Put some respect on that SMU football name.
SMU joining the ACC was considered a total afterthought when it bought its way into the Power Four high-society two years ago.
Okay, very nice, the small private school in Dallas will add a sliver of a divided media market, it’ll give it the old college try, and …
SMU has won 20 games, got to the College Football playoff, and came within a 38-35 loss to Cal away from playing in a second straight ACC Championship with a shot at another CFP appearance.
SMU is an ACC Powerhouse, but Can It Do More?
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
(© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)
Since moving over from the American, how many ACC programs have won more games than SMU?
Clemson? Nope. 17 wins.
Louisville? Nah – 18, the same as Duke.
Florida State? PLEASE – seven wins.
To get there faster, only one team has more than SMU’s 20 victories. Miami with 23 wins.
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Even crazier, five of the seven losses over the last two seasons were each by three points or fewer.
And totally lost in the fog of last season was a win over Miami and a blowout over Louisville.
(To go off the rails, had SMU not lost 38-35 at Cal in the regular season finale, it would’ve played Virginia in the ACC Championship, and the winner would’ve been in the College Football Playoff and James Madison would’ve been out.)
Now in Year Three of life in the ACC, head coach Rhett Lashlee has his best team yet.
SMU Quick Hits
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Head Coach: Rhett Lashlee (5th year overall: 38-16)
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Best Case / Worst Case: Win the ACC Championship and go to the CFP/Struggle to get a winning season
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Key Player: Kevin Jennings, QB Sr.
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Biggest Question: Do the Mustangs have what it takes to pull off an ACC Championship?
SMU Key 2025 Stats
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SMU points allowed: 1st Quarter 33, 4th Quarter 100
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Red Zone Score: SMU 40-of-44 (91%), Opponents 33-of-47 (70%)
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Time of Possession: Opponents 33:07, SMU 26:53
Offense
The SMU attack wasn’t nearly as dangerous or productive as the 2024 version, but it averaged 32 points and 417 yards per game.
It’s a strong attack with a great mix of veterans in key spots, and transfers to fill the holes. There isn’t anything to really fix; it’s just about getting better.
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What’s Working
Kevin Jennings is still there. It only seems like he started his career handing it off to Eric Dickerson and Craig James.
The fifth-year Mustang has been fantastic, with 50 touchdown passes and nine touchdown runs over the last two seasons, and now he needs to take the offense to a whole other level.
He’s got too much talent and experience not to crank up even bigger passing numbers, even after pitching a career-high 3,641 yards last season
The offensive line will be a plus. The veteran combination of star tackle PJ Williams, 320-pound guard Addison Nichols, and center Joshua Bates is a great way to start.
318-pound Dramodd Odoms is a great-looking young tackle, and Andrew Chamblee will be fine taking over one of the guard gigs.
Kendrick Raphael is a great running back to work around. The Mustangs liked him so much, they grabbed him out of the portal.
The former Cal Bear ran 33 times for 111 yards and a touchdown in last year’s win over SMU, and now the star back combines with Derrick McFall to take the pressure off Jennings.
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What Needs Work
The receiving corps could use more options. Getting Yannick Smith (East Carolina) from the transfer portal is big, and getting back 54-catch senior Yamir Knight and promising sophomore Jalen Cooper will help.
No other returning wide receiver caught more than three passes last season.
Kevin Jennings needs to cut down the interceptions. SMU managed to get by Arizona in the Holiday Bowl despite three picks from Jennings, but he gave away two in the loss to TCU.
The 24 interceptions over the last two years are too many, especially going into his third year as the starter.
The offensive line depth is thin. The starting five is solid, but losing stars Logan Parr and Savion Byrd on the left side hurts.
The Mustangs have to hope future stars from the great recruiting class are good enough to step in immediately if injuries hit.
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Player to Watch
Theo Melin Ohrstrom, TE Sr.
Tight ends Matthew Hibner and RJ Maryland combined for 58 catches last season, and now they’re done.
Ohrstrom comes in from Texas A&M as one of the top tight end transfers in the portal, catching 29 passes over the last two years.
Joining him is Randy Pittman, a 74-catch veteran with two years at UCF and last season at Florida State.
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
(© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)
Defense
Here come the transfers.
There were a few good gets for the offensive side, but the defense was able to upgrade the talent level to go along with a few outstanding veterans.
The coordinator combination of Maurice Crum Jr. and Rickey Hunley Jr. will have a lot to work with after the Mustang defense allowed 395 yards and 20.5 points per game.
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What’s Working
The SMU defensive front quickly rebuilt. Not only did the staff nail it with the signings to start, but they found options to work into the rotation, too.
Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder (Kansas State) is an instant starter on the inside, and on the way is star JUCO transfer David Chukwuemeka, with freakish size and upside.
Marques White (UMass) and Ira Singleton (USF) are veteran pass rushers about to be turned loose.
The 1-2 linebacking punch is as good as any in the ACC. Brandon Booker and Alexander Kilgore combined for 129 tackles. They’re back, but they’re not alone.
45-tackle big-hitter Brandon Miyazono returns in the middle, and Jamal Anderson is a dangerous prospect from Clemson who’ll work his way behind the line.
The transfer portal was a big help for the secondary, too. Jarvis Lee (USF) comes in after a massive season with the talent to play anywhere in the secondary.
Jayvon Thomas (Texas A&M) has amazing skills at one corner, and now he’ll get more of a chance to show them off.
Jimmy Wyrick (UTSA) made 62 tackles with eight broken up passes last year as an undersized-baller of a safety.
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What Needs Work
It’s never a sure thing when you’re starting over up in an entire area. SMU was able to load up on great prospects and players for the defensive front, but the lost parts are huge.
Isaiah Smith made 8.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss last year. Jeffrey M’ba was a powerhouse of an interior presence, and Cam Robertson made a ton of big things happen on the outside.
The pass defense can’t get torched. Baylor had one of the nation’s best passing games last season, and it beat the Mustangs with 440 yards through the air.
TCU had the second-best passing day against the SMU defense, and it won. Cal and its great quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele cranked out 330 yards in the win.
SMU gave up 13 of the 26 touchdown passes allowed in those three losses. To take this further …
The pass defense has to be better. Louisville only threw for 100 yards in SMU’s dominant 38-6 win.
All 12 other teams on the schedule hit 200 passing yards against a pass defense that allowed 283 per game – only Stanford was worse.
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Player to Watch
Jarvis Lee, CB Sr.
He might not be as heralded as some of the other transfers coming in, but he’s going to be all over the field doing something big.
After being part of the USF rotation for his first two seasons, he made 55 tackles with two picks, four sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles in a huge 2025.
Keys to the Season
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The defensive front full of transfers has to be terrific.
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Kevin Jennings has to take his game up another notch and carry the offense at times.
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Do all of the little things right and win all the close games.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Kevin Jennings, QB Sr.
He’s not a big passer, and he’s not the most dangerous of runners, but the guy knows how to play.
He’s fearless at pushing the ball around, and he’s tough as nails in clutch moments, but the difference between SMU being ACC Championship-good and a solid also-ran is on 7.
He’ll be the best quarterback on the field in every game but the dates with Cal and Notre Dame, and he’ll have to play like it.
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Biggest Concern
Stop screwing up.
As fantastic as SMU has been over the two years in the ACC, it has to be air-tight to take that one next step.
That means cutting down on the turnovers, giving it away 19 times last year with three in the 13-12 loss to Wake Forest, and two in the loss to TCU.
Penalties are even bigger, getting flagged 91 times last season, including nine for 94 yards in the tight loss to Cal.
The Mustangs were dead last in the ACC with 70.8 penalty yards per game after finishing dead last in 2024, getting hit for 77.7 yards per game.
Biggest Game
at Florida State, September 7
You want to be a player, SMU? Win the opener against what will be a hyped up Florida State squad.
Lose, and with the next ACC game at Louisville, an 0-2 conference start is likely.
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Transfer Portal
After not doing a whole lot in the portal last year – at least compared to the 2024 haul – SMU crushed the offseason.
It was a creative class of new talents that should all blend together fast.
There’s a tremendous mix of high-end transfer prospects with bulk, doing big things for the skill spots, and loading up on the defensive front with more help for the pass rush.
Best Signing
Yannick Smith, WR (East Carolina)
The Mustangs are already okay at receiver, but they needed a star who can take the top off the defense.
Smith caught 69 passes for just over 1,000 yards and eight scores in his two years at East Carolina, averaging almost 15 yards per grab.
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Biggest Loss
Chris Johnson Jr., RB (Clemson)
The Mustangs didn’t have any massive losses.
Johnson averaged over seven yards per carry and finished second on the team with 479 yards and four scores, and now he’s playing for his third ACC team – he spent his first two years at Miami.
Other Names to Know
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Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder, DT (Kansas State)
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Theo Melin Ohrstrom, TE (Texas A&M)
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Marques White, EDGE (UMass)
CFN Season Prediction
How much better is the ACC this season?
Is Virginia as good as it was last year? Is Cal really better? Is Syracuse back up to speed, and is Virginia Tech about to crush under James Franklin? All of them are on SMU’s schedule.
Here’s the plus – the Mustangs have an insane midseason stretch from September 26th to Halloween without a road game.
Even better, that one date is at Syracuse, and then there are two more home games after that.
CFN Prediction: 8-4
You want more positives? No Miami, and no Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, and Pitt. Throw in a fat man in a red suit, and that’s Christmas for SMU.
So what’s the issue?
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At Notre Dame – SMU gets the Irish in the friends-with-benefits part of the ACC schedule.
The conference slate starts at Florida State and at Louisville, and watch out for that trip to the Bay Area at Stanford – the finale at Cal tripped up the Mustangs last year.
There are at least two losses with this slate, more like three, and possibly four.
As long as SMU is on the field in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte at noon on Saturday, December 5th for the ACC Championship, it will have its shot to cement itself as a conference superpower.
Related: SMU Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown, Season Outlook
