2026 SMU
5–1 (3–1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Rhett Lashlee. The season’s Wikipedia article records 4–1, over five games to the six on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat UC Davis 56–10Sep 12
By 46 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 23 Louisville 31–41Sep 19
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 | at Florida State | W 27–24 | 63% |
| Sep 12 | vs UC Davis | W 56–10 | 80% |
| Sep 19 | at 23Louisville | L 31–41 | 49% |
| Sep 26 | vs Missouri State | W 34–24 | 83% |
| Oct 3 | vs Boston College | W 25–16 | 83% |
| Oct 17 | vs Virginia | W 23–13 | 70% |
| Oct 24 | vs California | Preview | 84% |
| Oct 31 | at Syracuse | Preview | 75% |
| Nov 6 | vs Virginia Tech | Preview | 76% |
| Nov 14 | vs Wake Forest | Preview | 61% |
| Nov 21 | at Notre Dame | Preview | 30% |
| Nov 28 | at Stanford | Preview | 72% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 19
- Wk 2: 17
- Wk 3: 16
- Wk 4: 22
- Wk 5: 21
- Wk 6: 24
- Wk 7: 24
- Record
- 5–1
- Conference
- 3–1 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
- AP now
- No. 24 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 16
- Points
- 196–128
- Coach
- Rhett Lashlee
- Elo
- 1661 +29 this season
- SP+ rating
- 12.8 No. 26 of 138; offense No. 25, defense No. 31, special teams No. 123
- SRS
- 0.6 No. 67 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 57% of last season’s EPA, No. 49 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 32 roster talent No. 31 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Rob Likens and Garin Justice
- Defensive coordinators
- Maurice Crum Jr. and Rickey Hunley Jr.
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.15 | 47% | 1.23 | 48th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 40% | 1.32 | 81st of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.11 off 0.12 def | 45% off 40% def | — | 61st off 83rd def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 54% | 8.1 yds | 11% | 2.70 | 19% |
| Defense | 34% | 8.1 yds | 14% | 2.90 | 18% |
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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.7 | own 33 | 13% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 26 | 20% caused |
CORE rating 1.9, 56th of 138 (offense 1.4, defense -0.5).
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 | Kevin Jennings QB | 1,859 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Kevin Jennings QB | 16 TD |
| Rushing yards | Kendrick Raphael RB | 542 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Kendrick Raphael RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Yamir Knight WR | 418 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Randy Pittman TE | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Alex Kilgore LB | 35 tkl |
| Sacks | Marques White DE | 4.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Brandon Booker LB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Christian Rhodes RB | ★★★★ | No. 173 |
| Drew Evers OL | ★★★★ | No. 222 |
| Evan Goodwin OT | ★★★★ | No. 324 |
| Sam Utu OL | ★★★★ | No. 398 |
| Aljour Miles II WR | ★★★★ | No. 469 |
| E.J. Kelly RB | ★★★★ | No. 486 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.833 |
| Running backs | 2 | 4.0 | 0.911 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.2 | 0.876 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.6 | 0.895 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.876 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.880 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.876 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.884 |
| Whole class | 21 | 3.3 | 0.883 |
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 107
The 2026 roster107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 15
The 2026 portal| Kendrick Raphael RB | ★★★★ | from  California |
 Yannick Smith WR | ★★★★ | from  East Carolina |
 Theo Melin Ohrstrom TE | ★★★★ | from  Texas A&M |
| Randy Pittman TE | ★★★ | from  Florida State |
 Caden Marshall LB | ★★★ | from  Bowling Green |
 Ira Singleton DE | ★★★ | from  South Florida |
 Jalen Hale WR | ★★★ | from  Alabama |
| Jayvon Thomas CB | ★★★ | from Texas A&M |
 Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder DL | ★★★ | from  Kansas State |
 Marques White DE | ★★★ | from  Massachusetts |
 Trey Jackson TE | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
 Christian Davis DL | ★★★ | from  Louisiana Tech |
And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 26
 Chris Johnson Jr. RB | ★★★ | to  Clemson |
| Billy Walton III DE | ★★★ | to  Oklahoma State |
| Elijah Pratt S | ★★★ | to  UAB |
| Kyron Chambers CB | ★★★ | to  UNLV |
| Paris Patterson OL | ★★★ | to  Texas |
| D.J. Warner DE | ★★★ | to  Washington State |
| Damarjhe Lewis DL | ★★★ | to Washington State |
| Justin Medlock LB | ★★★ | to  Boston College |
| King Large OT | ★★★ | to  Missouri State |
| Mark Iheanachor LB | ★★★ | to UNLV |
| Omari Abor DE | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Zakye Barker LB | ★★★ | to  North Texas |
And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Atlantic Coast Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Miami | 4–0 | 6–0 | |
| Wake Forest | 4–1 | 6–1 | |
| SMU | 3–1 | 5–1 | |
 North Carolina | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Clemson | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| Louisville | 3–2 | 4–3 | |
| Virginia Tech | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Pittsburgh | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
| Virginia | 2–2 | 4–3 | |
| California | 2–2 | 3–4 | |
 Duke | 1–2 | 4–2 | |
 NC State | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
| Boston College | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
 Georgia Tech | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
| Florida State | 1–3 | 3–4 | |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 3–4 | |
| Syracuse | 0–4 | 2–4 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.