Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 NOV. 14, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: SMU of the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference, the Mustangs joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024. Few expected their first few years in the ACC to go quite so well, however, and that's a credit to Lashlee. Lashlee made the College Football Playoff in SMU's first year in the conference with an 11-2 record, only losing the ACC Championship Game on a last-second field goal. The Mustangs won nine games the following season — including an over- time win over Miami that, in a roundabout way, knocked Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff — and appear to be well on their way to at least eight wins in 2026. Lashlee is also SMU's offensive play caller, one of very few head coaches that have balanced the two responsibilities successfully. He's done it despite a roster budget that sits around $21-23 million, ac- cording to The Athletic. That's doing more with less. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is a tremendous in-game coach, but this writer has concerns about Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash against Lashlee's high-powered offense. If you take off the program prestige blinders, this tilts more toward SMU than Notre Dame fans might be comfortable admitting out loud. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES We write these two weeks in advance, so as of this writing, we do not know if the Irish defeated No. 1 Miami Nov. 7. If they did not, there is a significant intangible ad- vantage working in SMU's favor: Notre Dame's playoff hopes would be in serious jeopardy. The Mustangs, on the other hand, could still be very much alive in the race for the ACC championship game if they de- feat Virginia Tech and No. 16 Wake Forest. But even if the Irish fall to the Hurricanes, it's still Senior Day. Notre Dame typically faces much worse competition for its final home game of the season, but here are the four previous Senior Day final scores of the Freeman era: 44-0, 45-7, 35-14 and 70-7. Regardless of its status as a College Football Playoff hopeful, Notre Dame will want to send its seniors — many of whom contributed to the CFP run in 2024 and did incredible things over the next two seasons — off on a positive note. Advantage: Notre Dame Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 38, SMU 13 In what figures to be their toughest remaining regular-season game after the Miami matchup, the Irish face the Mustangs — who will be an ornery opponent after starting the season 6-1 and spending much of September and October ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 before losing at Syracuse. Led by an efficient and high-scoring offense that relies mainly on its aerial game, SMU is a solid and consistent program under fifth-year head coach Rhett Lashlee that could present some problems for the Irish. Ultimately, the talent discrepancy and home-field advantage win out, and Notre Dame records a no-doubt victory. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 41, SMU 20 Notre Dame is 4-0 on Senior Day under Marcus Freeman, winning by an average score of 48.5-7.0. SMU figures to offer more resistance than Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia and Syracuse did. The Mustangs entered No- vember with a 14-2 record in that month under Rhett Lashlee, who guided them to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. The Mustangs last visited South Bend in 1989, when Lou Holtz's Irish whipped them 59-6. SMU is just 3-10 overall and 1-6 on the road against the Irish, but senior quarterback Kevin Jennings makes this offense dangerous. With more than 10,000 career passing yards, Jennings directs an aerial attack that averaged 318.0 yards per game through eight games. Mistakes, however, could be SMU's undoing. Through eight games, Notre Dame held a plus-14 turnover margin compared with SMU's minus-5. The Mustangs also averaged 69.3 penalty yards per game to the Irish's 28.9. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 37, SMU 17 The first opponent to play in Notre Dame Stadium, back in 1930, returns to South Bend for the seventh time since then and aims to spoil Senior Night for the Irish. Fifth-year quarterback Kevin Jennings has the talent to do it. The problem for SMU, which has been in and out of the AP Top 25 this season, is there's too much inconsistency around Jennings. In a 30-27 loss to Syracuse on Hal- loween, the offensive line allowed 6 sacks and former Notre Dame backup quarterback Steve Angeli led the winning touchdown drive, capping it with a scoring pass with 17 seconds to play. Current starting Irish quarterback CJ Carr has the talent and surrounding cast to put up big points against SMU. And the Irish defense will make it all stand up, after perhaps a slower start, as Notre Dame wins its 10th straight Senior Day/Night matchup. Tyler James: Notre Dame 37, SMU 17 This game lost some of its luster in October, but it's still an opportunity for Notre Dame to show that it continues to be well ahead of most of the ACC. Expect the Irish to show some Midwest toughness in a late-November game in Notre Dame Stadium that might not be ideal for the visiting Mustangs. Notre Dame should be able to find success in the running game with its strong offensive line and running back combination. The SMU offense might be more difficult to defend in better weather conditions, but the Irish will gladly take advantage of SMU's passing game losing some of its explosiveness. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 38, SMU 24 This is a game neither Notre Dame nor SMU can afford to lose if they want to return to the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. The Mustangs will give the Irish more trouble than many expect, but Notre Dame's roster talent will give it the edge. The Irish have outscored opponents 194-28 on Senior Day in the Marcus Freeman era, and they will win again to close out the regular season at home. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 37, SMU 21 SMU isn't a bad team, but it's not one I'd expect to beat Notre Dame in South Bend in November. The Irish have lost to much worse teams in the Freeman era, so Chris Ash's defense can't fall asleep in this one. The Mustangs can put up a lot of points with their passing attack. But Notre Dame has too much talent to not win this one comfortably. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 41, SMU 21 SMU boasts a prolific passing offense, so it will be able to score on the Irish. It will not, however, be able to stop them and quarterback Kevin Jennings can get turnover-happy when things aren't going his way. We made these predictions before Notre Dame took on Miami, so this result would mean one of two things: Either the Irish are one win away from making it back to the College Football Playoff or absolutely nothing as the active revolt continues in South Bend. Staff Predictions Nickel back Jarvis Lee has excelled in run sup- port for the Mustangs, notching 5.5 tackles for loss in their first eight games this season. PHOTO COURTESY SMU ATHLETICS