1946 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1946 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 1946 college football season. In their ninth season under head coach Matty Bell, the Mustangs compiled a 4–5–1 record (2–4 against conference opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 114 to 100.^[1]

1946 SMU Mustangs football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	4–5–1 (2–4 SWC)
Head coach	Matty Bell (9th season)
Captains	Lendon Davis Eugene McClintock Eugene Wilson
Home stadium	Ownby Stadium, Cotton Bowl
Seasons ← 1945 1947 →

1946 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Rice +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Arkansas +	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	2
No. 15 Texas	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	2	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
SMU	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
TCU	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Baylor	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

End Gene Wilson and guard Jim Sid Wright received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Southwest Conference football team.^[2][3]

SMU was ranked at No. 41 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.^[4]

The team played its home games at Ownby Stadium in the University Park suburb of Dallas.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	at Temple	Temple Stadium Philadelphia, PA	T 7–7	30,000	[5][6]
October 5	Texas Tech	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 0–7	30,000	[7]
October 11	Oklahoma A&M	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 15–6	28,000	[8]
October 19	at No. 16 Rice	Rice Field Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 7–21		[9]
October 26	at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	W 17–0	> 20,000	[10]
November 2	at No. 7 Texas	War Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	L 3–19	34,000	[11]
November 9	Texas A&M	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 0–14	40,000	[12][13]
November 16	at No. 17 Arkansas	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 0–13	15,000	[14]
November 23	Baylor	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	W 35–0	15,000	[15]
November 30	TCU	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	W 30–13	17,000	[16]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Mustangs were selected.^[17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
6	40	Gene Wilson	End	Green Bay Packers
13	110	John Hamberger	Tackle	Philadelphia Eagles
17	154	Frank Pulattie	Back	New York Giants