SMU — ACC
HC
Rhett Lashlee · Gerald J. Ford Stadium · University Park, TX · 32,000 cap
PPA off / def
0.25 / 0.03
2025
Class rank
#32
class of 2026
Returning PPA
57%
returning production
| 1978 |
OSU T 35–35 | away |
| 1977 |
OSU W 35–7 | away |
| 1974 |
OSU W 28–9 | Columbus |
| 1968 |
OSU W 35–14 | Columbus |
| 1964 |
OSU W 27–8 | Columbus |
| 1960 |
OSU W 24–0 | Columbus |
| 1958 |
OSU W 23–20 | Columbus |
| 1951 |
OSU W 7–0 | Columbus |
| 1950 |
OSU L 27–32 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (9–4)
Statistical comps — 2025 SMU's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (15 in / 26 out)
Origins
Walker won the 1948 Heisman and the Cotton Bowl was expanded to hold the crowds he drew. The 1987 death penalty for paying players erased the program for two years and it took three decades to recover.
Founded 1911 · Founded by the Methodist church as Dallas grew into a city · first football 1915 · defined by Doak Walker
All-time record
All-time
554–570–54
1915–2025
Win %
49.3%
109 seasons played
Winning seasons
50
46% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 1935 | 12 | 1 | Southwest |
| 1982 | 11 | 0 | Southwest |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | ACC |
| 2023 | 11 | 3 | American Athletic |
| 1981 | 10 | 1 | Southwest |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1915 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 378 | 47% |
44% | 57 of 136 | 6.6 | 12% |
| 2nd down | 267 | 45% |
42% | 64 of 136 | 6.3 | 14% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 38 | 66% |
68% | — | 6.8 | 13% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 61 | 20% |
36% | — | 4.0 | 15% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 57 | 12% |
23% | — | 6.8 | 18% |
| 4th down | 13 | 62% |
69% | — | 5.1 | 8% |
166 drives · 36% ended in points · 6.6 plays and 41.9 yards per drive · 1.16 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 7 | Stanford |
Chris Johnson Jr. run for 87 yds for a TD (Sam Keltner KICK) |
87 | 7.29 |
| 11 | Boston College |
(10:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #7 K.Jennings pass complete deep middle to #8 Y.Knight caught at… |
61 | 6.15 |
| 11 | Boston College |
(04:50) Shotgun #7 K.Jennings pass complete short middle to #88 M.Hibner caught at BCE25, … |
37 | 6.11 |
| 2 | Baylor |
Jalen Cooper 75 Yd pass from Kevin Jennings (Collin Rogers Kick) |
75 | 6.08 |
| 2 | Baylor |
Romello Brinson 75 Yd pass from Kevin Jennings (Collin Rogers Kick) |
75 | 6.08 |
| CFP | Arizona |
(14:35) No Huddle-Shotgun #7 K.Jennings pass complete deep right to #88 M.Hibner caught at… |
80 | 5.91 |
| 8 | Clemson |
Kevin Jennings pass complete to Jordan Hudson for 70 yds for a TD (Sam Keltner KICK) |
70 | 5.69 |
| 1 | East Texas A&M |
Kevin Jennings pass complete to Romello Brinson for 63 yds for a TD (Collin Rogers KICK) |
63 | 5.05 |