1947 SMU Mustangs football team
American college football season
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 .
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 22–65,000 [ 7]
October 4 Missouri * W 35–1926,000 [ 8]
October 11 at Oklahoma A&M * W 21–1418,000 [ 9]
October 18 No. 15 Rice W 14–023,000 [ 10]
October 25 at No. 16 UCLA * No. 12 W 7–064,197 [ 11]
November 1 No. 3 Texas No. 8 W 14–1346,500 [ 12]
November 8 at Texas A&M No. 3 W 13–038,000 [ 13]
November 15 Arkansas No. 4 Ownby Stadium University Park, TX W 14–623,000 [ 14]
November 22 at Baylor No. 3 W 10–012,000 [ 15]
November 29 at TCU No. 3 T 19–1931,000 [ 16]
January 1 vs. No. 4 Penn State No. 3 T 13–1347,000 [ 17]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes 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]
References
^ a b "1947 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ Gail Fowler (December 18, 1947). "Statistics Error Found, Walker Leads Returners" . The Austin American . p. 17.
^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017 .
^ "1947 Heisman Trophy Voting" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2019 .
^ "Layne Tops SWC In Grid Offense, Shading Walker" . The Shreveport Times . December 2, 1947. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Clyde Scott Only Porker to Make All-Southwest" . Hope Star (Arkansas) . December 1, 1947. p. 5.
^ Don Selby (September 28, 1947). "One Man Gang Corrals Broncs, 22-6: Walker Has Great Day" . The San Francisco Examiner . pp. 22, 25 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Doak Walker Bright Star as SMU Whips Missouri, 35-19" . The Corpus Christi Caller-Times . October 5, 1947. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "SMU Slides By Oklahoma A&M" . Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX) . October 12, 1947. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Jimmy Banks (October 19, 1947). "Walker Leads SMU to 14-0 Triumph Over Favored Rice" . Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX) . pp. 17–18 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Al Wolf (October 26, 1947). "Bruins Bow to Mustangs, 7 to 0" . Los Angeles Times . pp. 12–13 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Weldon Hart (November 2, 1947). "SMU Rips Steers, 14-13: Walker Kicks Extra Point To Drop UT" . Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX) . pp. 1, 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gil Johnson Throws Mustangs to 13-0 Victory Over Aggies" . Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald . November 9, 1947. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Harold V. Ratliff (November 16, 1947). "Referee Battles as SMU Edges Porkers, 14 to 6" . The Corpus Christi Caller-Times . p. 37 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "SMU Scores in Last Minutes to Shade Stubborn Baylor, 10-0" . Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald . November 23, 1947. p. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Jinx Tucker (November 30, 1947). "Mustangs Rush Back In Final Seconds to Tie Frogs, 19-19" . Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald . pp. 16–17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Tex Maule (January 2, 1948). "SMU, Penn State Deadlock, 13 to 13 in Cotton Bowl" . The Austin American . p. 14 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "1948 NFL Draft" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
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