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2019 SMU

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 American Athletic Conference), coached by Sonny Dykes.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2019, game by game: won at Arkansas State 37–30; won vs. North Texas 49–27; won vs. Texas State 47–17; won at No. 25 TCU 41–38; won at South Florida 48–21; won vs. Tulsa 43–37; won vs. Temple 45–21; won at Houston 34–31; lost at No. 24 Memphis 48–54; won vs. East Carolina 59–51; lost at Navy 28–35; won vs. Tulane 37–20; lost at Florida Atlantic 28–52+30−24Won 37–30 at Arkansas State+7Arkansas StateWon 49–27 vs. North Texas+22North TexasWon 47–17 vs. Texas State+30Texas StateWon 41–38 at No. 25 TCU+3No. 25 TCUWon 48–21 at South Florida+27South FloridaWon 43–37 vs. Tulsa+6TulsaWon 45–21 vs. Temple+24TempleWon 34–31 at Houston+3HoustonLost 48–54 at No. 24 Memphis-6No. 24 MemphisWon 59–51 vs. East Carolina+8East CarolinaLost 28–35 at Navy-7NavyWon 37–20 vs. Tulane+17TulaneLost 28–52 at Florida Atlantic-24Florida Atlantic
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atArkansas StateW 37–⁠3032%
Sep 7vsNorth TexasW 49–⁠2753%
Sep 14vsTexas StateW 47–⁠1780%
Sep 21at25TCUW 41–⁠3834%
Sep 28atSouth FloridaW 48–⁠2154%
Oct 5vsTulsaW 43–⁠3777%
Oct 19vsTempleW 45–⁠2158%
Oct 24atHoustonW 34–⁠3156%
Nov 2at24MemphisL 48–⁠5439%
Nov 9vsEast CarolinaW 59–⁠5186%
Nov 23atNavyL 28–⁠3551%
Nov 30vsTulaneW 37–⁠2066%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffatFlorida AtlanticBoca Raton BowlL 28–⁠5238%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida Atlantic 52–⁠28 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 24
  2. Wk 7: 21
  3. Wk 8: 19
  4. Wk 9: 16
  5. Wk 10: 15
  6. Wk 11: 23
  7. Wk 12: 20
  8. Wk 13: 21

Led the nationXavier Jones: rushing touchdowns (23 TD)

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
544–⁠434
Coach
Sonny Dykes
Elo
1594 +132 this season
SP+ rating
4.4 No. 47 of 130; offense No. 29, defense No. 65, special teams No. 117
SRS
7.5 No. 32 of 130 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 68 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rhett Lashlee
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kane
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 130
  • Defense53rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted61st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1944%1.3123rd of 130
Defense0.0942%1.2853rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.09 def		44% off
42% def		—21st off
61st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3217% allowed
Defense3.6own 2825% caused

CORE rating 1.8, 51st of 130 (offense 2.6, defense 0.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsShane Buechele QB3,930 yds
Passing touchdownsShane Buechele QB34 TD
Rushing yardsXavier Jones RB1,276 yds
Rushing touchdownsXavier Jones RB23 TD
Receiving yardsJames Proche WR1,225 yds
Receiving touchdownsJames Proche WR15 TD
TacklesRichard McBryde LB99 tkl
SacksPatrick Nelson DB12.5 sacks
InterceptionsRodney Clemons S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Danielson Ike OT★★★No. 596
Keke Burns ATH★★★No. 680
Calvin Wiggins WR★★★No. 780
Terrance Gipson DUAL★★★No. 800
Rashee Rice WR★★★No. 817

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.835
Running backs23.00.845
Receivers32.70.822
Offensive line43.00.839
Defensive line33.00.822
Linebackers13.00.800
Defensive backs42.80.810
Athletes and specialists13.00.873
Whole class202.90.828

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 6James Proche WRBaltimore Ravens

Roster 135

The 2019 roster

135 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Memphis7–⁠112–⁠217
Navy7–⁠111–⁠220
Cincinnati7–⁠111–⁠321
UCF6–⁠210–⁠324
SMU6–⁠210–⁠3
Temple5–⁠38–⁠5
Tulane3–⁠57–⁠6
Houston2–⁠64–⁠8
South Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
UConn0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.