1975 SMU Mustangs football team

1975 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Arkansas +	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Texas +	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Texas A&M +	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Texas Tech	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Baylor	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	2
SMU	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Rice	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
TCU	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1975 NCAA Division I football season.^[1] Led by Dave Smith in his third and final year as head coach, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 4–7 (2–5 in SWC, fifth).

Under mounting pressure, Smith resigned on December 31,^[2] and was succeeded by Ron Meyer, the head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), then in Division II.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Wake Forest*	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 14–7	13,400	^[4]
September 13	at No. 19 Florida*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 14–40	55,472	^[5]
September 27	at Houston*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 27–16	28,713
October 4	No. 11 West Virginia*	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 22–28	27,665	^[6]
October 10	TCU	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 28–13	15,883
October 18	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 17–28	18,000
October 25	at Texas Tech	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 20–37	36,020
November 1	No. 8 Texas	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 22–30	35,010
November 8	at No. 4 Texas A&M	Kyle Field College Station, TX	L 3–36	49,809
November 15	Arkansas	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	L 7–35	21,880
November 22	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 34–31	27,300
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1975 SMU Mustangs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`15`	Kenny Harrison	Sr
WR	`80`	Freeman Johns	Sr
RB	`25`	Wayne Morris	Sr
G	`65`	Henry Sheppard	Sr
QB	`12`	Ricky Wesson	Jr
SR	`81`	Gene Ratliff	Fr
S	`40`	Arthur Whittington	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

^ SMU media guide
^ "SMU boss quits under fire". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 1, 1976. p. 3B.
^ "SMU to be exciting". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 24, 1976. p. 3B.
^ "SMU drops Deacons". The El Paso Times. September 7, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Florida romps over dazed Ponies 40–14". Waco Tribune-Herald. September 14, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mustangs subdued by W. Va". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 5, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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)
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
National championship seasons in bold