2coordinators
SMU: coordinator change reshaping a unit.
Rhett Lashlee's fifth season at SMU begins with a 9-4 record and a #25 AP finish, but the unease among fans suggests the program's national power status may not be.
SMU
2-0AP #16Latest
ACC · Rhett Lashlee, year 5 (40-16) · Gerald J. Ford Stadium · 32,000 · 29,054 avg in 2026
The nationAP #16 · Coaches #16up 1 from last week
The model#12 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #31 (+11.1) · FPI #24
The marketLouisville by 1.5at Louisville · our model 65% SMU · a number, not a pick
LastW 56–10 vs UC Davis · Sat Sep 12 · Kevin Jennings 337 pass yds, 5 TD, 5 rush yds
Nextat Louisville · Sat Sep 19 · 3:30 pm ET · L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium · Louisville by 1.5 · series 4-0, won the last 4 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
Cautious optimism is building around SMU.
Rhett Lashlee's year 5 (2026): 2-0, behind Jim Leavitt's 9-4 in the same spot.
belief warmed ↑ 2.9vs prior week
Fanbase belief
Leaning up
54/100 · 203 mentions · top 19% of FBS
~ our readThe model
#12
CFB Zeitgeist · +8.2
✓ measured2The Pulse on SMU
54
Δ +2.9 vs last wk
203
mentions this week · conversation velocity
What moved it — last 14 days
—
Awaiting next signal window
"Pony Ears"
— SMU fanbase · recurring line
48 mentions · sample growing
The Fever Year
Position = mood · width = volume · color = the kind of feeling
Inside the fanbase — all 12 corners
Cr/CFB
GGoogle News
LLocked On
UUnderdog Dynasty
CCampus paper
BBluesky
YYouTube
The split, staged
Warmest corner+0.00
Bettors
least sour cohort our read
vs
Coldest corner−0.00
Boomers & Gen X
most skeptical cohort our read
How SMU fans actually talk real · top-upvoted
Rr/CFBthe room
The SEC obviously liked what they saw from SMU last night and are just doing what needs to be done to make room for us.
▲ 1.8k ▼open ↗
The crowd’s loudest take by upvotes — read for mood, not as a side. The cohort read is the measured part.
Loudest in the room this week real · by engagement
All 12 corners of the fanbase
skeptical
buying in
Bettors−0.02
Boomers & Gen X−0.09
Cohort sentiment is a source-weighted model read — never a quote pinned to a person.
What this fanbase keeps coming back to our read · topic model
Topics are model-labeled from Reddit — a rough signal of what this fanbase is circling right now.
487 mentions · 7 sources · week 2026-02. Counts, sources and the divergence rank are measured (fact). Cohort labels and sentiment are a source-weighted model read (our read) — never a quote attributed to a person.
Belief checklight on evidence
~ our readSMU fans are leaning negative, but it's more feel than fact right now.
backed by facts
the mood
✓ counted We read 203 posts from SMU fans this week.
Five Lenses
What people are saying right now
Radio, beat writers & editorial15 posts
News & campus coverage8 posts
CFB analyst takes3 posts
Bluesky · @edsbs.bsky.social
1w ago
Fanbase health · SMU
Fanbase health · SMUSMU's fanbase is growing — 69 of 100.
Audible (47 weighted voices in the latest week) and winning on the field (9-4 last season, 2-0 so far).
69
On the field — 9-4 last season, 2-0 so far75
How loud — 47 weighted voices in the latest week64
2 of 3 signals · on-field reading uses last season until 4 games are in · 0–100, bands at 26 / 51 / 76
More in this tab
Arguments
What fans are saying
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
player performanceOne fan's take that season
One fan thinks Kevin is not playing as well as before
Kevin Jennings 2nd half was embarrassing. Guy needs competition in camp next year
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Jan 3, 2026 · via CFB
schedule expectationOne fan's take that season
One fan believes SMU can win at least 8 games this season
Our linebacker core is atrocious. I think we are good for 8-9 wins
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 13, 2025 · via CFB
Podcasts
From the booth
The obsession
Rent free · r/cfb fan posts, last season
SMU fans this offseason 22% of posts bring up another team▲1pp saltier#50 of 70 saltiest · mostly about Texas
Who SMU fans can’t stop bringing up
share of SMU’s football posts that mention each team
SMU lives rent-free in
share of each rival fanbase’s football posts that bring up SMU
Voice profile
Fanbase Voice
700 fan mentions
Measured
vs the 94 highest-volume fanbases - 2026 season
Fanbase cluster
Your Vocabulary Clustercluster 0with 63 other fanbases
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