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2024 SMU

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Rhett Lashlee, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2024, game by game: won at Nevada 29–24; won vs. Houston Christian 59–7; lost vs. BYU 15–18; won vs. TCU 66–42; won vs. Florida State 42–16; won at No. 22 Louisville 34–27; won at Stanford 40–10; won at Duke 28–27; won vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh 48–25; won vs. Boston College 38–28; won at Virginia 33–7; won vs. California 38–6; lost vs. No. 18 Clemson 31–34; lost at No. 5 Penn State 10–38+52−28Won 29–24 at Nevada+5NevadaWon 59–7 vs. Houston Christian+52Houston Christi…Lost 15–18 vs. BYU-3BYUWon 66–42 vs. TCU+24TCUWon 42–16 vs. Florida State+26Florida StateWon 34–27 at No. 22 Louisville+7No. 22 LouisvilleWon 40–10 at Stanford+30StanfordWon 28–27 at Duke+1DukeWon 48–25 vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh+23No. 18 PittsburghWon 38–28 vs. Boston College+10Boston CollegeWon 33–7 at Virginia+26VirginiaWon 38–6 vs. California+32CaliforniaLost 31–34 vs. No. 18 Clemson-3No. 18 ClemsonLost 10–38 at No. 5 Penn State-28No. 5 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 24atNevadaW 29–⁠2476%
Aug 31vsHouston ChristianW 59–⁠791%
Sep 6vsBYUL 15–⁠1872%
Sep 21vsTCUW 66–⁠4262%
Sep 28vsFlorida StateW 42–⁠1661%
Oct 5at22LouisvilleW 34–⁠2746%
Oct 19atStanfordW 40–⁠1079%
Oct 26atDukeW 28–⁠2751%
Nov 2vs18PittsburghW 48–⁠2569%
Nov 16vsBoston CollegeW 38–⁠2881%
Nov 23atVirginiaW 33–⁠775%
Nov 30vsCaliforniaW 38–⁠678%
Dec 7vs18ClemsonACC ChampionshipL 31–⁠3457%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffat5Penn StateCFP First RoundL 10–⁠3839%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 38–⁠10 in the CFP First Round; No. 12 in the final AP poll; first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 21
  3. Wk 9: 22
  4. Wk 10: 20
  5. Wk 11: 13
  6. Wk 12: 14
  7. Wk 13: 13
  8. Wk 14: 9
  9. Wk 15: 8
  10. Wk 16: 12
  11. Final: 12
Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 8
Points
511–⁠309
Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Elo
1694 +96 this season
SP+ rating
17.5 No. 12 of 134; offense No. 5, defense No. 30, special teams No. 57
SRS
15.7 No. 11 of 134 in FBS
Returning
92% of last season’s EPA, No. 1 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 107 roster talent No. 25 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Casey Woods, Rob Likens and Garin Justice
Defensive coordinators
Scott Symons, Maurice Crum Jr. and Rickey Hunley Jr.
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 134
  • Defense7th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted10th of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1542%1.3843rd of 134
Defense-0.0538%1.277th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
-0.02 def		44% off
37% def		—42nd off
10th 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
Offense4.4own 3116% allowed
Defense3.1own 3019% caused

CORE rating 19.2, 9th of 134 (offense 4.0, defense -15.2).

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 yardsKevin Jennings QB3,189 yds
Passing touchdownsKevin Jennings QB23 TD
Rushing yardsBrashard Smith RB1,330 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrashard Smith RB14 TD
Receiving yardsRoderick Daniels WR601 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Hudson WR5 TD
TacklesKobe Wilson LB102 tkl
SacksJahfari Harvey DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsAhmaad Moses S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Derrick McFall ATH★★★★No. 456
Ka’Davion Dotson-Walker S★★★No. 603
Brandon Booker LB★★★No. 899
William Nettles CB★★★No. 947
King Large OT★★★No. 947

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.866
Receivers13.00.830
Offensive line23.00.860
Linebackers23.00.861
Defensive backs43.00.863
Athletes and specialists14.00.892
Whole class113.10.862

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 5Elijah Roberts DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Brashard Smith RBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 124

The 2024 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 68 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2024 portal
Savion Byrd OT★★★★from Oklahoma
Anthony Booker Jr. DL★★★from Arkansas
Ashton Cozart WR★★★from Oregon
Jonathan Jefferson DL★★★from Georgia
Andrew Chamblee OT★★★from Arkansas
Billy Walton III DE★★★from Texas
Brashard Smith WR★★★from Miami
Jahfari Harvey DE★★★from Miami
Mike Lockhart DL★★★from West Virginia
Omari Abor DE★★★from Ohio State
Jared Harrison-Hunte DL★★★from Miami
Paris Patterson OL★★★from Arkansas

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 16

Branson Hickman OL★★★to Oklahoma
Marcus Bryant OT★★★to Missouri
Bryan Massey CB★★★to Houston
Jacob Waller OT★★★to Tulsa
Lonnie Johnson TE★★★no new school on file
Dylan Frazier DL★★★to Sam Houston
Daemian Wimberly DL★★★to UTSA
Stephon Wright DL★★★★to Texas Southern
Teddy Knox WR★★★★no new school on file
Kamryn Farrar LB★★★no new school on file
Kevaris Hall CB★★★no new school on file
Keyshon Mills CB★★★no new school on file

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2024 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU8–⁠011–⁠312
Clemson7–⁠110–⁠414
Miami6–⁠210–⁠318
Syracuse5–⁠310–⁠320
Louisville5–⁠39–⁠4
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Pittsburgh3–⁠57–⁠6
NC State3–⁠56–⁠7
North Carolina3–⁠56–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
California2–⁠66–⁠7
Wake Forest2–⁠64–⁠8
Stanford2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida State1–⁠72–⁠10

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