# Safeway Bowl

The Safeway Bowl is the name given to the North Texas–SMU football rivalry. It is a college football rivalry game between the Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team and the University of North Texas Mean Green football team, two universities in Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

## History

The two teams first met in 1922, with a 66–0 win for SMU over North Texas. The match-up has geographic relevance, as North Texas and SMU are the largest public and private universities in the DFW area respectively. As bitter cross-Metroplex rivals, the two teams have met 41 times in total.
Its name is derived from a challenge from former UNT head coach Matt Simon, who after a two year break in the series, stated "I'd like to play because I think we could beat them, and my players feel the same way. If they'd like to play on a Safeway parking lot ... just give us a date and time."
SMU leads the series 36–6–1, as the series had three major hiatuses since its original start. The series has been ongoing since its renewal in 2013, and is expected to continue as North Texas joins SMU in the American Athletic Conference in 2023. However, on September 1, 2023, it was announced that SMU would be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.

## Game results

| SMU victories | North Texas victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | October 7, 1922 | Armstrong Field | SMU | 66–0 |
| 2 | September 29, 1923 | Armstrong Field | SMU | 41–0 |
| 3 | September 27, 1924 | Armstrong Field | SMU | 7–0 |
| 4 | September 26, 1925 | Armstrong Field | SMU | 48–0 |
| 5 | September 24, 1926 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 42–0 |
| 6 | September 24, 1927 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 68–0 |
| 7 | September 22, 1928 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 60–6 |
| 8 | September 21, 1929 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 13–3 |
| 9 | September 26, 1931 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 13–0 |
| 10 | September 24, 1932 | Ownby Stadium | Tie | 0–0 |
| 11 | September 23, 1933 | Ownby Stadium | North Texas State Teachers | 7–0 |
| 12 | September 22, 1934 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 33–0 |
| 13 | September 21, 1935 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 39–0 |
| 14 | September 26, 1936 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 6–0 |
| 15 | September 25, 1937 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 14–0 |
| 16 | September 24, 1938 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 34–7 |
| 17 | October 7, 1939 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 16–0 |
| 18 | October 5, 1940 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 20–0 |
| 19 | September 27, 1941 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 54–0 |
| 20 | September 26, 1942 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 26–7 |
| 21 | September 14, 1974 | Cotton Bowl | SMU | 7–6 |
| 22 | September 25, 1976 | Cotton Bowl | SMU | 38–31 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 23 | September 17, 1977 | Texas Stadium | North Texas State | 24–13 |
| 24 | September 22, 1979 | Texas Stadium | #18 SMU | 20–9 |
| 25 | September 13, 1980 | Texas Stadium | SMU | 28–9 |
| 26 | September 12, 1981 | Texas Stadium | SMU | 34–7 |
| 27 | October 2, 1982 | Texas Stadium | #7 SMU | 38–10 |
| 28 | September 22, 1984 | Texas Stadium | #13 SMU | 24–6 |
| 29 | October 28, 1989 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 35–9 |
| 30 | October 6, 1990 | Fouts Field | North Texas | 14–7 |
| 31 | September 12, 1992 | Ownby Stadium | SMU | 28–14 |
| 32 | September 9, 2006 | Fouts Field | North Texas | 24–6 |
| 33 | September 8, 2007 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 45–31 |
| 34 | September 6, 2014 | Apogee Stadium | North Texas | 43–6 |
| 35 | September 12, 2015 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 31–13 |
| 36 | September 3, 2016 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 34–21 |
| 37 | September 9, 2017 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 54–32 |
| 38 | September 1, 2018 | Apogee Stadium | North Texas | 46–23 |
| 39 | September 7, 2019 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 49–27 |
| 40 | September 19, 2020 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 65–35 |
| 41 | September 11, 2021 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 35–12 |
| 42 | September 3, 2022 | Apogee Stadium | SMU | 48–10 |
| 43 | November 10, 2023 | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | SMU | 45–21 |
| Series: SMU leads 36–6–1 |||||