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2023 SMU

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 American Athletic Conference), coached by Rhett Lashlee, finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2023, game by game: won vs. Louisiana Tech 38–14; lost at No. 18 Oklahoma 11–28; won vs. Prairie View A&M 69–0; lost at TCU 17–34; won vs. Charlotte 34–16; won at East Carolina 31–10; won at Temple 55–0; won vs. Tulsa 69–10; won at Rice 36–31; won vs. North Texas 45–21; won at Memphis 38–34; won vs. Navy 59–14; won at No. 17 Tulane 26–14; lost vs. Boston College 14–23+69−17Won 38–14 vs. Louisiana Tech+24Louisiana TechLost 11–28 at No. 18 Oklahoma-17No. 18 OklahomaWon 69–0 vs. Prairie View A&M+69Prairie View A&MLost 17–34 at TCU-17TCUWon 34–16 vs. Charlotte+18CharlotteWon 31–10 at East Carolina+21East CarolinaWon 55–0 at Temple+55TempleWon 69–10 vs. Tulsa+59TulsaWon 36–31 at Rice+5RiceWon 45–21 vs. North Texas+24North TexasWon 38–34 at Memphis+4MemphisWon 59–14 vs. Navy+45NavyWon 26–14 at No. 17 Tulane+12No. 17 TulaneLost 14–23 vs. Boston College-9Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsLouisiana TechW 38–⁠1475%
Sep 9at18OklahomaL 11–⁠2840%
Sep 16vsPrairie View A&MW 69–⁠087%
Sep 23atTCUL 17–⁠3429%
Sep 30vsCharlotteW 34–⁠1680%
Oct 12atEast CarolinaW 31–⁠1052%
Oct 20atTempleW 55–⁠077%
Oct 28vsTulsaW 69–⁠1079%
Nov 4atRiceW 36–⁠3166%
Nov 10vsNorth TexasW 45–⁠2181%
Nov 18atMemphisW 38–⁠3446%
Nov 25vsNavyW 59–⁠1481%
Dec 2at17TulaneAmerican Athletic ChampionshipW 26–⁠1436%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsBoston CollegeFenway BowlL 14–⁠2384%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Boston College 23–⁠14 in the Fenway Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; American Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 25
  2. Wk 15: 17
  3. Final: 22

American Athletic Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 17
Points
542–⁠249
Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Elo
1647 +102 this season
SP+ rating
10.1 No. 24 of 133; offense No. 22, defense No. 39, special teams No. 96
SRS
7.1 No. 33 of 133 in FBS
Returning
42% of last season’s EPA, No. 87 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 72 roster talent No. 34 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Casey Woods, Jonathan Brewer and Rob Likens
Defensive coordinator
Scott Symons
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense21st of 133
  • Defense7th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted37th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2144%1.3621st of 133
Defense-0.0536%1.277th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.01 def		43% off
38% def		—37th off
20th 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
Offense4.5own 3113% allowed
Defense3.6own 2821% caused

CORE rating 12.6, 23rd of 133 (offense 4.0, defense -8.6).

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 yardsPreston Stone QB3,197 yds
Passing touchdownsPreston Stone QB28 TD
Rushing yardsJaylan Knighton RB745 yds
Rushing touchdownsJaylan Knighton RB7 TD
Receiving yardsJake Bailey WR528 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Hudson WR7 TD
TacklesKobe Wilson LB73 tkl
SacksElijah Roberts DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsIsaiah Nwokobia S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Alex Kilgore LB★★★No. 634
Daemian Wimberly DL★★★No. 833
Jaxson Lavender WR★★★No. 863
Adam Moore TE★★★No. 1023
Jamarion Carroll WR★★★No. 1055

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.845
Receivers72.90.846
Offensive line33.00.843
Defensive line33.00.857
Linebackers23.00.860
Defensive backs13.00.846
Whole class172.90.849

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.

Roster 123

The 2023 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 74 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 26

The 2023 portal
Jordan Hudson WR★★★★from TCU
L.J. Johnson Jr. RB★★★★from Texas A&M
Charles Woods CB★★★from West Virginia
Hyrin White OT★★★from Missouri
Jakai Clark OL★★★from Miami
Jaylan Knighton RB★★★from Miami
P.J. Williams OT★★★from Texas A&M
Ahmad Walker LB★★★from Liberty
Jordan Miller DL★★★from Miami
Keyshawn Smith WR★★★from Miami
Cale Sanders CB★★★from Fresno State
Caleb Johnson OT★★★from Notre Dame

And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 23

Tanner Mordecai QB★★★★to Wisconsin
Dylan Goffney WR★★★to Colorado State
Beau Corrales WR★★★to Texas State
Bobby Duncum DL★★★no new school on file
Brendan Hall K★★★to Montana State
Calvin Wiggins WR★★★to Houston Christian
Chace Cromartie S★★★no new school on file
Danielson Ike OL★★★to Missouri State
Darren Brown DL★★★to Incarnate Word
Deuce Palmer LB★★★to USC
Donald Clay S★★★no new school on file
Jayden Lawton CB★★★to Laney College

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU8–⁠011–⁠322
Tulane8–⁠011–⁠3
UTSA7–⁠19–⁠4
Memphis6–⁠210–⁠3
South Florida4–⁠47–⁠6
Rice4–⁠46–⁠7
Navy4–⁠45–⁠7
North Texas3–⁠55–⁠7
UAB3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida Atlantic3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
Charlotte2–⁠63–⁠9
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
East Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

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