The1935 SMU Mustangs football team was anAmerican football team that representedSouthern Methodist University (SMU) in theSouthwest Conference (SWC) during the1935 college football season. In their first season under head coachMatty Bell, the Mustangs posted an overall record of 12–1 record with a mark of 6–0 in conference play, winning the SWC title. SMU was invited to theRose Bowl, where they lost toStanford. The Mustangs shut out eight of thirteen opponents and outscored all opponents by a total of 288 to 39 on the season.[1]
SMU was named as the national champion in 1935 by theDickinson System andHoulgate System and were awarded national championship trophies by both rankings.[2] They were later retroactively named champions byBerryman andSagarin as well, and are one of five teams chosen by selectors recognized as "major" by the NCAA.[3]
^Noel, David, ed. (1936). "Football – Awards".The Rotunda 1936. Southern Methodist University — Dallas, Texas: S. M. U. Students Publishing Company Incorporated. p. 190.In recognition of their outstanding ability on the gridiron, the Mustangs were awarded several trophies, most significant being the coveted national championship honors. SMU is the first Southwest team to receive the Knute K. Rockne Memorial Trophy. Equally prized is the Deke Houlgate Cup, which designates the Ponies national champions of 1935.
^2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records(PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114.Archived(PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 12, 2021.
^"Football Award Winners"(PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 7. RetrievedOctober 21, 2017.
^"Inwood Smith Selected For Collier's 'American: Ohio State Guard One of Three Middlewestern Players Honored; Year Termed 'Greatest'".Circleville Herald. December 12, 1935.
^Alan Gould (December 7, 1935). "Lutz, Grayson Only Coast Stars On A.P. All-American: Four Southern Aces Given Laurels".Oakland Tribune.
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