American college football season
The 1982 SMU Mustangs football team represented the: Southern Methodist University in theββ1982 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 11β0β1, and were Southwest Conference champions (7β0β1).
A tie in their regular season finale against No. 9 Arkansas on November 20 caused the voters in both pollsββto drop SMU from secondββto 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 7β3. 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 11β1.
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." On the season, the Mustangs outscored their opponents by a combined score of 354 to 160.
Scheduleβ»
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 11 | Tulane* | No. 8 | | W 51β7 | 33,814 | |
September 18 | at UTEP* | No. 6 | | W 31β10 | 33,509 | |
September 25 | TCU | No. 6 | | W 16β13 | 43,321 | |
October 2 | North Texas State* | No. 7 | | W 38β10 | 30,118 | |
October 9 | at Baylor | No. 6 | | W 22β19 | 30,000 | |
October 16 | Houston | No. 5 | | W 20β14 | 31,817 | |
October 23 | at No. 19 Texas | No. 4 | | W 30β17 | 80,157 | |
October 30 | Texas A&M | No. 4 | | W 47β9 | 50,008 | |
November 6 | at Rice | No. 2 | | W 41β14 | 25,000 | |
November 13 | at Texas Tech | No. 2 | | W 34β27 | 45,954 | |
November 20 | No. 9 Arkansas | No. 2 | | T 17β17 | 65,101 | |
January 1, 1983 | vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh* | No. 4 | | W 7β3 | 60,359 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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Rosterβ»
1982 SMU Mustangs football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Rankingsβ»
Ranking movements
Legend: ββ Increase in ranking ββ Decrease in ranking
β = Not ranked | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
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AP | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
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Coaches Poll | 11 | β | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
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Game summariesβ»
Tulaneβ»
Tulane vs. #8 SMU
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Green Wave |
0 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
7 |
• Mustangs |
7 |
17 | 7 | 20 |
51 |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | SMU | Craig James 42-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 7β0 |
| 2 | 13:58 | SMU | Eric Dickerson 14-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 14β0 |
| 2 | | SMU | Lance McIlhenny 8-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 21β0 |
| 2 | | SMU | Jeff Harrell 33-yard field goal | SMU 24β0 |
| 3 | 5:15 | SMU | Eric Dickerson 25-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 31β0 |
| 4 | | SMU | Reggie Dupard 3-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 38β0 |
| 4 | | SMU | Reggie Dupard 46-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 45β0 |
| 4 | 7:54 | Tulane | Elton Veals 1-yard run (kick) | SMU 51β7 |
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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
β»
#6 SMU at UTEP
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Mustangs |
14 |
14 | 3 | 0 |
31 |
Miners |
0 |
7 | 3 | 0 |
10 |
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TCU
β»
In the Battle for the Iron Skillet, SMU beat TCU 16β13.
North Texas State
β»
North Texas State vs. #7 SMU
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Mean Green |
0 |
7 | 3 | 0 |
10 |
• Mustangs |
14 |
10 | 7 | 7 |
38 |
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At Baylor
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Houston
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At Texas
β»
#4 SMU at #19 Texas
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Mustangs |
0 |
7 | 3 | 20 |
30 |
Longhorns |
0 |
0 | 0 | 17 |
17 |
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Texas A&M
β»
Texas A&M at #4 SMU
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Aggies |
0 |
0 | 3 | 6 |
9 |
• Mustangs |
16 |
10 | 14 | 7 |
47 |
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Eric Dickerson ran for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries.
At Rice
β»
In the Mayor's Cup, SMU beat Rice 41β14.
At Texas Tech
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Arkansas
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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.
#9 Arkansas vs. #2 SMU
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Razorbacks |
7 |
0 | 3 | 7 |
17 |
Mustangs |
0 |
7 | 3 | 7 |
17 |
|
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | Ark | Gary Anderson 3-yard run (Smith kick) | Ark 7β0 |
| 2 | | SMU | Eric Dickerson 6-yard run (Harrell kick) | Tied 7β7 |
| 3 | | SMU | Jeff Harrell 49-yard field goal | SMU 10β7 |
| 3 | | Ark | Martin Smith 27-yard field goal | Tied 10β10 |
| 4 | | Ark | Gary Anderson 3-yard run (Smith kick) | Ark 17β10 |
| 4 | | SMU | Lance McIlhenny 7-yard run (Harrell kick) | Tied 17β17 |
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Vs. Pittsburgh (Cotton Bowl)
β»
#6 Pittsburgh vs. #4 SMU
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Panthers |
0 |
0 | 3 | 0 |
3 |
• Mustangs |
0 |
0 | 7 | 0 |
7 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
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| 3 | | Pitt | Eric Schubert 43-yard field goal | PITT 3β0 |
| 4 | | SMU | Lance McIlhenny 9-yard run (Harrell kick) | SMU 7β3 |
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Awards and honors
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NFL Draftβ»
Six Mustangs were selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (335 selections).
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Mustangs (11-0-1) cotton to No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 4D.
- ^ Putnam, Pat (January 10, 1983). "Cottoning on to No. 2, it's SMWho". Sports Illustrated: 21.
- ^ "Mustangs lose No. 2 position to Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 23, 1982. p. 3B.
- ^ "SMU makes a tie as good as a win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 21, 1982. p. 6F.
- ^ "SMU in high Cotton after stopping Pitt". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 4B.
- ^ "Only dissent on No. 1 comes from No. 2". Eugene Register Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. January 3, 1983. p. 1C.
- ^ "At long last". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1983. p. 23.
- ^ Donovan, Dan (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players - Paterno". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.
- ^ "SMU Mustangs trample North Texas State". The Daily Advertiser. October 3, 1982. Retrieved October 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "SMU's Pony Express mauls Green Wave, 51-7". Shreveport Times via newspapers.com. September 12, 1982. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ "S.M.U. IN BOWL AFTER 17-17 TIE". The New York Times. November 21, 1983. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "Stout S.M.U. Defense Holds Off Pitt, 7-3". The New York Times. January 2, 1983. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
- ^ "'82 Heisman race no Walker in the park". November 1, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ Eric's College Days at SMU, "College". Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "1983 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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National championships in bold |
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