SMU played a college football game in front of a pathetic crowd on Saturday. Gerald J. Ford Stadium was mostly empty before the start of the fourth quarter.
It was not even that full to begin with.
Although I would not do it, I have no problem with college football fans that choose to leave the stadium early on a hot day— especially when there are better games to watch on T.V. when your team is playing a bad team. Just don’t try to pretend that you are superior to other fanbases or programs! That won’t fly.
SMU drew a small crowd for kickoff.
Before we can get to the fourth quarter, we must first start at the beginning. Gerald Jr. Ford Stadium holds a maximum capacity of 32,000.
Just to compare, it would be the smallest stadium in the Southeastern Conference by more than 8,000. We’re not talking about Kyle Field. We’re not even talking about FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.
Thus, you would think a college football team that made the College Football Playoff last season would have no problem filling every single seat. That could not be further from the truth.
Here is a look at the crowd as the Mustangs took the field for a conference game:
It’s a ‘Black Out’ at Gerald J. Ford Stadium‼️
— College Football Campus Tour (@cfbcampustour) October 11, 2025
📍 Dallas, Texas
🏠 @SMUFB
🆚 Stanford #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/uKN04Tfw8b
Now, to be fair, a lot of the empty seats started to fill in at or just after kickoff. It still wasn’t great.
SMU has two losses, yes, but it is technically in the driver’s seat for the ACC Championship. The season is not over. Far from it. It has only just begun!
Where did all of the fans go?
If the initial crowd was not bad enough, SMU fans completely abandoned their team by the start of the fourth quarter. The announced attendance of more than 30,000 (a number that was wildly inflated to begin with) very quickly shrunk down to just a few thousand.
I understand it was hot. I know there are other things to do in Dallas than watch the Mustangs slowly pull away against a terrible Stanford Cardinal team. This is state fair weekend. It is also Red River Rivalry weekend.
All of those excuses are valid. I don’t blame people for leaving early.
However, I will not stand here and allow for this terrible crowd to go unchecked. SMU fans were adamant that it is a better job than the lower-tier football SEC programs. This crowd is the perfect example of why not. A tiny crowd at Kentucky would be maximum capacity at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Let’s be real.