CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1951 SMU

3–⁠6–⁠1 (1–⁠4–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by H.N. Russell.

Schedule and results

SMU in 1951, game by game: lost at Georgia Tech 7–21; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 0–7; won vs. Missouri 34–0; won at No. 5 Notre Dame 27–20; lost vs. Rice 7–28; lost vs. No. 12 Texas 13–20; tied at Texas A&M 14–14; won vs. Arkansas 47–7; lost at No. 10 Baylor 13–14; lost at No. 11 TCU 2–13+40−21Lost 7–21 at Georgia Tech-14Georgia TechLost 0–7 at No. 3 Ohio State-7No. 3 Ohio StateWon 34–0 vs. Missouri+34MissouriWon 27–20 at No. 5 Notre Dame+7No. 5 Notre DameLost 7–28 vs. Rice-21RiceLost 13–20 vs. No. 12 Texas-7No. 12 TexasTied 14–14 at Texas A&M0Texas A&MWon 47–7 vs. Arkansas+40ArkansasLost 13–14 at No. 10 Baylor-1No. 10 BaylorLost 2–13 at No. 11 TCU-11No. 11 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atGeorgia TechL 7–⁠2149%
Sep 29at3Ohio StateL 0–⁠734%
Oct 6vsMissouriW 34–⁠063%
Oct 13at5Notre DameW 27–⁠2034%
Oct 20vsRiceL 7–⁠2864%
Nov 3vs12TexasL 13–⁠2036%
Nov 10atTexas A&MT 14–⁠1437%
Nov 17vsArkansasW 47–⁠763%
Nov 24at10BaylorL 13–⁠1426%
Dec 1at11TCUL 2–⁠1335%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to TCU 13–⁠2; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 45th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 15

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 1951.

Consensus All-AmericanDick Hightower, C

Record
3–⁠6–⁠1
Conference
1–⁠4–⁠1 7th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
164–⁠144
Coach
H.N. Russell
Elo
1543 −32 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
13.5 No. 17 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Dick Hightower, Herschel Forester and Pat Knight

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 4Dick Hightower CWashington Redskins
Rd 7Val Joe Walker BNew York Giants

All-Southwest Conference

3 first team

First team

  • Herschel ForesterOGAP-1; UP-3
  • Bill ForesterDTAP-1; UP-3
  • Dick HightowerLBAP-1; UP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1951 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1951 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
TCU5–⁠16–⁠511
Baylor4–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠19
Texas3–⁠37–⁠3
Rice3–⁠35–⁠5
Arkansas2–⁠45–⁠5
Texas A&M1–⁠3–⁠25–⁠3–⁠2
SMU1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1

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