1940 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1940 SMU Mustangs football team was an American football team that represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1940 college football season. In their sixth season under head coach Matty Bell, the Mustangs compiled an 8–1–1 record (5–1 against conference opponents), tied for the SWC championship, outscored opponents by a total of 142 to 75, and was ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

1940 SMU Mustangs football
SWC co-champion
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 16
Record	8–1–1 (5–1 SWC)
Head coach	Matty Bell (6th season)
Captains	Will Mullinweg Raymond Pope
Home stadium	Ownby Stadium
Seasons ← 1939 1941 →

1940 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Texas A&M $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 16 SMU	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
Texas	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Rice	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
TCU	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Arkansas	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Baylor	0	–	6	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Fullback Preston Johnson was selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press as a first-team player on their 1940 All-Southwest Conference football teams. Tackle Joe Pasqua was named to the second team by the AP.^[2][3] Will Mullinweg and Raymond Pope were the team captains.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	at UCLA*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 9–6	70,000	[4]
October 5	North Texas State Teachers*		Ownby Stadium University Park, TX (rivalry)	W 20–7		[5]
October 12	at Pittsburgh*		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	T 7–7	39,000	[6]
October 19	Auburn*		Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	W 20–13	10,000	[7]
November 2	at Texas	No. 15	War Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 21–13	25,000	[8]
November 9	No. 4 Texas A&M	No. 14	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	L 7–19	27,000	[9]
November 16	Arkansas	No. 20	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	W 28–0		[10]
November 23	at Baylor	No. 18	Waco Stadium Waco, TX	W 7–4		[11]
November 30	TCU	No. 16	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX (rivalry)	W 16–0	13,000	[12]
December 7	at Rice	No. 16	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 7–6	22,000	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game