SMU entered the 1936 Rose Bowl as the nation's top-ranked team, sporting a perfect 12-0 record and a defense which had shut out eight of its 12 opponents during the regular season. Led by first-year head coach Matty Bell, the Mustangs were matched against a strong Stanford team which took a 7-1 record into the game.

Due to a traffic jam, the SMU team bus did not arrive at the Rose Bowl until 20 minutes prior to kickoff. Stanford quarterback Bill Paulman scored on a one-yard sneak in the first quarter to give the Indians the early lead. It proved to be the only score of the game as SMU lost its best scoring opportunity with a fumble on the Stanford 5-yard line. The loss was SMU's only blemish in its first national championship season.