1947 SMU Mustangs football team

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	Matty Bell (10th season)
Captain	Sid Halliday
Home stadium	Ownby Stadium, Cotton Bowl
Seasons ← 1946 1948 →

1947 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 SMU $	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	0	–	2
No. 5 Texas	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 18 Rice	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
TCU	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	5	–	2
Arkansas	1	–	4	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Texas A&M	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Baylor	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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*		Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 22–6	5,000	[7]
October 4	Missouri*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 35–19	26,000	[8]
October 11	at Oklahoma A&M*		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 21–14	18,000	[9]
October 18	No. 15 Rice		Ownby Stadium University Park, TX (rivalry)	W 14–0	23,000	[10]
October 25	at No. 16 UCLA*	No. 12	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 7–0	64,197	[11]
November 1	No. 3 Texas	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 14–13	46,500	[12]
November 8	at Texas A&M	No. 3	Kyle Field College Station, TX	W 13–0	38,000	[13]
November 15	Arkansas	No. 4	Ownby Stadium University Park, TX	W 14–6	23,000	[14]
November 22	at Baylor	No. 3	Municipal Stadium Waco, TX	W 10–0	12,000	[15]
November 29	at TCU	No. 3	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	T 19–19	31,000	[16]
January 1	vs. No. 4 Penn State	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	T 13–13	47,000	[17]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1947 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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]

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