The CFP Era · 2014–present

SMU

Twelve seasons in three acts · ACC

83–67Record
55.3%Win %
0National titles
1Playoff games
2024Peak season
58Avg. percentile
12NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2024 · 11–3
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

37–47 · avg percentile 39
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

26–13 · avg percentile 77
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

20–7 · avg percentile 94

Defining games

Coaches of the era

June Jones2014–2014
Chad Morris2015–2017
Sonny Dykes2020–2020
Jim Leavitt2021–2021
Rhett Lashlee2022–2025

Roster of the era

12 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

317
119
220
221
122
224
125

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Rhett Lashlee. See the 2014–2025 program page →