CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1974 Texas A&M

8–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Southwest Conference), coached by Emory Bellard, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1974, game by game: won vs. Clemson 24–0; won at No. 7 LSU 21–14; won at Washington 28–15; lost at Kansas 10–28; won vs. No. 9 Texas Tech 28–7; won vs. TCU 17–0; won at Baylor 20–0; won vs. Arkansas 20–10; lost at SMU 14–18; won vs. Rice 37–7; lost at No. 17 Texas 3–32+30−29Won 24–0 vs. Clemson+24ClemsonWon 21–14 at No. 7 LSU+7No. 7 LSUWon 28–15 at Washington+13WashingtonLost 10–28 at Kansas-18KansasWon 28–7 vs. No. 9 Texas Tech+21No. 9 Texas TechWon 17–0 vs. TCU+17TCUWon 20–0 at Baylor+20BaylorWon 20–10 vs. Arkansas+10ArkansasLost 14–18 at SMU-4SMUWon 37–7 vs. Rice+30RiceLost 3–32 at No. 17 Texas-29No. 17 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14vsClemsonW 24–⁠064%
Sep 21at7LSUW 21–⁠1427%
Sep 28atWashingtonW 28–⁠1557%
Oct 5atKansasL 10–⁠2844%
Oct 12vs9Texas TechW 28–⁠739%
Oct 19vsTCUW 17–⁠082%
Oct 26atBaylorW 20–⁠060%
Nov 2vsArkansasW 20–⁠1069%
Nov 9atSMUL 14–⁠1857%
Nov 16vsRiceW 37–⁠779%
Nov 29at17TexasL 3–⁠3237%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 32–⁠3; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 4: 9
  3. Wk 5: 5
  4. Wk 6: 16
  5. Wk 7: 8
  6. Wk 8: 8
  7. Wk 9: 8
  8. Wk 10: 5
  9. Wk 11: 10
  10. Wk 12: 9
  11. Wk 13: 8
  12. Wk 14: 16
  13. Final: 16

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 1974.

Consensus All-AmericanPat Thomas, DB

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 5
Points
222–⁠131
Coach
Emory Bellard
Elo
1603 +109 this season
SP+ rating
14.9 No. 25 of 124; offense No. 56, defense No. 7
SRS
15.8 No. 16 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ben Hurt
Defensive coordinator
Melvin Robertson
Offense
Wishbone

Drafted in 1975

The 1975 draft
Rd 1Tim Gray DBSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 5John McCrumbly LBBuffalo Bills
Rd 7James Daniels DBOakland Raiders

All-Southwest Conference

6 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1974 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1974 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Baylor6–⁠18–⁠414
Texas A&M5–⁠28–⁠316
Texas5–⁠28–⁠417
Arkansas3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
SMU3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Texas Tech3–⁠46–⁠4–⁠2
Rice2–⁠52–⁠8–⁠1
TCU0–⁠71–⁠10

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