The 1945 SMU Mustangs football team was an American football team that represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1945 college football season. In their eighth, non-consecutive season under head coach Matty Bell, the Mustangs compiled a 5–6 record (4–2 against conference opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 201 to 110. After a stretch in which the team lost six of seven games, SMU finished the season with three consecutive shutout victories over Arkansas (21-0), Baylor (34-0), and TCU (34-0).[1] The team played its home games at Ownby Stadium in the University Park suburb of Dallas.
| 1945 SMU Mustangs football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Record | 5–6 (4–2 SWC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | Tom Dean, Howard Maley |
| Home stadium | Ownby Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Texas $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Three SMU players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and/or United Press (UP) on the 1945 All-Southwest Conference football team: back Doak Walker (AP-1, UP-1); end Gene Wilson (AP-1, UP-1); and tackle Tom Dean (AP-1, UP-1).[2][3]
Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22 | Blackland AAF | W 51–0 | 6,500 | [4] | ||||
| September 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at Corpus Christi NAS |
| L 7–22 | 16,000 | [5][6][7] | ||
| October 6 | Missouri |
| L 7–10 | |||||
| October 12 | at No. 14 Oklahoma State | L 12–26 | ||||||
| October 20 | Rice |
| W 21–18 | |||||
| October 27 | at Tulane | L 7–19 | 28,000 | [8] | ||||
| November 3 | Texas |
| L 7–12 | 23,000 | [9] | |||
| November 10 | at Texas A&M | L 0–3 | ||||||
| November 17 | Arkansas |
| W 21–0 | |||||
| November 24 | Baylor |
| W 34–0 | 10,000 | ||||
| December 1 | at TCU | W 34–0 | ||||||
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References
edit- ^ "1945 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "AP 1945 First Team". The Paris News. December 10, 1945. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Southwest Conference". The Shreveport Times. December 6, 1945. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ratliff, Harold V. (September 23, 1945). "Powerful SMU Ponies Crush Blackland Air Field, 51-0". San Angelo Standard-Times. San Angelo, Texas. p. 10, section 1. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Overflow Crowd, Rain Forecast For Comet-SMU Game Tonight". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. September 29, 1945. p. 1. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Lee, Bill (September 30, 1945). "Navy Comets Roar Over Southern Methodist, 22 To 7". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 1D. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Lee, Bill (September 30, 1945). "Comets (continued)". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 2D. Retrieved March 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Intercepted passes give Tulane 19 to 7 triumph over SMU". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 28, 1945. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bobby Layne's passes give Steers victory late in game". Sunday American-Statesman. November 4, 1945. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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