Wk 12 · 2026
SMU Mustangs at Notre Dame Fighting Irish — Sat, Nov 21
Sat, Nov 21 ·
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
· NBC
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 41 days away. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
#24 SMU Mustangs
ACC · 4-1
at
7:30pET
ND -17.5 · total 56.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential ND by 25.2
FBS Indep. · 6-0
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race. SMU is ranked #24 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04). Notre Dame is ranked #3 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
SMU form
W 25-16vs BCW 34-24vs MOSTL 31-41at LOUW 56-10vs UCDW 27-24at FSU
2026 season
Notre Dame form
W 58-7vs STANW 37-26at UNCW 49-10at PURW 27-10vs MSUW 52-0vs RICE
2026 season
SMU this season
Straight up4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Against the spread1-3-1 · 25% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Notre Dame this season
Straight up6-0 · 100% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 3
| Opponent | SMU | Notre Dame |
|---|---|---|
| Boston College ACC | vs W 25-16 preview | vs Wk 11 · scheduled preview |
| Syracuse ACC | at Wk 9 · scheduled preview | at Wk 13 · scheduled preview |
| Stanford ACC | at Wk 13 · scheduled preview | vs W 58-7 preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
These teams have not met in the 2006–2026 window.
SMU leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Kevin Jennings QB #7 | 117/156, 1588 YDS, 14 TD, 5 INT |
| Ty Hawkins QB #1 | 11/13, 104 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Kendrick Raphael RB #6 | 77 CAR, 418 YDS, 6 TD |
| Dramekco Green RB #4 | 36 CAR, 111 YDS | |
| Kevin Jennings QB #7 | 32 CAR, 69 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Yamir Knight WR #8 | 29 REC, 367 YDS, 2 TD |
| Jalen Cooper WR #10 | 19 REC, 290 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Yannick Smith WR #3 | 14 REC, 231 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Randy Pittman TE #5 | 16 REC, 153 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Tyren Polley Jr. S #10 | 30 |
| Alexander Kilgore LB #23 | 25 | |
| Jimmy Wyrick S #21 | 22 | |
| Sacks | Marques White DE #16 | 4.5 |
| Aakil Washington DE #58 | 2 | |
| Jimmy Wyrick S #21 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | Jarvis Lee S #1 | 1 |
| Brandon Booker LB #28 | 1 |
Notre Dame leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | CJ Carr QB #13 | 88/124, 1197 YDS, 13 TD, 1 INT |
| Noah Grubbs QB #10 | 9/15, 108 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Aneyas Williams RB #22 | 60 CAR, 266 YDS, 4 TD |
| Nolan James Jr. RB #2 | 55 CAR, 262 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Jonaz Walton RB #20 | 39 CAR, 228 YDS | |
| Receiving | Jordan Faison WR #6 | 25 REC, 371 YDS, 4 TD |
| Micah Gilbert WR #14 | 18 REC, 368 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jaden Greathouse WR #1 | 8 REC, 108 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Nolan James Jr. RB #2 | 10 REC, 87 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Drayk Bowen LB #34 | 24 |
| Adon Shuler S #8 | 21 | |
| Jaylen Sneed LB #3 | 20 | |
| Sacks | Bryce Young DL #95 | 3 |
| Boubacar Traore DL #5 | 2.5 | |
| Loghan Thomas DL #10 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | Luke Talich S #28 | 2 |
| DJ McKinney CB #2 | 1 | |
| Adon Shuler S #8 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.