UC Davis vs SMU (sports match)
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
No. 17 SMU hosts No. 7 FCS UC Davis on Sept. 12 in Dallas.
It's their first meeting, with SMU favored by 29.5 after beating Florida State.
Background
SMU opened its season with a 27-24 win at Florida State on Monday night and has a five-day turnaround before its home opener. UC Davis is 2-0 and ranked No. 7 in the FCS, coming off a 2025 season in which it went 9-4 and finished as runner-up to Illinois State. Saturday's matchup is the first time the Big Sky program and the Mustangs have met on the gridiron.
How it unfolded
- Sep 7, 2026SMU beat Florida State 27-24 on Nick Reed's game-winning field goal; Kevin Jennings threw for a career-best 430 yards and three touchdowns.
- Sep 8, 2026UC Davis prepared for a bigger test in the Mustangs; running back Matteo Perez had a 79-yard touchdown run in Saturday's non-conference game at San Diego.
- Sep 9, 2026SMU Athletics previewed No. 17 SMU welcoming UC Davis in the home opener, with SMU ranked 17th in both the US LBM Coaches and AP Top 25 polls.
- Sep 10, 2026A preview noted UC Davis is 2-0 and ranked No. 7 in the FCS; Treynor Cleeland has thrown for 581 yards and seven touchdowns in two road games.
- Sep 11, 2026SMU Head Coach Rhett Lashlee praised UC Davis Head Coach Tim Plough for his winning record in four seasons with the Aggies.
- Sep 12, 2026Betting odds listed SMU as a 29.5-point favorite with an over-under of 58.5; the game is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee praised UC Davis head coach Tim Plough's winning record and stressed the matchup should not be treated as a lock-in win over an FCS opponent.
- Official
- UC Davis head coach Tim Plough said his team wants to win the game, not just show up, shake hands and take the money.
- Analysts
- Owen Hillman of UGA Wire predicted a lopsided SMU win, saying he doubts SMU fails to cover.
Still unverified
One source lists the game date as Saturday, Sept. 22, 2026, while others list Sept. 12, 2026. UC Davis is described as FCS-ranked No. 6 in one source and No. 7 in another; SMU is described as FBS-ranked No. 21 in one source and No. 17 in others. One source attributes the closeness of SMU's Florida State win to a stadium power outage that eliminated helmet communication.