Arizona vs. SMU Odds & Betting Predictions - January 3, 2026

Arizona could see some potential opt outs that haven’t even been announced yet. We likely won’t know until kickoff, but this could be an added bonus to taking SMU. Even if nobody else opts out for Arizona, I still like the spot for the Mustangs. SMU should have the advantage in both trenches. SMU has the 9th best offensive line in the country with top five pass protection. Kevin Jennings and this offense rank as the 14th best unit in the country, and they bring a very balanced attack. They’ll be facing an Arizona defense that is 28th against the pass and 31st against the run. The weakness of this Arizona defense is its lack of pass rush. Their front seven ranks just 58th nationally, with the 66th best pass rush. The SMU offensive line should be able to get good push. Arizona’s run defense is also just 83rd nationally in EPA per rush allowed. The SMU defense is very strong as well. They’re a top 20 defense with one of the best secondaries in the country, which is important since Arizona is one of the most pass heavy teams in the nation. When Arizona does run, they’ll be going up against an SMU defense that ranks fourth in EPA per rush allowed. We have SMU rated as the 24th best team in the country, with Arizona at 27th. These teams are very similarly ranked, but our model has SMU winning this one 43-15. That feels aggressive and I don’t expect a blowout like that, but that’s what the numbers show. If Arizona announces more opt-outs, we could end up with a really good number here. We won’t know until game time, though, as Arizona head coach Brent Brennan has said he isn’t announcing opt-outs. I like SMU in this spot.