Up to No. 19 and Headed to the Dome: Why SMU's Trip to Syracuse Is the Only Road Test Standing Between the Mustangs and November

By Brooke Calloway, RF Sports Radio SMU voice

Mustang fans, the voters noticed. A 42-0 second half against Cal will do that. SMU jumped four spots in Sunday's AP poll, and now comes the part of the schedule that decides whether this ranking means anything in December.

The facts

SMU is No. 19 in the latest AP Top 25, up from No. 23, per SMU Athletics. The Mustangs have been ranked every week of the 2026 season, their longest streak in the poll since 1985. They are No. 16 in the coaches poll.

The bump followed Saturday's 59-20 win over Cal at Ford Stadium, when SMU outscored the Golden Bears 42-0 in the second half and held them to 50 yards after the break, per SMU Athletics. Kevin Jennings threw three touchdown passes to become the program's career leader. Kendrick Raphael ran for 104 yards, his second straight 100-yard game, and finished with 126 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against his former team.

SMU is 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. Next is Saturday's trip to Syracuse, its only road game in a seven-week stretch, with kickoff at 11 a.m. Central on ESPN2, per SMU Athletics.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: No. 19 feels right to me, and I am fine with it not being higher. The Mustangs looked flat for 30 minutes on Saturday, and the voters probably saw that too. What matters is the second half, because that is what a good team looks like when it gets punched.

Now, let me talk about this trip. Eleven a.m. Central means a 12 p.m. Eastern kickoff in a dome halfway across the country. That is the kind of game that can get away from a ranked team. Early body clocks, a loud building and an opponent with nothing to lose. If SMU starts slow again, it will not get a 42-0 half to bail it out.

The good news is that this team is built for the road. It runs the ball, it has a quarterback who has started 25 wins, and its defense showed on Saturday that it can adjust. I want to see a fast start. Score on the first drive and make Syracuse play from behind.

Here is the big picture. SMU has one ACC loss, and after Syracuse the Mustangs are back home. Win Saturday and this becomes a real conference title run, and maybe more than that.

My call: SMU 38, Syracuse 20. Jennings throws for three more and the Mustangs move into the top 16 of the AP poll. That is a prediction, not a report.

What to watch next

Syracuse's injury report this week, SMU's first-quarter offense on the road. Kickoff is Saturday at 11 a.m. Central on ESPN2. For the full story of the Cal rout, read our Oct. 25 SMU column on the 59-20 win over Cal, and follow the SMU Football page all season.

Radio question: is No. 19 too low for SMU, or did the slow first half against Cal keep the Mustangs right where they belong?

Sources: SMU Athletics - SMU rises to 19th in AP poll; AP News - AP Top 25 college football poll, Oct. 25, 2026; SMU Athletics - Dominating second half leads SMU to 59-20 win over Cal.