has repeatedly delivered momentum-shifting moments, turning third-and-longs into touchdowns and red-zone snaps into celebrations. For a team navigating lofty expectations, that reliability has been invaluable.

"It feels great producing early," he said. "But more than that, it feels good knowing I'm helping us win. We're undefeated, and that's what matters. The stats come after."

That mindset was on full display in SMU's statement win over Clemson, a victory that reverberated through the locker room and reshaped national perception of the Mustangs. While Silvestro was not part of the SMU team that fell to Clemson in last year's Fiesta Bowl, he felt the weight of that history all the same.

"I wasn't here for that loss," he said, "but you can feel the seismic shift when Clemson week came to campus. Guys remembered it. Coaches remembered it. Beating Clemson meant something deeper than just one game. That win brought us even closer together."

Inside the locker room, the victory served as a release - proof that SMU wasn't just retooling and benefitting from a weaker ACC that was going through an identity crisis as further rumblings of seismic movement looms in the background. They were reasserting themselves. Veterans and newcomers alike fed off the moment, and Silvestro's performance only reinforced his growing leadership role.

"He plays like someone who understands the moment," senior free safety and defensive captain Armani Medlock said. "That's rare for a sophomore. For it all to click so soon after arriving."

As SMU continues its undefeated march forward, Silvestro's emergence has become symbolic of the program's evolution - unheralded pieces fitting perfectly together into a larger vision. He didn't arrive with the hype of an elite recruit like quarterback Alonzo Cheeseman did a few years back. He arrived with belief.

"I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be," Silvestro said. "This team, this city - it all just fits."

For SMU, the departure of NFL talent once felt like a looming challenge. Instead, it created space for a new star tor rise. And in Dallas, Santiago Silvestro isn't just filling shoes.

He's running past them.

[Captain Canada]

Saturday, September 29, 2029 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas, TX)

---

Week 5 Preview: vs #25 UConn (4-0, 0-0)

SMU Team Stats
Points: 54.3
Points Allowed: 19.5
Total Sacks: 26
Red Zone Conv.: 48%
Turnover Diff.: +8

UConn Team Stats
Points: 41.5
Points Allowed: 15.8
Total Sacks: 11
Red Zone Conv.: 75%
Turnover Diff.: +5

SMU Impact Players
QB Alonzo Cheeseman, Rs So -- 1,226 passing yards | 18 touchdowns, interception | 75% completion percentage | rushing touchdown
WR Santiago Silvestro, Rs So -- 33 catches | 349 receiving yards | 10.6 AVG | 7 touchdowns
MIKE Kevin Lockridge, Sr -- 41 tackles | 5 tackles for loss | 2.5 sacks | interception | 2 pass breakups

UConn Impact Players
QB Harvey Boyette, Rs Fr -- 1,246 passing yards | 6 touchdowns | 64% completion percentage
HB Seth Urbik, Sr -- 83 carries | 386 rushing yards | 4.7 AVG | 7 touchdowns
CB Monty Charles, Rs Jr -- 21 tackles | tackle for loss | 3 interceptions | 11 catches allowed

Injury Report
SMU: OT Mohammed Iwuoma (Torn Pectoral) - Out for season
UConn: None

Key Matchup
DT Trent Landry vs HB Seth Urbik