The Reclamation Initiative | The Coaching Career of Nico Augustine

[toysoldier00]

bringing home the hardware, now it's time to go win the Natty with the best player in college football

[redsox907]

Oklahoma gonna give you more of a challenge than people are giving them credit for is my prediction

[Captain Canada]

The Price of Greatness: Inside the Rumours Surrounding Nico Augustine and SMU’s “Last Dance” Season
ESPN Writer

DALLAS – In college football, success doesn’t just win games. It starts bidding wars.

As SMU marches through another dominant season and prepares for its second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoffs, whispers around the sport have grown louder.

The Mustangs have reportedly put an eye-opening five-year contract extension in front of head coach Nico Augustine - and he’s waiting until the season’s ends to sign it.

Or at least, that’s the rumour. The university and Augustine have presented numerous admissions that they intend on tabling discussions on what will happen after the end of the season to just that. After the end of the season. But, both reaffirm that they are forever locked together.

What is undeniable is this: Augustine is in the end of his initial three-year contract he signed before the 2027 season after winning the Broyles Award as the top coordinator in the nation after a brilliant season as the offensive coordinator of Arkansas State. SMU turned to him to stabilize and elevate the program after Rhett Lashlee departed for Arkansas. Few could have predicted what followed.

Since Augustine took over, SMU has lost just three regular-season games - all of them in his first year at the helm. Since then, the Mustangs have been nearly untouchable.

They are now on their second straight CFP run, coming off a season that ended painfully close to glory - a Fiesta Bowl loss, just one win shy of a National Championship Game appearance. This year, SMU returned sharper, deeper, and more focused, climbing all the way back to the No. 1 ranking and cementing themselves as a national power.

Inside the program, there’s a belief this season has felt different from the start.

More urgent.
More emotional.
More final.

Around the facility, the unspoken theme has become impossible to ignore. The Last Dance.

Offensive coordinator Tony Sanchez and defensive coordinator Kerry Abraham are both coaching on expiring contracts, widely expected to parlay SMU’s success into head coaching jobs elsewhere. Their units - the most explosive offense and one of the most suffocating defenses in the country - have fueled the Mustangs’ rise.

At the same time, the roster is facing a seismic shift.

This season marks the final ride for cornerstone veterans Thomas McCariens, Kevin Lockridge, and Armani Medlock, all of whom will graduate after anchoring SMU’s defensive identity. Meanwhile, high-upside juniors like Marquis Avant and Dwayne Kasay are eligible to declare for the NFL, potentially accelerating an offseason exodus.

Sources around the program allege SMU has offered Augustine a five-year extension that would reset the market for the school and launch him into the upper echelon of coaching contacts akin to Dabo Swinney, Kirby Smart, and Lane Kiffin. This signals total commitment to the coach who has dragged the Mustangs into the sport’s elite tier.

Yet Augustine hasn’t signed.

Publicly, he’s brushed off speculation, insisting the focus remains on winning championships. Privately, the delay has fueled a more dangerous rumour - one that refuses to go away.

The SEC.

According to multiple industry insiders, the SEC is monitoring Augustine closely, intrigued by his ability to recruit nationally, modernize schemes, and win immediately. Teams such as LSU, Georgia, and dare we mention, Texas, with its vast resources, prestige, and financial firepower, represents the kind of opportunity that has pulled elite coaches away before.

The question is whether Augustine sees the SEC as a destination.

Those close to Augustine describe him as fiercely loyal, deeply invested in the culture he’s built, and appreciative of SMU’s willingness to back him with facilities, recruiting budgets, and now a massive contract offer.

Others point out that the timing - expiring deals, graduating stars, coordinators on the move - feels eerily like a natural pause point.

A moment to either double down or move on.

For now, Augustine remains locked in, leading a team with championship aspirations and unfinished business. But as the playoffs approach and the season’s final chapters are written, the speculation will only intensify.

Does Nico Augustine re-up and become the long-term face of SMU football?

Or is there truth to the whispers that the SEC’s gravitational pull could lure him away?

In Dallas, the hope is that this is merely the end of a chapter.

But in college football, even the greatest dances eventually end.

[djp73]

Nico a ho or a housewife?

[ShireNiner]

A lot more pressure added now. Win and if Nico leaves, he goes out a hero. Lose and Nico looks awful bailing on the team.

[Captain Canada]

Nico a ho or a housewife?

A football coach, behave yourself.

A lot more pressure added now. Win and if Nico leaves, he goes out a hero. Lose and Nico looks awful bailing on the team.

Pressure really never been higher

[Captain Canada]

Monday, December 31, 2028 | AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)

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Cotton Bowl Game Preview: vs #8 Oklahoma (11-3, 7-1)

SMU Team Stats
Points: 48.3
Points Allowed: 16.1
Total Sacks: 77
Red Zone Conv.: 54%
Turnover Diff.: +19

Oklahoma Team Stats
Points: 29.0
Points Allowed: 21.5
Total Sacks: 27
Red Zone Conv.: 60%
Turnover Diff.: +4

Oklahoma 2029 Schedule
Wk 1 -- W 37-8 at San Diego State
BYE
Wk 3 -- L 38-21 vs #21 Nebraska
Wk 4 -- W 35-7 vs FCS East
Wk 5 -- W 27-7 vs San Jose State
Wk 6 -- W 34-10 vs #19 Missouri
Wk 7 -- W 20-12 vs #14 Texas
Wk 8 -- W 31-20 at South Carolina
Wk 9 -- W 29-21 vs Auburn
Wk 10 -- W 27-19 at Tennessee
Wk 11 -- W 31-24 vs Ole Miss
Wk 12 -- L 49-21 at #2 Alabama
Wk 13 -- W 38-16 vs LSU
Conf. Champ -- L 35-17 vs #2 Alabama
Rd 1 -- W 38-35 vs #9 Penn State

SMU Impact Players
QB Alonzo Cheeseman, Rs Fr -- 4,108 passing yards | 48 touchdowns, 7 interceptions | 75% completion percentage | 712 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns
HB Brian Volson, Fr -- 185 carries | 919 rushing yards | 5.0 AVG | 14 touchdowns | 29 catches, 267 receiving yards, touchdown
MIKE Kevin Lockridge, Sr -- 98 tackles | 15 tackles for loss | 4.0 sacks | 2 interceptions | 10 pass breakups

Oklahoma Impact Players
QB Nick Lopes, Rs So -- 3,346 passing yards | 29 touchdowns, 8 interceptions | 63% completion percentage | 344 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns
HB Gregory Tye, Sr -- 258 carries | 1,064 rushing yards | 4.1 AVG | 13 touchdowns | 27 catches, 240 receiving yards, touchdown
MIKE Kevin Burns, Sr -- 109 tackles | 10 tackles for loss | sack | 2 interceptions | 4 pass breakups | forced fumble

Injury Report
SMU: OT Mohammed Iwuoma (Torn Pectoral) - Out for season | C Leati Higgins (Torn Pectoral) - Out for season
Oklahoma: SAM T.J. Minton (Partial ACL Tear) - 3 weeks | DT John Kaesviharn (Broken Collarbone) - Out for season

Key Matchup
CB Manu Hook. vs WR Nate Mapu

[ShireNiner]

Oklahoma looks to have a good defense but they can’t beat Bama so they can’t beat you.

[Captain Canada]

(11-3, 7-1 SEC) @(13-0, 8-0 ACC)

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Mustangs hang on to narrow lead to slip past Sooners behind McCalebb's surprise performance


‣ When star running back Brian Volson went down with an injury, it was third stringer Cal McCalebb that stepped up to the plate.

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Scoring Summary

FINAL	1	2	3	4	T
#1 SMU	3	14	7	7	31
#8 Oklahoma	3	0	14	7	24

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1st Quarter
(6:34) Miguel Benitez, 26-yard field goal [SMU 3 - 0 OKLA]
(4:31) Quincey Sizer, 53-yard field goal (SMU 3 - 3 OKLA]

2nd Quarter
(10:36) Justice Spielman, 2-yard pass from Alonzo Cheeseman (Miguel Benitez kick) [SMU 10 - 3 OKLA]
(0:10) Miles Uter, 2-yard pass from Alonzo Cheeseman (Miguel Benitez kick) [SMU 17 - 3 OKLA]

3rd Quarter
(8:43) Austin Yates, 23-yard pass from Nick Lopes (Quincey Sizer kick) [SMU 17 - 10 OKLA]
(6:01) Nate Mapu, 15-yard pass from Nick Lopes (Quincey Sizer kick) [ SMU 17 - 17 OKLA]
(1:31) Cal McCalebb, 13-yard pass from Alonzo Cheeseman (Miguel Benitez kick) [SMU 24 - 17 OKLA]

4th Quarter
(5:18) Cal McCalebb, 3-yard run (Miguel Benitez kick) [SMU 31 - 17 OKLA]
(3:07) Austin Yates, 11-yard pass from Nick Lopes (Quincey Sizer kick) [SMU 31 - 24 OKLA]

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Team Statistics
QB Alonzo Cheeseman: 27-33, 248 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, interception, 12 carries, 57 rushing yards
QB Nick Lopes: 25-29, 266 passing yards, 3 touchdowns

HB Cal McCalebb: 19 carries, 89 rushing yards, touchdown, 5 catches, 40 receiving yards, touchdown
HB Justice Spielman: 15 carries, 42 rushing yards, 4 catches, 20 receiving yards, touchdown
HB Brian Volson: 3 carries, 20 rushing yards (left game in 2nd quarter)
HB Gregory Tye: 4 carries, 28 rushing yards

TE Dwayne Kasay: 5 catches, 59 receiving yards
WR Tomas Smoker: 3 catches, 49 receiving yards
WR Marquis Avant: 5 catches, 40 receiving yards
WR Nate Mapu: 5 catches, 84 receiving yards, touchdown
WR Austin Yates: 4 catches, 65 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
TE Trynae Washington: 3 catches, 40 receiving yards

MIKE Kevin Lockridge: 11 tackles, tackle for loss, sack, pass breakup
SS Larry Tu'ikolovatu: 5 tackles, pass breakup
WILL Thomas McCariens: 3 tackles, tackle for loss, sack
DT Trent Landry: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack
SAM Louis Boothe: 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
MIKE Kevin Burns: 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups
SS Seonta Stewart Jr: 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, pass breakup

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[ShireNiner]

Closer than expected but win and advance. Cheeseman needs to step it up a level these playoffs.