SMU lands In The College Football Playoff Facing Penn State.

1982 was a magical season for SMU. I was a senior in high school, but had my own car, a job, and trusting parents who allowed me to travel to Dallas on the weekends and watch my beloved SMU MUSTANGS play their home games. It was a wild ride. The offense was led by Lance McIlhenny who ran the option perfectly. Alternating at RB were Eric Dickerson and Craig James. Between the three, it was likely one of the best backfields ever assembled in college football.

As SMU stacked up the wins, each team played them just a little tougher. SMU was a member of the Southwest Conference which consisted of teams like Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech etc. SMU was favored to win, but Arkansas and Texas both had solid teams standing in the way. But it was Texas Tech that almost ruined SMUs perfect season.

At the same time, several thousand miles away, Penn State was slugging its way through another Independent schedule. They managed to beat #2 Nebraska, and then were spanked pretty hard by #4 Alabama. They finished the season 11-1 by beating Notre Dame, #5 Pitt and #1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

SMU topped #19 Texas, tied #9 Arkansas, and then beat #6 Pitt in the Cotton Bowl to finish 11-0-1 - the only unbeaten school in the country.

Before the bowls even started, there was a very effective lobbying effort to get "Joe Pa", coach of PSU, a national title. And it was implied that if not in 1982, he might never get it because he might retire. He would coach for another 28 seasons. The East Coast bias made sure the votes went to Paterno. And to add insult to injury, they managed to find a way to give Herschel Walker the Heisman Trophy. Dickerson was voted 3rd behind John Elway. Based on stats and team performance, and the fact that Dickerson shared time, there was no way in my mind that he did not earn the Trophy.

SMU would end up ranked #2 - yet another NCAA snub. We would experience more than a few of these over the next 3 decades.

You would think the old crotchety coach would be forgotten. But he had a knack for sticking his big nose into places it did not belong. In 1987, SMU was investigated and hammered by the NCAA for payments to players - at the time illegal, but widely practiced. Paterno liked to remind people how clean his program was, so he made sure to go on record and pile on SMU.

The irony of this statement would not be revealed until later. But it proves that what you sow, you certainly reap. Joe Pa had some secrets of his own. He had protected a player who was a serial rapist of coeds. That was just the warm up act. One of his coaches retired to ostensibly focus on at-risk youth. The risk was from the coach, who was molesting the boys. There were also rumors of others being involved, but somehow the investigators were more concerned with speed than depth. The timeline of events appeared to show PSU slowly moving Jerry Sandusky away from the program - likely knowing what was happening - or at the very least suspecting. Yet the retired coach still freely roamed the campus, even caught by an assistant coach with a boy in the showers. At that point, there was no doubt that the leadership knew what was going on. Yet covering it up seemed to be the safe response. And it never is.

So good old Joe was enabling and protecting both a rapist and a pedophile during the time he was claiming that he ran a clean program. 

Before news of this broke, PSU had a statue made of Joe. After this scandal broke, there was debate as to what should be done with it. I suggested putting it in the library, to remind everyone to stay quiet. There is no way all these things were happening on and near campus and yet NOBODY knew? This was a school that put college football before the safety of women and children. There truly is no excuse for that. 

To this day, there are folks in "Happy Valley" who defend coach, and attempt to downplay the severity of the events. "It happened a long time ago." "Nobody here now was involved!" Cry me a freakin' river. Its that very culture that needed cleansing. You DO NOT EVER put football over the safety of folks.

SMU took its medicine. The program was shut down for two years, losing millions and a generation of fans. We lost our association with the SWC, and especially our historical and traditional rivals. We hit rock bottom and are just now returning to where we belong - in the college football playoff.

For those who've been with SMU for some time, you will notice every media story - print/broadcast, and almost every social media comment continually mentions SMU and the death penalty - even when it had ZERO relevance to the story. How often do you hear about the major scandals surrounding PSU, UNC, BU? Its like they are all forgiven and forgotten, yet the DP remains forever. In some ways I understand. But why focus on the punishment - one that we now know was selectively applied, and likely will never be used again? The crimes are what matters. And ours was a nothing burger compared to sexually molesting kids, decades of fake classes, and football players gang raping coeds as a team building experience.

I was almost baited into a discussion on social media about PSU and the Sandusky events. But you know, its not going to change a thing. Maybe they are just better at forgetting the past and managing the media than SMU? Maybe its time to bury the DP, starting with ending PSUs title hope on Saturday.

The above are all secondary reasons for wanting to beat PSU. I want to beat them because I'm tired of the BIG. I'm tired of the arrogance, and the regional bias. 

Its a great conference and a massively large school with deep pockets. They load up with talent every recruiting year. They rank #11 on the talent composite ranking with 5 5* - 48 4* - 32 3* for a total of 895.42. With 48 4* players, its possible everyone in the two-deep is a 4* player. That is pretty stout.

SMU is chugging along at #22 - 1 5* - 24 4* - 52 - 3* - Total 788.22. Without any more information available, this looks like an easy win for PSU. 

I used this method to compare teams last year for bowl season and its pretty accurate. What it misses is experience - 6th year seniors, heart of the athletes, and those special players like Brashard Smith who was a WR at Miami, and became an all ACC RB at SMU. Players like that can make a difference. Along with QB Kevin Jennings and HC Rhett Lashlee.

The numbers were somewhat similar for the ACC Championship against Clemson, and SMU was just a few plays away from winning in the end. Maybe this time the whole team will make it to the stadium for the 1st quarter.

SMU has played PSU twice. A tie in 1948, and a PSU win in 1978. So no real competitive history to consider. On social media, PSU keeps mentioning weather - cold temperatures, and frozen precipitation. That likely was a factor last year in the Fenway Bowl. With a noon start, and hopefully no precipitation, nobody will have an edge because of weather.

My Prediction? SMU 38 PSU 14

 

SMU - First Outright Conference Championship in 41 Years!

If you have read any of my blogs you know that I am, and will always be a committed SMU fan. I've written about my Mother's love for SMU, the many family ties to the Methodist church and the school, and my experiences on the Hilltop. It just seems like part of my family.

My positive memories of SMU go back long before I attended. My Mother introduced me to SMU during a United Methodist Youth Foundation trip to see the Mustangs play in the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Both my sisters were in the church youth group, and my parents were chaperones. I of course as a wee one, had to come along. All that I knew about college football at that time came from my Father, who graduated from the University of Texas. He was there at the same time as Tom Landry, and UT was his team. Naturally, it was mine, until I saw the red & blue of SMU. I believe that first game was against Houston. And I'm pretty sure they lost, but I was hooked. My Mother told me stories of SMU greats like Doak Walker. He was there when she attended. Her excitement led me to learn more. I drove librarians crazy in elementary school finding books on the SWC, and SMU. I found a biography on Doak Walker - which I read and turned in a pretty nifty book report. I also found books on the Southwest Conference, and the many greats from SMU. This culminated in a priceless piece of literature on the topic of what would you do with $1,000,000. That was a lot of money back then. I wowed the class with my plans to purchase SMU and make it THE VERY BEST University on the Planet. I dream big.

Doak Walker Statue At SMU

By the time I was old enough to really understand college football, SMU was transitioning into the Mustang Mania phase. A time of great hype, followed by incredible success. It was just before and during this time I got to experience SMU in person. Both sisters enrolled at SMU, and I went along to help move them in. I was blown away by the scenery the first time. By the time we moved in the 2nd sister, when I was a wee bit more mature, I was REALLY blown away by the SCENERY. I found my future college.

I still had a few years to go, so I followed from my home in Longview. We would usually take one or two trips a year to see a game, often with a church group. When I was old enough to drive, and proven to be reliable behind the wheel, I would travel there myself. I started working at 15, and purchased my own vehicle. And my parents surprisingly trusted me. I did not drink or do drugs, and only went to school and work, so there was little time for trouble.

In 1982, a truly remarkable year, SMU managed to fight its way through their Southwest Conference schedule unblemished. There were a few moments where they cut it close, like winning at Texas Tech in the final seconds on a kickoff return. It came down to one final game against a ranked Arkansas team at Texas Stadium - the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and on Saturdays - the SMU Mustangs. I was among the 60k+ fans, not quite a sellout, but very close. Arkansas always brought lots of fans, but this was packed with Pony fans - alumni, students, and even folks from Dallas who were now Mustangs. The game went back and forth. Two great offenses against two very solid defenses. The second ranked Mustangs (10-0) playing the 8th ranked Razorbacks (8-1). A nationally televised game watched by millions. 

The game did not end as I desired. SMU had a chance to win on a last second field goal, but it went wide. But with the TIE, which was allowed back then, SMU was the undisputed Southwest Conference Champions, and would face Pittsburgh in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day. SMU would beat the Dan Marino led Panthers, but in one of many NCAA screw jobs, SMU, the ONLY unbeaten team in the nation, would be voted #2 behind the rapist protector and pedophile enabler Joe Paterno, who won their bowl game, yet had one loss. It was purely a sympathy vote for the whiner in Happy Valley, and some good old fashioned East Coast Bias.

That wasn't the only screw job that would occur that year. Eric Dickerson, who shared time at RB with Craig James, was clearly the best player on the best team in the NCAA by any objective measure. Dickerson was a Senior, Herschel Walker (Georgia) was a Junior - that right there should have led to a Dickerson win. Dickerson (232/1617/7.0/17) was inexplicably 3rd in voting behind Walker (335/1752/5.2/16) and Stanford's QB John Elway (262/405/3242/24/12) Stanford was 5-6 and didn't go bowling. Georgia was (11-1) and 4th in the final poll. Note Dickerson had 100 less carries, 1 more TD, and almost 2 yards more per carry, AND was only 140 yards behind Walker. An obvious case of voter bias. Most college football fans recognized who was best. And Dickerson's time in the NFL proved it.

But that all that came later. For much of December 1982 into January of 1983. SMU nation celebrated. They were SWC champions, and the ONLY undefeated team in the land! It was fantastic being a Mustang, and I eagerly looked forward to actually being a student on the Hilltop.

Some success would follow in 1983 and 1984 - including a shared SWC title with Houston in '84. But 1982 was the high water mark. Then 1987 hit. The program was shut down, followed by the demise of the SWC, and over 30 years of wandering in the wasteland of college football. It was a long road back to relevancy.

As the years went by, I wondered if SMU students would ever experience college football like I did while I was a student. The athletic success was such a major part of my time on the Hilltop. During the dark days of the 90s, I could see students were losing interest, indifferent to sports, and often embarrassed by the results. I would proudly wear my shirts or cap, and take my share of ridicule no matter where in America I traveled. But there were times when older fans who remembered the 80s indicated that they were Mustang fans back then. When I would encourage them to reconsider, my suggestion was usually rejected. People like winners. And for 30 years, SMU could not by any measure claim to be a winning football program.

That is why the win down in New Orleans was so special. No matter what accomplishments SMU had, the naysayers always pushed the goalpost further - one being a conference championship - which quite frankly, SMU had only sniffed at winning. But now, SMU was over that hump. Eleven wins, with a bowl game to come, shows that SMU is going to be a player on the national scene. We have the staff, the players, facilities, financial support, new conference ACC, and now excited students and fans, to keep us relevant in our new home.

Go Mustangs!!!