1982 SMU Mustangs football team

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1982 SMU Mustangs football
SMU Mustang logo.svg
National champion (Helms)
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 7–3 vs. Pittsburgh
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
1982 record11–0–1 (7–0–1 SWC)
Head coach
  • Bobby Collins (1st season)
CaptainCraig James
Gary Moten
Home stadiumTexas Stadium
Seasons
← 1981
1983 →
1982 Southwest Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 SMU $ 7 – 0 – 1 11 – 0 – 1
No. 17 Texas 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Arkansas 5 – 2 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Houston 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Baylor 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Texas Tech 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Texas A&M 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
TCU 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Rice 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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,[1][2] and were Southwest Conference champions (7–0–1).

A tie in their regular season finale against No. 9 Arkansas on November 20 caused the voters in both polls to drop SMU from second to fourth,[3] 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,[4] 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.[2][4]

Repeating as SWC champions, the Mustangs again earned the automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, where they defeated sixth-ranked Pittsburgh 7–3.[1][5] 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.[6][7][8]

The Mustangs were runner-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.[9] On the season, the Mustangs outscored their opponents by a combined score of 354 to 160.

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11Tulane*No. 8
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 51–733,814
September 18at UTEP*No. 6
  • Sun Bowl Stadium
  • El Paso, TX
W 31–1033,509
September 25TCUNo. 6
W 16–1343,321
October 2North Texas State*No. 7
W 38–1030,118[10]
October 9at BaylorNo. 6
  • Baylor Stadium
  • [Waco, TX
W 22–1930,000
October 16HoustonNo. 5
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 20–1431,817
October 23at No. 19 TexasNo. 4
W 30–1780,157
October 30Texas A&MNo. 4
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
W 47–950,008
November 6at RiceNo. 2
W 41–1425,000
November 13at Texas TechNo. 2
W 34–2745,954
November 20No. 9 ArkansasNo. 2
  • Texas Stadium
  • Irving, TX
T 17–1765,101
January 1, 1983vs. No. 6 PittsburghNo. 4
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)
W 7–360,359
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

1982 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 87 Rickey Bolden Jr
OL 67 Andrew Campbell
QB   Jeff Courtwright Sr
RB 36 Mark Crites Jr
RB 19 Eric Dickerson Sr
FB 28 Charles Drayton Injured Sr
RB 21 Reggie Dupard Fr
T 70 Dale Hellestrae So
RB 32 Craig James Sr
QB 2 Don King Fr
WR 7 Bobby Leach So
QB 11 Lance McIlhenny Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 13 Keith Brooks Fr
DT 74 Michael Carter So
DB 29 Russell Carter Jr
DB 46 Wes Hopkins Sr
CB 1 Rod Jones Fr
LB 91 Clarence McDade Jr
CB 5 Reggie Phillips So
DB 23 Blane Smith Sr
DT 78 Richard Neely Sr
OLB 54 Tony Good Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 3 Jeff Harrell Jr
P 32 Craig James Sr
Head coach
  • Bobby Collins
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings[]

See also: 1982 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 14 Final 
AP 6 8 6 6 7 6 5 4 4 2 2 2 4 4 4 2 
Coaches Poll 11 – 6 8 7 6 5 4 4 3 2 2 4 4 4 2

Game summaries[]

Tulane[]

Tulane vs. #8 SMU
1 234Total
Green Wave 0 007 7
• Mustangs 7 17720 51
  • Date: September 11
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
  • Game attendance: 33,814
  • Game weather: 92 °F (33 °C)
See also: 1982 Tulane Green Wave football team

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.[11]

at UTEP[]

#6 SMU at UTEP
1 234Total
• Mustangs 14 1430 31
Miners 0 730 10
  • Date: September 18
  • Location: Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
  • Game attendance: 33,509
See also: UTEP Miners football

TCU[]

See also: 1982 TCU Horned Frogs football team and Battle for the Iron Skillet

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

North Texas State[]

North Texas State vs. #7 SMU
1 234Total
Mean Green 0 730 10
• Mustangs 14 1077 38
  • Date: October 2
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
  • Game attendance: 30,118
See also: North Texas Mean Green football

at Baylor[]

See also: 1982 Baylor Bears football team

Houston[]

See also: 1982 Houston Cougars football team

at Texas[]

#4 SMU at #19 Texas
1 234Total
• Mustangs 0 7320 30
Longhorns 0 0017 17
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
  • Game attendance: 80,157
  • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
See also: 1982 Texas Longhorns football team

Texas A&M[]

Texas A&M at #4 SMU
1 234Total
Aggies 0 036 9
• Mustangs 16 10147 47
  • Date: October 30
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
  • Game attendance: 50,008
See also: 1982 Texas A&M Aggies football team

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

at Rice[]

See also: 1982 Rice Owls football team

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

at Texas Tech[]

See also: 1982 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

Arkansas[]

#9 Arkansas vs. #2 SMU
1 234Total
Razorbacks 7 037 17
Mustangs 0 737 17
  • Date: November 20
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
  • Game attendance: 65,101
  • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Lee Grosscup
See also: 1982 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

[12]

vs. Pittsburgh (Cotton Bowl)[]

#6 Pittsburgh vs. #4 SMU
1 234Total
Panthers 0 030 3
• Mustangs 0 070 7
  • Date: October 2
  • Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
  • Game attendance: 60,359
  • Referee: Jimmy Harper
  • TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson, Pat Haden, and Pat O'Brien
Main article: 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic
See also: 1982 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

[13]

Awards and honors[]

  • Eric Dickerson, consensus All-American,[14] third in the Heisman Trophy voting,[15] despite splitting time with Craig James.[16]

NFL Draft[]

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

Player Position Round Pick NFL Club
Eric Dickerson Running back 1 2 Los Angeles Rams
Russell Carter Safety 1 10 New York Jets
Wes Hopkins Safety 2 35 Philadelphia Eagles
Gary Moten Linebacker 7 175 San Francisco 49ers
Craig James Running back 7 187 New England Patriots

[17]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Mustangs (11-0-1) cotton to No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 4D.
  2. ^ a b Putnam, Pat (January 10, 1983). "Cottoning on to No. 2, it's SMWho". Sports Illustrated: 21.
  3. ^ "Mustangs lose No. 2 position to Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 23, 1982. p. 3B.
  4. ^ a b "SMU makes a tie as good as a win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 21, 1982. p. 6F.
  5. ^ "SMU in high Cotton after stopping Pitt". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 4B.
  6. ^ "Only dissent on No. 1 comes from No. 2". Eugene Register Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. January 3, 1983. p. 1C.
  7. ^ "At long last". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1983. p. 23.
  8. ^ Donovan, Dan (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players - Paterno". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.
  9. ^ "David Wilson's Homepage".
  10. ^ "SMU Mustangs trample North Texas State". The Daily Advertiser. October 3, 1982. Retrieved October 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "SMU's Pony Express mauls Green Wave, 51-7". Shreveport Times via newspapers.com. September 12, 1982. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "S.M.U. IN BOWL AFTER 17-17 TIE". The New York Times. November 21, 1983. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  13. ^ "Stout S.M.U. Defense Holds Off Pitt, 7-3". The New York Times. January 2, 1983. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  14. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  15. ^ "'82 Heisman race no Walker in the park". November 1, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  16. ^ Eric's College Days at SMU, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-06-04. Retrieved 2015-07-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "1983 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.
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