2020 SMU
7–3 (4–3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Sonny Dykes. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 25 Memphis 30–27Oct 3
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at home.
- Most excitingBeat Tulane 37–34Oct 16
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Texas State | W 31–24 | 69% |
| Sep 19 | at North Texas | W 65–35 | 61% |
| Sep 26 | vs Stephen F. Austin | W 50–7 | 94% |
| Oct 3 | vs 25Memphis | W 30–27 | 51% |
| Oct 16 | at Tulane | W 37–34 | 55% |
| Oct 24 | vs 9Cincinnati | L 13–42 | 54% |
| Oct 31 | vs Navy | W 51–37 | 69% |
| Nov 7 | at Temple | W 47–23 | 61% |
| Nov 14 | at Tulsa | L 24–28 | 59% |
| Nov 28 | at East Carolina | L 38–52 | 71% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to East Carolina 52–38; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The tied 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 6: 18
- Wk 7: 17
- Wk 8: 16
- Wk 9: 22
- Wk 10: 18
- Wk 11: 19
- Record
- 7–3
- Conference
- 4–3 5th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 16
- Points
- 386–309
- Coach
- Sonny Dykes
- Elo
- 1572 +9 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.2 No. 31 of 130; offense No. 17, defense No. 60
- Returning
- 67% of last season’s EPA, No. 57 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 81 roster talent No. 55 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Garrett Riley and A.J. Ricker
- Defensive coordinator
- Kevin Kane
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.19 | 45% | 1.34 | 29th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.19 | 43% | 1.38 | 91st of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.17 off 0.18 def | 44% off 44% def | — | 28th off 112th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.8 | own 31 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 4.7 | own 29 | 18% caused |
CORE rating -0.3, 67th of 127 (offense 3.5, defense 3.8).
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 yards | Shane Buechele QB | 3,095 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Shane Buechele QB | 23 TD |
| Rushing yards | Ulysses Bentley IV RB | 898 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Ulysses Bentley IV RB | 11 TD |
| Receiving yards | Rashee Rice WR | 683 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Kylen Granson TE | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Delano Robinson LB | 77 tkl |
| Sacks | Nelson Paul DE | 3.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Brandon Crossley S | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Thad Johnson WR | ★★★ | No. 502 |
| Tyler Bailey OC | ★★★ | No. 703 |
| Erin Smith OT | ★★★ | No. 1043 |
| Karl Taylor S | ★★★ | No. 1278 |
| Ben Sparks OG | ★★★ | No. 1414 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.881 |
| Offensive line | 7 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.810 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 2.5 | 0.801 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.841 |
| Whole class | 15 | 2.9 | 0.831 |
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 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 3 | Brandon Stephens CB | Baltimore Ravens |
| Rd 4 | Kylen Granson TE | Indianapolis Colts |
Roster 146
The 2020 roster146 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster
2020 American Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 6–0 | 9–1 | 8 |
| Tulsa | 6–0 | 6–3 | |
| Memphis | 5–3 | 8–3 | |
 UCF | 5–3 | 6–4 | |
 SMU | 4–3 | 7–3 | |
 Houston | 3–3 | 3–5 | |
| Navy | 3–4 | 3–7 | |
| Tulane | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
| East Carolina | 3–5 | 3–6 | |
| Temple | 1–6 | 1–6 | |
 South Florida | 0–7 | 1–8 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.