1945 SMU Mustangs football team

1945 SMU Mustangs football
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Record5–6 (4–2 SWC)
Head coach
CaptainTom Dean, Howard Maley
Home stadiumOwnby Stadium
Seasons
← 1944
1946 →
1945 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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]

  1. ^ "1945 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  2. ^ "AP 1945 First Team". The Paris News. December 10, 1945. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "All-Southwest Conference". The Shreveport Times. December 6, 1945. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.