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1947 SMU

9–⁠0–⁠2 (5–⁠0–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Madison Bell, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 1947, game by game: won at Santa Clara 22–6; won vs. Missouri 35–19; won at Oklahoma State 21–14; won vs. No. 15 Rice 14–0; won at No. 16 UCLA 7–0; won vs. No. 3 Texas 14–13; won at Texas A&M 13–0; won vs. Arkansas 14–6; won at Baylor 10–0; tied at TCU 19–19; tied vs. No. 5 Penn State 13–13+16Won 22–6 at Santa Clara+16Santa ClaraWon 35–19 vs. Missouri+16MissouriWon 21–14 at Oklahoma State+7Oklahoma StateWon 14–0 vs. No. 15 Rice+14No. 15 RiceWon 7–0 at No. 16 UCLA+7No. 16 UCLAWon 14–13 vs. No. 3 Texas+1No. 3 TexasWon 13–0 at Texas A&M+13Texas A&MWon 14–6 vs. Arkansas+8ArkansasWon 10–0 at Baylor+10BaylorTied 19–19 at TCU0TCUTied 13–13 vs. No. 5 Penn State0No. 5 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atSanta ClaraW 22–⁠648%
Oct 4vsMissouriW 35–⁠1962%
Oct 11atOklahoma StateW 21–⁠1449%
Oct 18vs15RiceW 14–⁠056%
Oct 25at16UCLAW 7–⁠038%
Nov 1vs3TexasW 14–⁠1343%
Nov 8atTexas A&MW 13–⁠061%
Nov 15vsArkansasW 14–⁠677%
Nov 22atBaylorW 10–⁠069%
Nov 29atTCUT 19–⁠1965%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5Penn StateCotton BowlT 13–⁠1349%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Penn State 13–⁠13 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 12
  2. Wk 4: 8
  3. Wk 5: 3
  4. Wk 6: 4
  5. Wk 7: 3
  6. Wk 8: 3
  7. Wk 9: 4
  8. Final: 3

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1947.

Southwest Conference champions5–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteDoak Walker, third

Led the nationDoak Walker: kickoff return yards (387 yds)

Maxwell AwardDoak Walker, RB/K

Consensus All-AmericanDoak Walker, RB/K

Record
9–⁠0–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠0–⁠1 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
182–⁠90
Coach
Madison Bell
Elo
1674 +170 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.4 No. 7 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Sid Halliday

Drafted in 1948

The 1948 draft
Rd 3Earl Cook OGBoston Yanks
Rd 3Earl Cook OGBaltimore Colts (AAFC)

All-Southwest Conference

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1947 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1947 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠0–⁠23
Texas5–⁠110–⁠15
Rice4–⁠26–⁠3–⁠118
TCU2–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠2
Arkansas1–⁠4–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Texas A&M1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Baylor1–⁠55–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.