1956 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1956 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1956 college football season. Led by Woody Woodard in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 4–6 with a mark of 2–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the SWC. SMU played home games at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Bill Livingstone and Smitty Keller were the team captains.

1956 SMU Mustangs football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	4–6 (2–4 SWC)
Head coach	Woody Woodard (4th season)
Captain	Bill Livingstone, Smitty Keller
Home stadium	Cotton Bowl
Seasons ← 1955 1957 →

1956 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Texas A&M $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	1
No. 14 TCU	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 11 Baylor	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
SMU	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Rice	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Texas	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	No. 3 Notre Dame*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 19–13	61,000
September 29	No. 2 Georgia Tech*	No. 5	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 7–9	46,500	[1]
October 6	at Missouri*	No. 12	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	W 33–27	25,000
October 13	at Duke*	No. 19	Duke Stadium Durham, NC	L 6–14	25,000	[2]
October 20	at Rice		Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 14–13	47,000
November 3	at Texas		Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 20–19	35,000	[3]
November 10	No. 5 Texas A&M		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 7–33	62,500
November 17	at Arkansas		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 13–27	34,000
November 24	No. 16 Baylor		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 0–26	28,000
December 1	No. 14 TCU		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	L 6–21	32,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4][5]

References

1. "Georgia Tech squeezes past S. Methodist 9–7". The Park City Daily News. September 30, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Duke rises up to whip Ponies". Wichita Falls Times. October 14, 1956. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "SMU evades Texas upset, wins 20 to 19". Wichita Falls Times. November 4, 1956. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1956 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
5. "2022 Football Media Guide" (PDF). SMU Athletics. p. 100. Retrieved December 24, 2022.