1981 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1981 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Ron Meyer in his sixth and final season as head coach, the Mustangs compiled an overall record 10–1 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the SWC title.

1981 SMU Mustangs football
Co-national champion (NCF)
SWC champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
APNo. 5
Record10–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeOption
Defensive coordinatorSteve Sidwell (6th season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumTexas Stadium
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 SMU $ 7 –1 –010 –1 –0
No. 2 Texas 6 –1 –110 –1 –1
Houston 5 –2 –17 –4 –1
Arkansas 5 –3 –08 –4 –0
Texas A&M 4 –4 –07 –5 –0
Rice 3 –5 –04 –7 –0
Baylor 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
TCU 1 –6 –12 –7 –2
Texas Tech 0 –7 –11 –9 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Mustangs had been put on probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations and were banned from participating in any bowl game in 1981. Since SMU's performance would have given them an automatic berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, the team decided to treat its final regular season game at Arkansas as their bowl game and nicknamed it the "Polyester Bowl". SMU defeated the Razorbacks 32–18.

SMU finished at No. 5 in the final AP Poll. Because its rules prevent schools under probation from being considered, the Mustangs were not ranked in the Coaches Poll at all during the season. At season's end, the Mustangs were recognized as one of five co-national champions by the National Championship Foundation (NCF).[1]: 112–114 

The team's offense scored 365 points while the defense allowed 137 points.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5Texas–Arlington*
W 48–020,130[2]
September 12North Texas State*
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 34–720,400[3]
September 19Grambling State*
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 59–2745,700
September 26at TCUNo. 20
W 20–925,862
October 10BaylorNo. 14
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 37–2033,110
October 17at HoustonNo. 10
W 38–2236,892
October 24No. 10 TexasNo. 8
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
L 7–962,777
October 31at Texas A&MNo. 13
W 27–762,646
November 7RiceNo. 10
W 33–1228,750
November 14Texas TechNo. 8
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 30–624,410
November 21at No. 16 ArkansasNo. 6
W 32–1843,842
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1981 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 19 Eric Dickerson Jr
FB 28 Charles Drayton Jr
OL 77 Perry Hartnett Sr
RB 32 Craig James Jr
QB 11 Lance McIlhenny So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DL 75 Harvey Armstrong Sr
DT 74 Michael Carter Jr
DL 99 Eric Ferguson Sr
DL Jerry Kovar  Jr
DB 20 James Mobley Sr
DB 29 Russell Carter So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 1 Eddie Garcia Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings
See also: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP———201514108131086655

Game summaries

Arkansas
#6 SMU at #16 Arkansas
1 234Total
• No. 6 Mustangs 3 9020 32
No. 16 Razorbacks 7 0110 18
Scoring summary
1SMUGarcia 39-yard field goalSMU 3-0
1ARKAnderson 7-yard pass from Jones (Lohay kick)ARK 7-3
2SMUGarcia 43-yard field goalARK 7-6
2SMUWashington 10-yard interception return (pass failed)SMU 12-7
3ARKClark 1-yard run (Jones to Pierce pass)ARK 15-12
3ARKLohay 21-yard field goalARK 18-12
4SMUGarcia 24-yard field goalARK 18-15
4SMUGarcia 47-yard field goalTied 18-18
4SMUJones 10-yard run (Garcia kick)SMU 25-18
4SMUDickerson 31-yard run (Garcia kick)SMU 32-18
  • SMU wins first conference title since 1966 (ineligible for Cotton Bowl Classic berth).

Team players drafted into the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Perry HartnettTackle5116Chicago Bears
Harvey ArmstrongDefensive tackle7190Philadelphia Eagles
Eddie GarciaKicker10264Green Bay Packers

[4]

References
  1. 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. "Mustangs mash Mavericks". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 6, 1981. p. B1. Retrieved January 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "SMU runners slash NT, 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 13, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "1982 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2015.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.