1981 SMU Mustangs football team

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.

1981 SMU Mustangs football
Co-national champion (NCF) SWC champion
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 5
Record	10–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach	Ron Meyer (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Steve Sidwell (6th season)
Home stadium	Texas Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	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 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 at Arkansas as their bowl game and nicknamed it the "Polyester Bowl". SMU defeated the Razorbacks 32–18.

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 one of five co-national champions by the National Championship Foundation (NCF).^{[1]: 112–114}

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Texas–Arlington*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 48–0	20,130	^[2]
September 12	North Texas State*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 34–7	20,400	^[3]
September 19	Grambling State*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 59–27	45,700
September 26	at TCU	No. 20	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 20–9	25,862
October 10	Baylor	No. 14	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 37–20	33,110
October 17	at Houston	No. 10	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	W 38–22	36,892
October 24	No. 10 Texas	No. 8	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	L 7–9	62,777
October 31	at Texas A&M	No. 13	Kyle Field College Station, TX	W 27–7	62,646
November 7	Rice	No. 10	Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)	W 33–12	28,750
November 14	Texas Tech	No. 8	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 30–6	24,410
November 21	at No. 16 Arkansas	No. 6	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 32–18	43,842
*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   Jr DB 20 James Mobley Sr DB 29 Russell Carter So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Eddie Garcia Jr	Head coach Ron Meyer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Rankings

See also: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	—	—	—	20	15	14	10	8	13	10	8	6	6	5	5

Game summaries

Arkansas

#6 SMU at #16 Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 6 Mustangs 3 9 0 20 32 No. 16 Razorbacks 7 0 11 0 18 Date: Saturday, November 21 Location: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas Game attendance: 43,842 Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Scoring summary 1 SMU Garcia 39-yard field goal SMU 3-0 1 ARK Anderson 7-yard pass from Jones (Lohay kick) ARK 7-3 2 SMU Garcia 43-yard field goal ARK 7-6 2 SMU Washington 10-yard interception return (pass failed) SMU 12-7 3 ARK Clark 1-yard run (Jones to Pierce pass) ARK 15-12 3 ARK Lohay 21-yard field goal ARK 18-12 4 SMU Garcia 24-yard field goal ARK 18-15 4 SMU Garcia 47-yard field goal Tied 18-18 4 SMU Jones 10-yard run (Garcia kick) SMU 25-18 4 SMU Dickerson 31-yard run (Garcia kick) SMU 32-18

• 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

^[4]

References

1. 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
2. "Mustangs mash Mavericks". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 6, 1981. p. B1. Retrieved January 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
3. "SMU runners slash NT, 34–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 13, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. . Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2015.