2025 SMU Football Predictions: Mustangs Ranked 24th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

• Who do I think is good?
• Why do I think they're good?
• What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where SMU lands in my Ultimate 136.

Team ranking: 24
Last year’s ranking: 32
Top player: QB Kevin Jennings: One of four FBS QBs last season to throw for 3,200+ yards, rush for 300+ yards and record 5+ rushing TDs.

[SMU's 2025 schedule]

RJ’s take: When Rhett Lashlee’s Mustangs suffer a loss in the regular season against ACC competition, it will be their first. But even after losing just once in the regular season, they’re taking a two-game losing streak into the offseason with Duke and Georgia Tech looking to mount their own charge.

Important to note: SMU made the CFP before USC, Wisconsin and Florida to name three. They got pantsed by Penn State, but it was a loss that capped off the best season enjoyed in Dallas since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1995. (Jerry, you're killing me.)

We know Jennings can play: 3,245 passing yards and 28 TDs, even as he wasn't the Day 1 starter last year. We don't know if he's capable of winning in the big moments, and that is what SMU is chasing. It's not Baylor or TCU that SMU needs to watch for anymore: It's Miami and Clemson down the road.

SMU Win Total Odds: Over 8.5 (-124) Under 8.5 (+102)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

College Football

SMU Mustangs