SMU is five games into its 2019 season. And after five games, the Mustangs are not only undefeated for the first time since 1983 but also ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 1986.

Sonny Dykes and his staff have watched the team grow into a respectable opponent nationally. The No. 24 Mustangs are averaging 44.4 points per game, which ranks top 10 among all FBS schools. And after a 48-21 rout on the road against USF, the Mustangs enter this week preparing against Tulsa with a lot of confidence.

"We thought coming out of fall camp, we had a chance to have a good football team, and that's what we have," Dykes said. "We've won five games now, but we've got seven left. The thing we have to do is just continue to practice hard and get better."

The Mustangs can look at this season as a blueprint for the future if everything continues to go in the same direction. SMU is one of only a handful of FBS teams currently with a 5-0 record -- the others being No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Auburn, No. 10 Florida, No. 22 Wake Forest and unranked Appalachian State.

While there's still time to build, SMU can say it has either reached or is knocking on the door to reach a few marks in five games that took them 12 to do last season. For starters, the Mustangs didn't win their fifth game last year until a Nov. 10 victory on the road against UConn.

From a rushing perspective, SMU scored four times on the ground against USF, which upped the team's season total to 19 rushing touchdowns. Last year's team had 17 rushing touchdowns combined.

Defensively, SMU had a monster statistical game Saturday, sacking USF quarterbacks Jordan McCloud and Blake Barnett a school-record 10 times. The Mustangs now have 23 sacks on the year; they need two sacks to tie the 2018 mark.

Individually for the Mustangs, wide receiver James Proche had two touchdown grabs against USF. It was his fourth consecutive game with a receiving touchdown, and he needs a touchdown catch against Tulsa to tie his career-best of consecutive games with a score, which he set last year.

Victories, obviously, are what SMU thrives for. A win over Tulsa this weekend makes the Mustangs bowl eligible. It also avenges a loss to the Golden Hurricane last year that kept them from being bowl eligible.

"I think it has a chance to be [special]," quarterback Shane Buechele said of this season, "but it's important for us to take what we did [against USF] and carry it over and try to go 1-0."

The Mustangs will shoot for their first 6-0 record since 1982 Saturday as they return to Gerald J. Ford Stadium to host Tulsa. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.