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1947 William & Mary

9–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Southern Conference), coached by Rube McCray, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

William & Mary in 1947, game by game: won vs. Davidson 21–0; won vs. The Citadel 56–7; won vs. Virginia Tech 21–7; lost vs. North Carolina 7–13; won at Boston University 47–13; won vs. No. 15 Wake Forest 21–0; won vs. VMI 28–20; won at Washington and Lee 45–6; won vs. Bowling Green 20–0; won at Richmond 35–0; lost vs. Arkansas 19–21+49−6Won 21–0 vs. Davidson+21DavidsonWon 56–7 vs. The Citadel+49The CitadelWon 21–7 vs. Virginia Tech+14Virginia TechLost 7–13 vs. North Carolina-6North CarolinaWon 47–13 at Boston University+34Boston Universi…Won 21–0 vs. No. 15 Wake Forest+21No. 15 Wake ForestWon 28–20 vs. VMI+8VMIWon 45–6 at Washington and Lee+39Washington and …Won 20–0 vs. Bowling Green+20Bowling GreenWon 35–0 at Richmond+35RichmondLost 19–21 vs. Arkansas-2Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27vsDavidsonW 21–⁠083%
Oct 4vsThe CitadelW 56–⁠782%
Oct 11vsVirginia TechW 21–⁠773%
Oct 18vsNorth CarolinaL 7–⁠1364%
Oct 25atBoston UniversityW 47–⁠1384%
Nov 1vs15Wake ForestW 21–⁠057%
Nov 8vsVMIW 28–⁠2086%
Nov 15atWashington and LeeW 45–⁠676%
Nov 22vsBowling GreenW 20–⁠097%
Nov 27atRichmondW 35–⁠085%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsArkansasDixie BowlL 19–⁠2167%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Arkansas 21–⁠19 in the Dixie Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; Southern Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 15
  2. Wk 6: 12
  3. Wk 7: 14
  4. Wk 8: 14
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Final: 14

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.

Southern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 12
Points
320–⁠87
Coach
Rube McCray
Elo
1635 +63 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
13.8 No. 20 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Bob Steckroth

Drafted in 1948

The 1948 draft
Rd 3Tommy Thompson LBWashington Redskins
Rd 5Knox Ramsey OGChicago Bears
Rd 7Tommy Thompson CCleveland Browns (AAFC)

All-Southern Conference

4 first team

First 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 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
William & Mary7–⁠19–⁠214
North Carolina4–⁠18–⁠29
South Carolina4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Duke3–⁠1–⁠14–⁠3–⁠219
Washington and Lee3–⁠25–⁠5
Maryland3–⁠2–⁠17–⁠2–⁠2
NC State3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠117
Virginia Tech4–⁠34–⁠5
Davidson3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Wake Forest3–⁠46–⁠4
VMI2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Clemson1–⁠34–⁠5
The Citadel1–⁠43–⁠5
Furman1–⁠42–⁠7
Richmond1–⁠53–⁠7
George Washington0–⁠41–⁠7–⁠1

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