1966 SMU Mustangs football team

1966 Southwest Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Rankings from AP Poll

1966 SMU Mustangs football
1966 SMU Mustangs football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 9–24 vs. Georgia
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 10
1966 record	8–3 (6–1 SWC)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (5th season);
Home stadium	Cotton Bowl (c. 75,504)
	Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

The 1966 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Hayden Fry, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a conference mark of 6–1, winning the SWC title.

The Mustangs seemingly blew their chances at the SWC championship with a 22–0 loss on November 12 at Arkansas, the two-time reigning SWC champion. However, SMU's title changes were reopened by Texas Tech, which upended the Razorbacks, 21–16, at Arkansas' season finale on November 19. Seven days later, SMU shut out rival TCU, 21–0. SMU earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, played in their home stadium, the Cotton Bowl. The Mustangs lost the game to Georgia on New Year's Eve.

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 17	Illinois*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 26–7	28,000
September 24	Navy*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 21–3	58,000
October 1	at Purdue*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 23–35	46,116
October 15	Rice		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 28–24	30,000
October 22	at Texas Tech		Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	W 24–7	40,350
October 29	at Texas		Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 13–12	58,500
November 5	Texas A&M		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 21–14	53,000
November 12	at No. 6 Arkansas		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 0–22	42,000
November 19	Baylor		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 24–22	30,000
November 26	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 21–0	30,000
December 31	vs. No. 4 Georgia	No. 10	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	L 9–24	75,504
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

1966 SMU Mustangs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`23`	Jerry LeVias	So
QB	`18`	Mike Livingston	Jr
RB	`24`	Mike Richardson	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`3`	Dennis Partee	Jr

Head coach

Hayden Fry

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References[]

This college football 1960s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

v t SMU Mustangs football
Venues	Armstrong Field (1915–1922) 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 Navy: Gansz Trophy North Texas: Safeway Bowl Rice: Mayor's Cup TCU: Battle for the Iron Skillet
Culture & lore	Peruna Best Dressed Band in the Land Death penalty
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
National championship seasons in bold

1966 Southwest Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 10 SMU $	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Arkansas	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Texas	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Baylor	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Rice	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll