2014–2026 performance history

SMU over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

ACCHead coach: Rhett LashleeView SMU games →
Offense · 2026 estimate64.1/100

68.3 average through 2 games

63.1 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate67.0/100

77.8 average through 2 games

64.0 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

SMU individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.JonesJune Jones, 2014Morris · ’15–’17Chad Morris, 2015–2017Dykes · ’18–’21Sonny Dykes, 2018–2021Lashlee · ’22–’26Rhett Lashlee, 2022–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: SMU at Baylor · L 0–45; offense 1.8 percentile2014 Week 2: SMU at North Texas · L 6–43; offense 13.9 percentile2014 Week 4: SMU vs. Texas A&M · L 6–58; offense 1.1 percentile2014 Week 5: SMU vs. TCU · L 0–56; offense 15.0 percentile2014 Week 6: SMU at East Carolina · L 24–45; offense 34.2 percentile2014 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 3–41; offense 14.8 percentile2014 Week 9: SMU vs. Memphis · L 10–48; offense 31.6 percentile2014 Week 11: SMU at Tulsa · L 28–38; offense 60.9 percentile2014 Week 12: SMU vs. South Florida · L 13–14; offense 8.6 percentile2014 Week 13: SMU at UCF · L 7–53; offense 17.5 percentile2014 Week 14: SMU vs. Houston · L 9–35; offense 3.7 percentile2014 Week 15: SMU at UConn · W 27–20; offense 64.9 percentile2015 Week 1: SMU vs. Baylor · L 21–56; offense 47.3 percentile2015 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 31–13; offense 18.6 percentile2015 Week 3: SMU at TCU · L 37–56; offense 70.2 percentile2015 Week 4: SMU vs. James Madison · L 45–48; offense 10.6 percentile2015 Week 5: SMU vs. East Carolina · L 23–49; offense 26.7 percentile2015 Week 6: SMU at Houston · L 28–49; offense 74.2 percentile2015 Week 8: SMU at South Florida · L 14–38; offense 30.8 percentile2015 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · L 31–40; offense 27.0 percentile2015 Week 10: SMU vs. Temple · L 40–60; offense 83.3 percentile2015 Week 11: SMU at Navy · L 14–55; offense 46.8 percentile2015 Week 12: SMU vs. Tulane · W 49–21; offense 87.7 percentile2015 Week 13: SMU at Memphis · L 0–63; offense 0.6 percentile2016 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · W 34–21; offense 85.9 percentile2016 Week 2: SMU at Baylor · L 13–40; offense 31.1 percentile2016 Week 3: SMU vs. Liberty · W 29–14; offense 14.4 percentile2016 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · L 3–33; offense 7.2 percentile2016 Week 5: SMU at Temple · L 20–45; offense 42.2 percentile2016 Week 6: SMU at Tulsa · L 40–43; offense 18.4 percentile2016 Week 8: SMU vs. Houston · W 38–16; offense 59.5 percentile2016 Week 9: SMU at Tulane · W 35–31; offense 69.6 percentile2016 Week 10: SMU vs. Memphis · L 7–51; offense 13.8 percentile2016 Week 11: SMU at East Carolina · W 55–31; offense 79.8 percentile2016 Week 12: SMU vs. South Florida · L 27–35; offense 37.4 percentile2016 Week 13: SMU vs. Navy · L 31–75; offense 24.4 percentile2017 Week 1: SMU vs. Stephen F. Austin · W 58–14; offense 52.2 percentile2017 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 54–32; offense 56.2 percentile2017 Week 3: SMU at TCU · L 36–56; offense 88.3 percentile2017 Week 4: SMU vs. Arkansas State · W 44–21; offense 92.7 percentile2017 Week 5: SMU vs. UConn · W 49–28; offense 63.6 percentile2017 Week 6: SMU at Houston · L 22–35; offense 85.1 percentile2017 Week 8: SMU at Cincinnati · W 31–28; offense 74.9 percentile2017 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 38–34; offense 46.4 percentile2017 Week 10: SMU vs. UCF · L 24–31; offense 45.9 percentile2017 Week 11: SMU at Navy · L 40–43; offense 80.4 percentile2017 Week 12: SMU at Memphis · L 45–66; offense 81.7 percentile2017 Week 13: SMU vs. Tulane · W 41–38; offense 77.8 percentile2017 Week 1: SMU vs. Louisiana Tech · L 10–51; offense 18.9 percentile2018 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · L 23–46; offense 31.5 percentile2018 Week 2: SMU vs. TCU · L 12–42; offense 15.2 percentile2018 Week 3: SMU at Michigan · L 20–45; offense 73.9 percentile2018 Week 4: SMU vs. Navy · W 31–30; offense 3.7 percentile2018 Week 5: SMU vs. Houston Christian · W 63–27; offense 60.9 percentile2018 Week 6: SMU at UCF · L 20–48; offense 9.6 percentile2018 Week 8: SMU at Tulane · W 27–23; offense 31.5 percentile2018 Week 9: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 20–26; offense 28.4 percentile2018 Week 10: SMU vs. Houston · W 45–31; offense 53.8 percentile2018 Week 11: SMU at UConn · W 62–50; offense 66.3 percentile2018 Week 12: SMU vs. Memphis · L 18–28; offense 9.5 percentile2018 Week 13: SMU at Tulsa · L 24–27; offense 22.3 percentile2019 Week 1: SMU at Arkansas State · W 37–30; offense 52.6 percentile2019 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 49–27; offense 81.9 percentile2019 Week 3: SMU vs. Texas State · W 47–17; offense 83.9 percentile2019 Week 4: SMU at TCU · W 41–38; offense 60.1 percentile2019 Week 5: SMU at South Florida · W 48–21; offense 90.2 percentile2019 Week 6: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 43–37; offense 23.3 percentile2019 Week 8: SMU vs. Temple · W 45–21; offense 74.3 percentile2019 Week 9: SMU at Houston · W 34–31; offense 20.9 percentile2019 Week 10: SMU at Memphis · L 48–54; offense 71.6 percentile2019 Week 11: SMU vs. East Carolina · W 59–51; offense 83.0 percentile2019 Week 13: SMU at Navy · L 28–35; offense 64.1 percentile2019 Week 14: SMU vs. Tulane · W 37–20; offense 72.0 percentile2019 Week 1: SMU at Florida Atlantic · L 28–52; offense 42.2 percentile2020 Week 1: SMU at Texas State · W 31–24; offense 58.9 percentile2020 Week 3: SMU at North Texas · W 65–35; offense 84.7 percentile2020 Week 4: SMU vs. Stephen F. Austin · W 50–7; offense 81.2 percentile2020 Week 5: SMU vs. Memphis · W 30–27; offense 64.0 percentile2020 Week 7: SMU at Tulane · W 37–34; offense 88.3 percentile2020 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 13–42; offense 16.4 percentile2020 Week 9: SMU vs. Navy · W 51–37; offense 98.3 percentile2020 Week 10: SMU at Temple · W 47–23; offense 87.6 percentile2020 Week 11: SMU at Tulsa · L 24–28; offense 45.4 percentile2020 Week 13: SMU at East Carolina · L 38–52; offense 31.7 percentile2021 Week 1: SMU vs. Abilene Christian · W 56–9; offense 80.4 percentile2021 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 35–12; offense 71.0 percentile2021 Week 3: SMU at Louisiana Tech · W 39–37; offense 76.0 percentile2021 Week 4: SMU at TCU · W 42–34; offense 88.5 percentile2021 Week 5: SMU vs. South Florida · W 41–17; offense 47.7 percentile2021 Week 6: SMU at Navy · W 31–24; offense 27.7 percentile2021 Week 8: SMU vs. Tulane · W 55–26; offense 85.8 percentile2021 Week 9: SMU at Houston · L 37–44; offense 67.9 percentile2021 Week 10: SMU at Memphis · L 25–28; offense 44.4 percentile2021 Week 11: SMU vs. UCF · W 55–28; offense 84.3 percentile2021 Week 12: SMU at Cincinnati · L 14–48; offense 21.3 percentile2021 Week 13: SMU vs. Tulsa · L 31–34; offense 28.3 percentile2022 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · W 48–10; offense 92.2 percentile2022 Week 2: SMU vs. Lamar · W 45–16; offense 60.7 percentile2022 Week 3: SMU at Maryland · L 27–34; offense 58.8 percentile2022 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · L 34–42; offense 70.8 percentile2022 Week 6: SMU at UCF · L 19–41; offense 15.3 percentile2022 Week 7: SMU vs. Navy · W 40–34; offense 80.7 percentile2022 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 27–29; offense 30.6 percentile2022 Week 9: SMU at Tulsa · W 45–34; offense 85.1 percentile2022 Week 10: SMU vs. Houston · W 77–63; offense 95.9 percentile2022 Week 11: SMU at South Florida · W 41–23; offense 79.5 percentile2022 Week 12: SMU at Tulane · L 24–59; offense 24.0 percentile2022 Week 13: SMU vs. Memphis · W 34–31; offense 70.1 percentile2022 Week 1: SMU vs. BYU · L 23–24; offense 43.8 percentile2023 Week 1: SMU vs. Louisiana Tech · W 38–14; offense 29.7 percentile2023 Week 2: SMU at Oklahoma · L 11–28; offense 30.2 percentile2023 Week 3: SMU vs. Prairie View A&M · W 69–0; offense 89.7 percentile2023 Week 4: SMU at TCU · L 17–34; offense 54.3 percentile2023 Week 5: SMU vs. Charlotte · W 34–16; offense 70.2 percentile2023 Week 7: SMU at East Carolina · W 31–10; offense 14.6 percentile2023 Week 8: SMU at Temple · W 55–0; offense 66.2 percentile2023 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 69–10; offense 93.5 percentile2023 Week 10: SMU at Rice · W 36–31; offense 87.9 percentile2023 Week 11: SMU vs. North Texas · W 45–21; offense 86.9 percentile2023 Week 12: SMU at Memphis · W 38–34; offense 76.1 percentile2023 Week 13: SMU vs. Navy · W 59–14; offense 84.2 percentile2023 Week 14: SMU at Tulane · W 26–14; offense 43.9 percentile2023 Week 1: SMU vs. Boston College · L 14–23; offense 13.9 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU at Nevada · W 29–24; offense 27.4 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU vs. Houston Christian · W 59–7; offense 58.4 percentile2024 Week 2: SMU vs. BYU · L 15–18; offense 8.0 percentile2024 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · W 66–42; offense 90.9 percentile2024 Week 5: SMU vs. Florida State · W 42–16; offense 66.3 percentile2024 Week 6: SMU at Louisville · W 34–27; offense 87.2 percentile2024 Week 8: SMU at Stanford · W 40–10; offense 66.0 percentile2024 Week 9: SMU at Duke · W 28–27; offense 73.4 percentile2024 Week 10: SMU vs. Pittsburgh · W 48–25; offense 77.7 percentile2024 Week 12: SMU vs. Boston College · W 38–28; offense 71.0 percentile2024 Week 13: SMU at Virginia · W 33–7; offense 58.2 percentile2024 Week 14: SMU vs. California · W 38–6; offense 43.9 percentile2024 Week 15: SMU vs. Clemson · L 31–34; offense 56.7 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU at Penn State · L 10–38; offense 14.8 percentile2025 Week 1: SMU vs. East Texas A&M · W 42–13; offense 9.5 percentile2025 Week 3: SMU at Missouri State · W 28–10; offense 70.1 percentile2025 Week 4: SMU at TCU · L 24–35; offense 73.2 percentile2025 Week 6: SMU vs. Syracuse · W 31–18; offense 30.7 percentile2025 Week 7: SMU vs. Stanford · W 34–10; offense 62.5 percentile2025 Week 8: SMU at Clemson · W 35–24; offense 68.0 percentile2025 Week 9: SMU at Wake Forest · L 12–13; offense 14.9 percentile2025 Week 10: SMU vs. Miami · W 26–20; offense 35.4 percentile2025 Week 11: SMU at Boston College · W 45–13; offense 90.5 percentile2025 Week 13: SMU vs. Louisville · W 38–6; offense 96.7 percentile2025 Week 14: SMU at California · L 35–38; offense 95.3 percentile2025 Week 1: SMU vs. Arizona · W 24–19; offense 68.1 percentile2026 Week 1: SMU at Florida State · W 27–24; offense 81.8 percentile2026 Week 2: SMU vs. UC Davis · W 56–10; offense 51.8 percentile2014 offense season mean: 16.1 percentile2015 offense season mean: 39.4 percentile2016 offense season mean: 38.4 percentile2017 offense season mean: 68.8 percentile2018 offense season mean: 30.0 percentile2019 offense season mean: 64.7 percentile2020 offense season mean: 70.5 percentile2021 offense season mean: 62.1 percentile2022 offense season mean: 65.2 percentile2023 offense season mean: 62.6 percentile2024 offense season mean: 57.5 percentile2025 offense season mean: 63.1 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 64.1 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 68.3 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: SMU at Baylor · L 0–45; defense 47.5 percentile2014 Week 2: SMU at North Texas · L 6–43; defense 38.8 percentile2014 Week 4: SMU vs. Texas A&M · L 6–58; defense 0.1 percentile2014 Week 5: SMU vs. TCU · L 0–56; defense 19.5 percentile2014 Week 6: SMU at East Carolina · L 24–45; defense 4.4 percentile2014 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 3–41; defense 10.2 percentile2014 Week 9: SMU vs. Memphis · L 10–48; defense 3.8 percentile2014 Week 11: SMU at Tulsa · L 28–38; defense 4.1 percentile2014 Week 12: SMU vs. South Florida · L 13–14; defense 23.6 percentile2014 Week 13: SMU at UCF · L 7–53; defense 10.4 percentile2014 Week 14: SMU vs. Houston · L 9–35; defense 30.7 percentile2014 Week 15: SMU at UConn · W 27–20; defense 34.7 percentile2015 Week 1: SMU vs. Baylor · L 21–56; defense 5.6 percentile2015 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 31–13; defense 64.7 percentile2015 Week 3: SMU at TCU · L 37–56; defense 5.5 percentile2015 Week 4: SMU vs. James Madison · L 45–48; defense 0.7 percentile2015 Week 5: SMU vs. East Carolina · L 23–49; defense 2.5 percentile2015 Week 6: SMU at Houston · L 28–49; defense 6.6 percentile2015 Week 8: SMU at South Florida · L 14–38; defense 75.1 percentile2015 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · L 31–40; defense 57.4 percentile2015 Week 10: SMU vs. Temple · L 40–60; defense 3.1 percentile2015 Week 11: SMU at Navy · L 14–55; defense 3.9 percentile2015 Week 12: SMU vs. Tulane · W 49–21; defense 30.1 percentile2015 Week 13: SMU at Memphis · L 0–63; defense 15.5 percentile2016 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · W 34–21; defense 48.2 percentile2016 Week 2: SMU at Baylor · L 13–40; defense 66.8 percentile2016 Week 3: SMU vs. Liberty · W 29–14; defense 19.5 percentile2016 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · L 3–33; defense 19.5 percentile2016 Week 5: SMU at Temple · L 20–45; defense 49.3 percentile2016 Week 6: SMU at Tulsa · L 40–43; defense 62.1 percentile2016 Week 8: SMU vs. Houston · W 38–16; defense 88.2 percentile2016 Week 9: SMU at Tulane · W 35–31; defense 33.3 percentile2016 Week 10: SMU vs. Memphis · L 7–51; defense 41.2 percentile2016 Week 11: SMU at East Carolina · W 55–31; defense 16.1 percentile2016 Week 12: SMU vs. South Florida · L 27–35; defense 68.9 percentile2016 Week 13: SMU vs. Navy · L 31–75; defense 0.1 percentile2017 Week 1: SMU vs. Stephen F. Austin · W 58–14; defense 45.7 percentile2017 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 54–32; defense 44.1 percentile2017 Week 3: SMU at TCU · L 36–56; defense 16.5 percentile2017 Week 4: SMU vs. Arkansas State · W 44–21; defense 50.6 percentile2017 Week 5: SMU vs. UConn · W 49–28; defense 73.9 percentile2017 Week 6: SMU at Houston · L 22–35; defense 13.7 percentile2017 Week 8: SMU at Cincinnati · W 31–28; defense 23.1 percentile2017 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 38–34; defense 41.2 percentile2017 Week 10: SMU vs. UCF · L 24–31; defense 72.1 percentile2017 Week 11: SMU at Navy · L 40–43; defense 26.6 percentile2017 Week 12: SMU at Memphis · L 45–66; defense 8.5 percentile2017 Week 13: SMU vs. Tulane · W 41–38; defense 27.8 percentile2017 Week 1: SMU vs. Louisiana Tech · L 10–51; defense 42.5 percentile2018 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · L 23–46; defense 50.6 percentile2018 Week 2: SMU vs. TCU · L 12–42; defense 19.4 percentile2018 Week 3: SMU at Michigan · L 20–45; defense 22.0 percentile2018 Week 4: SMU vs. Navy · W 31–30; defense 48.2 percentile2018 Week 5: SMU vs. Houston Christian · W 63–27; defense 45.9 percentile2018 Week 6: SMU at UCF · L 20–48; defense 40.8 percentile2018 Week 8: SMU at Tulane · W 27–23; defense 83.4 percentile2018 Week 9: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 20–26; defense 86.9 percentile2018 Week 10: SMU vs. Houston · W 45–31; defense 71.8 percentile2018 Week 11: SMU at UConn · W 62–50; defense 3.3 percentile2018 Week 12: SMU vs. Memphis · L 18–28; defense 63.5 percentile2018 Week 13: SMU at Tulsa · L 24–27; defense 56.5 percentile2019 Week 1: SMU at Arkansas State · W 37–30; defense 67.0 percentile2019 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 49–27; defense 47.2 percentile2019 Week 3: SMU vs. Texas State · W 47–17; defense 81.6 percentile2019 Week 4: SMU at TCU · W 41–38; defense 51.7 percentile2019 Week 5: SMU at South Florida · W 48–21; defense 63.4 percentile2019 Week 6: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 43–37; defense 33.3 percentile2019 Week 8: SMU vs. Temple · W 45–21; defense 74.7 percentile2019 Week 9: SMU at Houston · W 34–31; defense 65.5 percentile2019 Week 10: SMU at Memphis · L 48–54; defense 40.0 percentile2019 Week 11: SMU vs. East Carolina · W 59–51; defense 1.4 percentile2019 Week 13: SMU at Navy · L 28–35; defense 64.6 percentile2019 Week 14: SMU vs. Tulane · W 37–20; defense 68.9 percentile2019 Week 1: SMU at Florida Atlantic · L 28–52; defense 24.3 percentile2020 Week 1: SMU at Texas State · W 31–24; defense 48.0 percentile2020 Week 3: SMU at North Texas · W 65–35; defense 62.0 percentile2020 Week 4: SMU vs. Stephen F. Austin · W 50–7; defense 82.8 percentile2020 Week 5: SMU vs. Memphis · W 30–27; defense 18.2 percentile2020 Week 7: SMU at Tulane · W 37–34; defense 63.8 percentile2020 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 13–42; defense 24.3 percentile2020 Week 9: SMU vs. Navy · W 51–37; defense 25.1 percentile2020 Week 10: SMU at Temple · W 47–23; defense 46.9 percentile2020 Week 11: SMU at Tulsa · L 24–28; defense 50.5 percentile2020 Week 13: SMU at East Carolina · L 38–52; defense 29.5 percentile2021 Week 1: SMU vs. Abilene Christian · W 56–9; defense 19.0 percentile2021 Week 2: SMU vs. North Texas · W 35–12; defense 58.2 percentile2021 Week 3: SMU at Louisiana Tech · W 39–37; defense 27.9 percentile2021 Week 4: SMU at TCU · W 42–34; defense 19.4 percentile2021 Week 5: SMU vs. South Florida · W 41–17; defense 67.5 percentile2021 Week 6: SMU at Navy · W 31–24; defense 77.1 percentile2021 Week 8: SMU vs. Tulane · W 55–26; defense 24.6 percentile2021 Week 9: SMU at Houston · L 37–44; defense 47.0 percentile2021 Week 10: SMU at Memphis · L 25–28; defense 78.3 percentile2021 Week 11: SMU vs. UCF · W 55–28; defense 36.8 percentile2021 Week 12: SMU at Cincinnati · L 14–48; defense 6.8 percentile2021 Week 13: SMU vs. Tulsa · L 31–34; defense 46.3 percentile2022 Week 1: SMU at North Texas · W 48–10; defense 97.5 percentile2022 Week 2: SMU vs. Lamar · W 45–16; defense 37.9 percentile2022 Week 3: SMU at Maryland · L 27–34; defense 10.5 percentile2022 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · L 34–42; defense 8.1 percentile2022 Week 6: SMU at UCF · L 19–41; defense 57.5 percentile2022 Week 7: SMU vs. Navy · W 40–34; defense 31.1 percentile2022 Week 8: SMU vs. Cincinnati · L 27–29; defense 53.7 percentile2022 Week 9: SMU at Tulsa · W 45–34; defense 22.3 percentile2022 Week 10: SMU vs. Houston · W 77–63; defense 2.1 percentile2022 Week 11: SMU at South Florida · W 41–23; defense 72.7 percentile2022 Week 12: SMU at Tulane · L 24–59; defense 19.2 percentile2022 Week 13: SMU vs. Memphis · W 34–31; defense 15.3 percentile2022 Week 1: SMU vs. BYU · L 23–24; defense 59.9 percentile2023 Week 1: SMU vs. Louisiana Tech · W 38–14; defense 83.1 percentile2023 Week 2: SMU at Oklahoma · L 11–28; defense 58.5 percentile2023 Week 3: SMU vs. Prairie View A&M · W 69–0; defense 86.1 percentile2023 Week 4: SMU at TCU · L 17–34; defense 25.3 percentile2023 Week 5: SMU vs. Charlotte · W 34–16; defense 58.8 percentile2023 Week 7: SMU at East Carolina · W 31–10; defense 85.6 percentile2023 Week 8: SMU at Temple · W 55–0; defense 99.0 percentile2023 Week 9: SMU vs. Tulsa · W 69–10; defense 95.0 percentile2023 Week 10: SMU at Rice · W 36–31; defense 65.5 percentile2023 Week 11: SMU vs. North Texas · W 45–21; defense 70.9 percentile2023 Week 12: SMU at Memphis · W 38–34; defense 59.2 percentile2023 Week 13: SMU vs. Navy · W 59–14; defense 81.0 percentile2023 Week 14: SMU at Tulane · W 26–14; defense 85.7 percentile2023 Week 1: SMU vs. Boston College · L 14–23; defense 19.3 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU at Nevada · W 29–24; defense 72.1 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU vs. Houston Christian · W 59–7; defense 78.5 percentile2024 Week 2: SMU vs. BYU · L 15–18; defense 82.7 percentile2024 Week 4: SMU vs. TCU · W 66–42; defense 48.6 percentile2024 Week 5: SMU vs. Florida State · W 42–16; defense 52.6 percentile2024 Week 6: SMU at Louisville · W 34–27; defense 55.0 percentile2024 Week 8: SMU at Stanford · W 40–10; defense 98.3 percentile2024 Week 9: SMU at Duke · W 28–27; defense 47.7 percentile2024 Week 10: SMU vs. Pittsburgh · W 48–25; defense 85.6 percentile2024 Week 12: SMU vs. Boston College · W 38–28; defense 21.7 percentile2024 Week 13: SMU at Virginia · W 33–7; defense 94.7 percentile2024 Week 14: SMU vs. California · W 38–6; defense 96.7 percentile2024 Week 15: SMU vs. Clemson · L 31–34; defense 81.9 percentile2024 Week 1: SMU at Penn State · L 10–38; defense 82.0 percentile2025 Week 1: SMU vs. East Texas A&M · W 42–13; defense 30.4 percentile2025 Week 3: SMU at Missouri State · W 28–10; defense 98.0 percentile2025 Week 4: SMU at TCU · L 24–35; defense 34.4 percentile2025 Week 6: SMU vs. Syracuse · W 31–18; defense 61.4 percentile2025 Week 7: SMU vs. Stanford · W 34–10; defense 38.3 percentile2025 Week 8: SMU at Clemson · W 35–24; defense 81.6 percentile2025 Week 9: SMU at Wake Forest · L 12–13; defense 93.1 percentile2025 Week 10: SMU vs. Miami · W 26–20; defense 56.7 percentile2025 Week 11: SMU at Boston College · W 45–13; defense 68.6 percentile2025 Week 13: SMU vs. Louisville · W 38–6; defense 84.6 percentile2025 Week 14: SMU at California · L 35–38; defense 11.6 percentile2025 Week 1: SMU vs. Arizona · W 24–19; defense 62.2 percentile2026 Week 1: SMU at Florida State · W 27–24; defense 86.8 percentile2026 Week 2: SMU vs. UC Davis · W 56–10; defense 65.9 percentile2014 defense season mean: 12.8 percentile2015 defense season mean: 13.9 percentile2016 defense season mean: 36.9 percentile2017 defense season mean: 35.5 percentile2018 defense season mean: 47.8 percentile2019 defense season mean: 50.0 percentile2020 defense season mean: 44.7 percentile2021 defense season mean: 40.7 percentile2022 defense season mean: 34.9 percentile2023 defense season mean: 74.2 percentile2024 defense season mean: 76.5 percentile2025 defense season mean: 64.0 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 67.0 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 77.8 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2015Chad Morris
2018Sonny Dykes
2021Sonny Dykes / Jim Leavitt
2022Rhett Lashlee

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateRhett Lashlee2
64.1 estimate68.3 games-only average
67.0 estimate77.8 games-only average
2025Rhett Lashlee1263.164.0
2024Rhett Lashlee1457.576.5
2023Rhett Lashlee1462.674.2
2022Rhett LashleeCoaching change1365.234.9
2021Sonny Dykes / Jim LeavittCoaching change1262.140.7
2020Sonny Dykes1070.544.7
2019Sonny Dykes1364.750.0
2018Sonny DykesCoaching change1230.047.8
2017Chad Morris1368.835.5
2016Chad Morris1238.436.9
2015Chad MorrisCoaching change1239.413.9
2014June Jones1216.112.8