1947 SMU Mustangs football team
American college football season
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The 1947 SMU Mustangs football team was an American football team that represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1947 college football season. In its tenth season under head coach Matty Bell, the team compiled a 9–0–2 record (5–0–1 against SWC opponents), won the SWC championship, outscored opponents by a total of 182 to 90, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll.[1] The team played its home games at Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus and at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
| 1947 SMU Mustangs football | |
|---|---|
SWC champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, T 13–13 vs. Penn State | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 3 |
| Record | 9–0–2 (5–0–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | Sid Halliday |
| Home stadium | Ownby Stadium, Cotton Bowl |
The Mustangs won their first nine games before tying with rival TCU and Penn State, the latter in the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day.[1]
SMU's sophomore halfback, Doak Walker, led the country with 387 yards on 10 kickoff returns, an average of 38.7 yards per return.[2] He won the Maxwell Award for 1947, was a consensus selection to the 1947 College Football All-America Team,[3] and finished third in the 1947 voting for the Heisman Trophy.[4] He finished second in the SWC (behind Bobby Layne) with 1,026 yards of total offense, including 684 rushing yards.[5]
Four SMU players received first-team honors on the Associated Press 1947 All-Southwest Conference football team: Walker; end Sid Halliday; tackle Jim Winkler; and guard Earl Cook.[6]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 27 | at Santa Clara* | W 22–6 | 5,000 | [7] | ||
| October 4 | Missouri* |
| W 35–19 | 26,000 | [8] | |
| October 11 | at Oklahoma A&M* | W 21–14 | 18,000 | [9] | ||
| October 18 | No. 15 Rice | W 14–0 | 23,000 | [10] | ||
| October 25 | at No. 16 UCLA* | No. 12 | W 7–0 | 64,197 | [11] | |
| November 1 | No. 3 Texas | No. 8 |
| W 14–13 | 46,500 | [12] |
| November 8 | at Texas A&M | No. 3 | W 13–0 | 38,000 | [13] | |
| November 15 | Arkansas | No. 4 |
| W 14–6 | 23,000 | [14] |
| November 22 | at Baylor | No. 3 | W 10–0 | 12,000 | [15] | |
| November 29 | at TCU | No. 3 | T 19–19 | 31,000 | [16] | |
| January 1 | vs. No. 4 Penn State | No. 3 |
| T 13–13 | 47,000 | [17] |
| ||||||
Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Final |
| AP | — | — | 12 | 8 | 3 (7) | 4 (2) | 3 (9) | 3 (6) | 4 | 3 |
Players selected in the 1948 NFL draft
The following SMU players were selected in the 1947 NFL draft:[18]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Cook | Guard | 3 | 17 | Boston Yanks |
| Gil Johnson | Quarterback | 11 | 93 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Bob Ramsey | Back | 26 | 244 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
