The Mustangs are viewed as one of the best teams in the ACC alongside Miami, but can Rhett Lashlee's team go all the way in 2026?
It is no secret that the SMU Mustangs are seen as one of the top teams in the ACC, and the offseason polling of Rhett Lashlee's side confirms that.
Many see SMU as the second-best team in the conference behind Miami, but when the Mustangs are put up against the rest of college football, they drop.
Seen as a team that is ranked around 20th in all teams out of college football, the Mustangs do have plenty of admirers as they look to bounce back in 2026.
Back-to-back 11-win seasons before last year's 9-4 record see SMU as one of the more consistent teams in college football.
Lashlee has stated he believes his team has the staying power to compete year in, year out.
For Outkick's Austin Perry, he's named three teams that have been ranked outside the top-12 college teams in football who he thinks can reach the College Football Playoff in 2026.
And to no one's surprise, he's picked SMU as one of those teams.
"SMU ranks inside the top-25 in terms of returning production, and a big chunk of that comes in the form of veteran signal caller Kevin Jennings," Perry wrote. Both coordinators return as well, and the conference slate shapes up nicely, as the Mustangs avoid both Miami and Clemson in the regular season.
"I could see SMU making a return trip to the ACC Championship Game in 2026, likely against the aforementioned Hurricanes.
"Although the Canes look like the class of the conference on paper, the Mustangs defeated Miami as the less talented team just a season ago, and I trust head coach Rhett Lashlee in a one-game scenario as much as anyone in the ACC."
SMU's path isn't exactly straightforward, with Miami and Clemson looming as their biggest threats.
But Lashlee's team has shown it can compete with the best in football; they just have to do it for longer.
If the injury bug stays away, and Kevin Jennings improves in the way many think he can, coupled with the talent on both sides of the ball, the Mustangs could be up to their eyeballs in a fight for the playoffs.
Lashlee's team has already shown it has the consistency needed to be serious players, and it appears many believe that 2026 might be the year that the Mustangs make more than just noise when the playoffs roll around.
