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1948 SMU

9–⁠1–⁠1 (5–⁠0–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Madison Bell, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 1948, game by game: won at Pittsburgh 33–14; won vs. Texas Tech 41–6; lost at Missouri 14–20; won at Rice 33–7; won vs. Santa Clara 33–0; won at No. 20 Texas 21–6; won vs. Texas A&M 20–14; won at Arkansas 14–12; won vs. Baylor 13–6; tied vs. TCU 7–7; won vs. No. 10 Oregon 21–13+35−6Won 33–14 at Pittsburgh+19PittsburghWon 41–6 vs. Texas Tech+35Texas TechLost 14–20 at Missouri-6MissouriWon 33–7 at Rice+26RiceWon 33–0 vs. Santa Clara+33Santa ClaraWon 21–6 at No. 20 Texas+15No. 20 TexasWon 20–14 vs. Texas A&M+6Texas A&MWon 14–12 at Arkansas+2ArkansasWon 13–6 vs. Baylor+7BaylorTied 7–7 vs. TCU0TCUWon 21–13 vs. No. 10 Oregon+8No. 10 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25atPittsburghW 33–⁠1471%
Oct 2vsTexas TechW 41–⁠667%
Oct 9atMissouriL 14–⁠2058%
Oct 16atRiceW 33–⁠753%
Oct 23vsSanta ClaraW 33–⁠076%
Oct 30at20TexasW 21–⁠641%
Nov 6vsTexas A&MW 20–⁠1491%
Nov 13atArkansasW 14–⁠1271%
Nov 20vsBaylorW 13–⁠679%
Nov 27vsTCUT 7–⁠785%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10OregonCotton BowlW 21–⁠1363%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon 21–⁠13 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Final: 10

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 1948.

Southwest Conference champions5–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman TrophyDoak Walker, RB

Consensus All-AmericanDoak Walker, RB

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0–⁠1 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 4
Points
250–⁠105
Coach
Madison Bell
Elo
1736 +120 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
21.0 No. 6 of 117 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Joe Ethridge and Floyd Lewis

Drafted in 1949

The 1949 draft
Rd 1Doak Walker RBNew York Bulldogs
Rd 1Paul Page RBNew York Giants
Rd 2Dick McKissack BChicago Cardinals
Rd 6Joe Ethridge OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6John Hamberger OTSan Francisco 49ers (AAFC)

All-Southwest Conference

2 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1948 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1948 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠110
Texas4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Baylor3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠2
Rice3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas2–⁠45–⁠5
TCU1–⁠4–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Texas A&M0–⁠5–⁠10–⁠9–⁠1

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