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1982 SMU Mustangs football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1982
teamSMU Mustangs
sportfootball
conferenceSouthwest Conference
short_confSWC
CoachRank2
APRank2
record11–0–1
conf_record7–0–1
head_coachBobby Collins
hc_year1st
off_schemeNo-huddle option
def_coachBill Clay
dc_year1st
def_scheme[3–4](3-4-defense)
captainCraig James
captain2Gary Moten
stadiumTexas Stadium
championCo-national champion (HAF)
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
bowl[Cotton Bowl Classic](1983-cotton-bowl-classic)
bowl_resultW 7–3 vs. [Pittsburgh](1982-pittsburgh-panthers-football-team)

SWC champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion The 1982 SMU Mustangs football team represented the Southern Methodist University in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the first year for the team under head coach Bobby Collins and the Mustangs finished undefeated at 11–0–1, and were Southwest Conference champions (7–0–1).

The Mustangs won their first ten games, the last of which came on a miraculous 91-yard kickoff return lateral-play in the final seconds against Texas Tech to preserve the unbeaten and untied season to that point. In the regular season finale the following week, a tie against No. 9 Arkansas caused the voters in both polls to drop SMU from second to fourth, costing the Mustangs the national championship. The tie was attributed in part to a lengthy and highly questionable pass interference call on Arkansas late in the game that allowed SMU to score the game-tying touchdown, a call that announcer Keith Jackson stated on air was a bad call by the officials. Trailing by a point, head coach Collins opted not to go for the two-point conversion and the lead, and they kicked the extra point to knot the score at seventeen with under three minutes remaining. There was no further scoring, as SMU missed a long field goal attempt in the final seconds.

Repeating as SWC champions, the Mustangs earned the automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, where they defeated sixth-ranked Pittsburgh 7–3. Played in near-freezing conditions, it was the final college game for the "Pony Express" running back tandem of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, as well as for Pitt quarterback Dan Marino.

After SMU's tie to Arkansas, Penn State moved up to second and then defeated No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to secure the top spot in the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, despite a slightly less impressive final record of 11–1.

The Mustangs were runners-up in the final AP Poll, but the Helms Athletic Foundation, in the final year in which it selected a national college football champion, split the honor between SMU and Penn State. On the season, the Mustangs outscored their opponents by a combined score of 354 to 160.

Schedule

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Rankings

Game summaries

Tulane

StatisticsTulane Green Waveyear=1982border=1}}"TulaneSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Tulane Green Waveyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Tulane**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

SMU romped to a season-opening victory over Tulane with a school-record 519 yards rushing. Senior Eric Dickerson ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and went over 3,000 career rushing yards. Craig James added 110 yards and a touchdown. It was the 10th time Dickerson and James each ran for more than 100 yards in the same game.

At UTEP

StatisticsSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMUUTEP Minersyear=1982border=1}}"UTEP
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
UTEP Minersyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**UTEP**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

TCU

StatisticsTCU Horned Frogsyear=1982border=1}}"TCUSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
TCU Horned Frogsyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**TCU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

In the Battle for the Iron Skillet, SMU beat TCU 16–13.

North Texas State

StatisticsNorth Texas Mean Greenyear=1982border=1}}"North Texas StateSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
North Texas Mean Greenyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**North Texas State**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At Baylor

StatisticsSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMUBaylor Bearsyear=1982border=1}}"Baylor
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Baylor Bearsyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Baylor**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Houston

StatisticsHouston Cougarsyear=1982border=1}}"HoustonSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Houston Cougarsyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Houston**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At Texas

StatisticsSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMUTexas Longhornsyear=1982border=1}}"Texas
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Texas Longhornsyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Texas**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Texas A&M

StatisticsTexas A&M Aggiesyear=1982border=1}}"Texas A&MSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Texas A&M Aggiesyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Texas A&M**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Eric Dickerson ran for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries.

At Rice

StatisticsSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMURice Owlsyear=1982border=1}}"Rice
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Rice Owlsyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Rice**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

In the Mayor's Cup, SMU beat Rice 41–14.

At Texas Tech

Arkansas

Going into this game, SMU needed a victory or a tie to claim the SWC championship and secure a trip to the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas, on the other hand, needed a victory over the Mustangs plus a win over Texas the following week. The game proved to be marred by controversy due to questionable officiating.

Late in the fourth quarter Arkansas led SMU 17-10 with time winding down. From the Mustang 43 yard line, SMU quarterback Lance McIlhenny lofted a pass to receiver Jackie Wilson down the left sideline, with Wilson being defended by Arkansas cornerback Nathan Jones. The pass was long, and Jones was in fact in front of Wilson as both players went to the turf together. Jones was flagged for pass interference, and since that penalty was a spot foul instead of 15 yards at that time in college football, the ball was placed near the Arkansas 15 yard line. SMU would score the game-tying touchdown a few plays later, and the game ended in a 17-17 tie, handing the Mustangs the conference championship. Play-by-play announcer Keith Jackson would even say on live television that the pass interference penalty on Jones was "just a terrible call". The officiating crew was suspended after this game and the NCAA issued an apology to Arkansas. This egregious call directly influenced the NCAA to change the rules for pass interference over the following summer so that a pass interference penalty would be 15 yards and not a spot foul.

StatisticsArkansas Razorbacksyear=1982border=1}}"ArkansasSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Arkansas Razorbacksyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Arkansas**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Vs. Pittsburgh (Cotton Bowl)

StatisticsPittsburgh Panthersyear=1982border=1}}"PittsburghSMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}"SMU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Pittsburgh Panthersyear=1982border=1}}; text-align:center;"**Pittsburgh**Passing
Rushing
Receiving
SMU Mustangsyear=1982border=1color=white}}; text-align:center;"**SMU**Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Roster

Awards and honors

  • Eric Dickerson, consensus All-American, third in the Heisman Trophy voting, despite splitting time with Craig James.

NFL draft

Six Mustangs were selected in the 1983 NFL draft, which lasted 12 rounds (335 selections).

References

References

  1. (January 2, 1983). "Mustangs (11-0-1) cotton to No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard.
  2. Putnam, Pat. (January 10, 1983). "Cottoning on to No. 2, it's SMWho". Sports Illustrated.
  3. "Yards to Glory - ESPN".
  4. (1982-11-14). "'Miracle' Lateral Keeps SMU Unbeaten, 34-27". The Washington Post.
  5. (November 23, 1982). "Mustangs lose No. 2 position to Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard.
  6. (November 21, 1982). "SMU makes a tie as good as a win". Eugene Register-Guard.
  7. (January 2, 1983). "SMU in high Cotton after stopping Pitt". Tuscaloosa News.
  8. (January 3, 1983). "Only dissent on No. 1 comes from No. 2". Eugene Register Guard.
  9. (January 3, 1983). "At long last". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  10. Donovan, Dan. (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players - Paterno". Pittsburgh Press.
  11. (September 12, 1982). "Mustangs run to 51–7 victory over Tulane". Austin American-Statesman.
  12. (September 19, 1982). "Mustangs zip Miners, 31–10". Waco Tribune-Herald.
  13. (September 26, 1982). "SMU staves off fired-up TCU". The Monitor.
  14. (October 3, 1982). "SMU Mustangs trample North Texas State". The Daily Advertiser.
  15. (October 10, 1982). "Bears fall to Mustang comeback". Longview News-Journal.
  16. (October 17, 1982). "SMU edges Houston, 20–14". The Tyler Courier-Times.
  17. (October 24, 1982). "Mustangs roll by Longhorns". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  18. (October 31, 1982). "Mustangs overwhelm Texas A&M, 47–9". Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
  19. (November 7, 1982). "SMU pounds Rice". The Post-Crescent.
  20. (November 14, 1982). "SMU's wild kickoff return bails out 34–27 victory". The Galveston Daily News.
  21. (November 21, 1982). "SMU, Arkansas tie; Mustangs win SWC". Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
  22. (January 2, 1983). "Ponies cap big year with Cotton victory". Austin American-Statesman.
  23. (September 12, 1982). "SMU's Pony Express mauls Green Wave, 51-7". [[The Times (Shreveport).
  24. (November 21, 1983). "S.M.U. IN BOWL AFTER 17-17 TIE". [[The New York Times]].
  25. (January 2, 1983). "Stout S.M.U. Defense Holds Off Pitt, 7-3". [[The New York Times]].
  26. Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  27. (November 1, 2011). "'82 Heisman race no Walker in the park".
  28. "College".
  29. "1983 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
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