SMU Football Preview 2025: The Mustangs Are Built To Do It Again

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 4:49 PM ET

SMU Mustangs College Football Preview 2025

Well that worked.

Before last season, SMU hadn't won a regular season game against a Power Five-now-Power-Four program against anyone by TCU since 2010.

In an all-time bet-on-yourself move, SMU became a part of the ACC, but without taking a dime of TV revenue until 2032. It was looking to raise the school's profile with a long-term plan, and it helped get the alumni fired up and ready to write checks.

Stanford and Cal were the higher-profile gets for the ACC, SMU was expected to be a nice scrimmage for the established programs, and then ...

Kaboom.

SMU probably didn't belong in the expanded College Football Playoff - technically, a case could've been made for BYU instead with an 18-15 win over the Mustangs in Dallas - but let's start with this.

If last year at this exact time, you were told SMU would be in the CFP discussion ...

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2025 SMU Preview
SMU Offense Breakdown
SMU Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

SMU almost pulled off a thriller of a comeback in a 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship, and it got its shot.

In the ten years of the College Football Playoff, no two-loss Power Five/Four program would've been left out of an expanded 12-team model - it had to be done. SMU had to be in.

So what that the Mustangs were outplayed and outclassed in a blowout loss at Penn State. They made it. Everything the school could've dreamed of came true.

SMU made the (bleep)ing College Football Playoff. Texas A&M hasn't done that. Neither has Baylor, Texas Tech, or Houston. Take it outside of the football-mad state - Wisconsin, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri, USC, Utah, and Iowa have yet to make the CFP.

Until last year, Penn State and Tennessee hadn't been in, either.

And it wasn't a fluke. Okay, so the ACC was fourth among the Power Four conferences by about a gajillion miles. SMU hung up 66 on TCU, walloped Florida State 42-16, took out a good Louisville squad, and in all, beat six teams that went bowling, and again, almost took out Clemson.

All head coach Rhett Lashlee has done is go 22-6 over the last two seasons and 29-12 since taking the job in 2022.

His recruiting class was terrific, the staff kept around everyone important, crushed the transfer portal for key positions, the depth is better, and the starting 22 will be more talented than last year's team.

The schedule is tougher - Florida State will likely rebound, Miami is on the slate this time around, and good luck with those road trips to TCU and Clemson - and the team will be the hunted, but after last year, you're insane to think SMU can't do it all again.

SMU Offense Breakdown
SMU Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

This article first appeared on College Football News and was syndicated with permission.

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