1972 SMU Mustangs football team

1972 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Texas $	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Texas Tech	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
SMU	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Rice	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Baylor	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Texas A&M	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by Hayden Fry in his 11th and final season as head coach, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a conference mark of 4–3, tying for second place in the SWC.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Wake Forest*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 56–10	20,175	^[1]
September 23	at Florida*		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 21–14	42,849	^[2]
September 30	at Virginia Tech*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 10–13	26,000	^[3]
October 7	New Mexico State*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 55–6	27,221
October 21	Rice		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 29–14	20,398
October 28	Texas Tech	No. 18	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 3–17	35,953
November 4	at No. 9 Texas		Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	L 9–17	72,500
November 11	Texas A&M		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 17–27	32,109–38,342
November 18	at Arkansas		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 22–7	38,342
November 25	Baylor		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 12–7	18,035
December 2	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 35–22	18,152
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1972 SMU Mustangs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`28`	Alvin Maxson	Jr
OT	`73`	John Meyer	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`24`	Pat Curry	Sr
DB	`43`	Robert Popelka	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

^ "Ponies ride herd on Deacons, 56–10". The Odessa American. September 17, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mustangs stop Florida, 21–14". The Marshall News Messenger. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mustangs saddled by Virginia Tech". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 1, 1972. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e 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)
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National championship seasons in bold