Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. SMU Mustangs

Louisville Cardinals (7-3, 4-3 ACC) at SMU Mustangs (7-3, 5-1 ACC)

- Kickoff: Saturday, November 22 at 12:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Tex.
- Weather Conditions: Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 72F. Winds light and variable.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: SMU -2.5
- All-Time Series: SMU Leads 3-0
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 34-27 on Oct. 5, 2024 (L&N Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Game Notes

Louisville

Louisville dropped its second game in a row in heartbreaking fashion falling to Clemson 20-19 Friday night at L&N Stadium. The Cardinals missed a pair of field goals in the closing minutes to suffer its third loss by a total of seven points.
Louisville drops its third game of the season by three points or less. The only other seasons with three losses by a field goal or less were 1971 and 2021.
The Cardinals have dropped three games this season by a total of seven points — losing by three points to Virginia and California in overtime and a one-point loss to Clemson. Louisville’s last seven losses have all been one possession games.
Running back Keyjuan Brown recorded his second consecutive 100-yard game with 135 yards on 15 carries and averaged 9.0 yards per carry in the loss.
Quarterback Miller Moss completed 19-of-27 passes for 212 yards and added his team -leading eighth rushing score. He completed passes to eight different receivers in the game.
The Louisville defense limited Clemson to 308 yards of total offense, including just 121 yards on the ground. The Tigers completed 22-of-34 passes for 187 yards but averaged just 8.5 yards per completion.
Louisville held Clemson to just 1-of-13 on third down conversions in the 20-19 loss on Friday
night. The Cards are holding the opposition to a 31.7 conversion rate on third down.
Linebacker Stanquan Clark, who missed the last seven games with a lower body injury, tied for the team lead in tackles with seven and added 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Cards have dropped three games by a total of seven points — three points to Virginia and California and one to Clemson
Keyjuan Brown has recorded consecutive 100-yard games in losses to California and Clemson.
Cards drop its third game of the season by 3 points or less. The only other seasons with three losses by a field goal or less were 1971 and 2021.
Louisville extends its program record for made field goals of 50+ yards in a season to four.
Since taking over the program in 2023, head coach Jeff Brohm has enjoyed tremendous success in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Brohm’s teams are an impressive 16-7 in league play since he took over the reins of the Louisville program. Brohm’s teams have gone 7-1 (2023), 5-3 (2024) and 4-3 (2025). The Cardinals are looking to finish ACC play with at least five wins for the third time under head coach Jeff Brohm and the seventh time since joining the league in 2014
Six of the last seven ACC losses have come by seven or fewer points. Louisville’s last six league losses have come by a combined 24 points — four coming by a total of 10 points.
The Cardinals have been one of the most consistent offensive teams in the nation over the last 25 seasons. Since 2000, the Cardinals are one of nine programs to score in every game spanning 324 contests.

SMU

The Mustangs return to Ford Stadium on Saturday to take on conference opponent Louisville on Senior Day.
SMU is coming off of a bye week after earning a commanding 45-13 victory over Boston College the previous weekend, its largest margin of victory on the road since 2023.
Yamir Knight had a career game against Boston College, recording seven catches for a touchdown and 162 receiving yards, the most receiving yards in a game since Rashee Rice registered 180 yards at Tulsa on Oct. 29, 2022.
Jordan Hudson earned his third 100-yard receiving game of the season, contributing five receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
TJ Harden had 16 carries for 130 yards, a season high and his second 100-yard game this season.
The performances of Harden, Hudson and Knight mark the first time SMU has had one 100 yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers in a game since Sept. 19, 2020 (U. Bentley IV (227) & R. Roberson Jr. (103) / R. Rice (102), at North Texas).
Derrick McFall found the end zone three times at Boston College, becoming the second player this season to rush for three touchdowns in a game.
Kevin Jennings posted back-to-back 300-yard passing games for the first time in his career, going 16-for-32 for 326 yards with three touchdowns.
The Mustang defense was explosive last game, recording a season-high seven sacks and forcing four turnovers.
The Mustangs have been explosive this year, recording 12 offensive scoring drives in 2025 that have resulted in touchdowns in under two minutes.
The SMU defense has been opportunistic to start 2025, ranking first in FBS for turnovers gained (26), second in red zone defense (0.658), fourth in passes intercepted (16), fourth in fumbles recovered (10), six in team sacks (3.20), eighth in defensive touchdowns (3), 15th in rushing defense (102.1) and 19th in team tackles for loss (6.7).
Kevin Jennings continues to be an impact player, ranking in the top 15 in the country in passing yards (10th, 2,810), passing yards per game (10th, 281.0), completions per game (13th, 22.60) and passing touchdowns (15th, 21).
The defensive line of the Mustangs has been a force this season with Isaiah Smith (2nd, 7.5), Terry Webb (T-6th, 5.5) and Jeffrey M’ba (T-9th, 5.0) ranking in the top nine in total sacks in the conference.
Ahmaad Moses has displayed his ball-hawk instincts in the pass game, tying for first in the nation with five total interceptions.
Jordan Hudson ranks fifth in the ACC in receiving yards per game (74.4), eighth in receptions per game (5.3), tied for tenth in receiving touchdowns (4) and 13th in total receiving yards (595).
The Mustangs have started fast in games this year, outscoring their opponents 156-91 in the first half of games.
SMU’s 61 wins in the last six years are the most by any FBS team in the state with Texas. In addition, the Mustangs have won 27 of those on the road, tops for any team in the state since 2019.
The Mustangs are 27-7 in their last 34 games, and 26-4 in their last 30 regular-season contests.
SMU has posted a record of 31-3 during Lashlee’s four seasons in charge when they score 30-or-more points in a game.
The Mustangs have had at least seven receivers catch a pass in 38 of the past 41 games.
Rhett Lashlee boasts a 26-4 conference record in his career, best in program history.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. SMU

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Mustangs, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. SMU

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing black helmets and pants with white jerseys, while SMU has yet to announce their uniform combination.

All packed up#GoCards pic.twitter.com/dQBggt8Yu3
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) November 19, 2025