1951 SMU Mustangs football team

1951 SMU Mustangs football
1951 SMU Mustangs football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	3–6–1 (1–4–1 SWC)
Head coach	Rusty Russell (2nd season);
Captain	Dick Hightower, Herschel Forester, Pat Knight
Home stadium	Cotton Bowl
	Seasons ← 1950 1952 →

1951 Southwest Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 TCU $	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 9 Baylor	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Texas	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Rice	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Texas A&M	1	–	3	–	2	5	–	3	–	2
Arkansas	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
SMU	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	6	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Rusty Russell, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 3–6–1 with a mark of 1–4–1 in conference play, placing last out of seven teams in the SWC. SMU played home games at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Dick Hightower, Herschel Forester, Pat Knight were the team captains.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	at Georgia Tech*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 7–21	33,000	^[1]
September 29	at No. 3 Ohio State*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 0–7	80,735
October 6	Missouri*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 34–0	40,000
October 13	at No. 5 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	W 27–20	58,240
October 20	Rice	No. 15	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	L 7–28	53,000
November 3	No. 12 Texas		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 13–20	72,000
November 10	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	T 14–14	24,500
November 17	Arkansas		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 47–7	33,500
November 24	at No. 10 Baylor		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 13–14	30,000
December 1	at No. 11 TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	L 2–13	35,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ "Georgia Tech scores early, stops SMU passing for 21–7 win". The Times Dispatch. September 23, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1951 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
^ "2022 Football Media Guide" (PDF). SMU Athletics. p. 98. Retrieved December 24, 2022.

SMU Mustangs football
Venues	Armstrong Field (1915–1922) Gardner Park (1919) Ownby Stadium (1926–1948, 1989–1994) Cotton Bowl (1932–1978, 1995–1999) Texas Stadium (1972–1973, 1979–1986) Gerald J. Ford Stadium (2000–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Houston Navy: Gansz Trophy North Texas: Safeway Bowl Rice TCU
Culture & lore	Peruna Best Dressed Band in the Land 1935 "Game of the Century" Death penalty 2022 Houston game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold