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2025 SMU

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Rhett Lashlee.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2025, game by game: won vs. East Texas A&M 42–13; lost vs. Baylor 45–48; won at Missouri State 28–10; lost at TCU 24–35; won vs. Syracuse 31–18; won vs. Stanford 34–10; won at Clemson 35–24; lost at Wake Forest 12–13; won vs. No. 10 Miami 26–20; won at Boston College 45–13; won vs. Louisville 38–6; lost at California 35–38; won vs. No. 21 Arizona 24–19+32−11Won 42–13 vs. East Texas A&M+29East Texas A&MLost 45–48 vs. Baylor-3BaylorWon 28–10 at Missouri State+18Missouri StateLost 24–35 at TCU-11TCUWon 31–18 vs. Syracuse+13SyracuseWon 34–10 vs. Stanford+24StanfordWon 35–24 at Clemson+11ClemsonLost 12–13 at Wake Forest-1Wake ForestWon 26–20 vs. No. 10 Miami+6No. 10 MiamiWon 45–13 at Boston College+32Boston CollegeWon 38–6 vs. Louisville+32LouisvilleLost 35–38 at California-3CaliforniaWon 24–19 vs. No. 21 Arizona+5No. 21 Arizona
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsEast Texas A&MW 42–⁠1395%
Sep 6vsBaylorL 45–⁠4872%
Sep 13atMissouri StateW 28–⁠1074%
Sep 20atTCUL 24–⁠3542%
Oct 4vsSyracuseW 31–⁠1864%
Oct 11vsStanfordW 34–⁠1083%
Oct 18atClemsonW 35–⁠2444%
Oct 25atWake ForestL 12–⁠1366%
Nov 1vs10MiamiW 26–⁠2056%
Nov 8atBoston CollegeW 45–⁠1379%
Nov 22vsLouisvilleW 38–⁠663%
Nov 29atCaliforniaL 35–⁠3875%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs21ArizonaHoliday BowlW 24–⁠1956%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona 24–⁠19 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 14: 25
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
419–⁠267
Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Elo
1699 +69 this season
SP+ rating
13.4 No. 23 of 136; offense No. 22, defense No. 25, special teams No. 101
SRS
11.0 No. 25 of 136 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 43 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 31 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

  • Offense22nd of 136
  • Defense17th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted18th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2043%1.3722nd of 136
Defense-0.0340%1.2417th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.02 def		45% off
40% def		—15th off
18th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense46%7.3 yds15%3.0017%
Defense45%7.2 yds10%2.9018%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 2817% allowed
Defense2.8own 3019% caused

CORE rating 17.3, 15th of 136 (offense 10.7, defense -6.6).

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 yardsKevin Jennings QB3,641 yds
Passing touchdownsKevin Jennings QB26 TD
Rushing yardsT.J. Harden RB787 yds
Rushing touchdownsT.J. Harden RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Hudson WR766 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Hudson WR6 TD
TacklesAhmaad Moses S104 tkl
SacksIsaiah Smith DE9 sacks
InterceptionsAhmaad Moses S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Dramodd Odoms OT★★★★No. 80
Jalen Cooper WR★★★★No. 154
Ty Hawkins QB★★★★No. 278
Daylon Singleton WR★★★★No. 347
Dramekco Green RB★★★★No. 454

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.909
Running backs14.00.892
Receivers43.50.891
Offensive line43.30.887
Defensive line23.00.861
Linebackers13.00.873
Defensive backs53.00.872
Athletes and specialists13.00.866
Whole class193.30.881

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 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 4Matthew Hibner TEBaltimore Ravens

Roster 118

The 2025 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2025 portal
Joshua Bates OL★★★from Oklahoma
Marcellus Barnes Jr. CB★★★from Syracuse
Addison Nichols OL★★★from Arkansas
Chris Johnson Jr. RB★★★from Miami
Jeffrey M’Ba DL★★★from Purdue
D.J. Warner DE★★★from Kansas
Jahkai Lang DE★★★from Missouri
William Spencer DL★★★from Louisville
Aakil Washington DE★★★from South Alabama
Keveionta Spears DL★★★from Memphis
Robert Rahimi S★★★from San José State
T.J. Harden RB★★★from UCLA

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 17

Eric Taylor DL★★★to Coastal Carolina
Preston Stone QB★★★to Northwestern
Jaylan Knighton RB★★★to West Virginia
L.J. Johnson Jr. RB★★★to California
Mike Yoan Sandjo-Njiki DL★★★to Washington State
A.J. Davis CB★★★to Washington State
Ashton Cozart WR★★★to Kentucky
Jahari Rogers CB★★★to Colorado State
David Abiara DE★★★to Texas State
Keldric Luster QB★★★to Texas State
Tyler Aronson QB★★★to Trinity
Zach Smith LB★★★to Western Kentucky

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia7–⁠211–⁠316
Miami6–⁠213–⁠32
SMU6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Duke6–⁠29–⁠5
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
NC State5–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠49–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠47–⁠6
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida State2–⁠65–⁠7
North Carolina2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

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