1981 SMU Mustangs football team

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1981 SMU Mustangs football
SMU Mustang logo.svg
National champion (NCF)
SWC champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
APNo. 5
1981 record10–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorSteve Sidwell (6th season)
Home stadiumTexas Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 SMU $ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 2 Texas 6 – 1 – 1 10 – 1 – 1
Houston 5 – 2 – 1 7 – 4 – 1
Arkansas 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Texas A&M 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Rice 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Baylor 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
TCU 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 7 – 2
Texas Tech 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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. 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 against Arkansas as their bowl game and nicknamed it the "Polyester Bowl". 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 national champion bu the National Championship Foundation (NCF).

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

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5Texas–Arlington*
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 48–020,130[1]
September 12North Texas State*
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 34–720,400[2]
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
  • Kyle Field
  • College Station, TX
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
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
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. # Name Class
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. # Name Class
DL 75 Harvey Armstrong Sr
DT 74 Michael Carter Jr
DL 99 Eric Ferguson Sr
DL Jerry Kovar Redshirt.svg Jr
DB 20 James Mobley Sr
DB 29 Russell Carter So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
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.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final 
AP NR NR NR 20 15 14 10 8 13 10 8 6 6 5 5

Game summaries[]

Arkansas[]

#6 SMU at #16 Arkansas
1 234Total
• SMU 3 9020 32
Arkansas 7 0110 18
  • Date: Saturday, November 21
  • Location: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas
  • Game attendance: 43,842
  • SMU wins first conference title since 1966 (ineligible for Cotton Bowl Classic berth).

Team players drafted into the NFL[]

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Perry Hartnett Tackle 5 116 Chicago Bears
Harvey Armstrong Defensive tackle 7 190 Philadelphia Eagles
Eddie Garcia Kicker 10 264 Green Bay Packers

[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mustangs mash Mavericks". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 6, 1981. p. B1. Retrieved January 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. ^ "SMU runners slash NT, 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 13, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
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