OUTLOOK
PLAYERS
COACHES
OPPONENTS
REVIEW
RECORDS
HISTORY MEDIA
1970s
Over the course of the 1970s, the SMU football program was shaped by outstanding individual performances and the birth of "Mustang Mania" on the Hilltop. Chuck Hixson ended his SMU career in 1970 as the Mustangs’ career leader in total offense with 7,179 yards. Alvin Maxson helped fill the void left by Hixson’s absence by becoming the first Mustang to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons when he rushed for 1,012 in 1971 and 1,005 in 1972. In the process, he helped the Mustangs to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1958-59. Defensively, Robert Popelka, Louie Kelcher and Putt Choate starred for the Mustangs in the 1970s. All three were two-time All-Southwest Conference performers during their careers at SMU. Ron Meyer was hired as SMU’s 10th head coach in January of 1976 and was given the responsibility of establishing a championship reign on the Hilltop. His ability to recruit players such as Mike Ford and Emanuel Tolbert helped build the foundation of “Mustang Mania.” A highly-touted quarterback recruit from Mesquite High School, Ford was the nation’s second-ranked passer in 1978, when he threw for 3,007 yards. His main target was Tolbert, an All-American with blazing speed. Home attendance jumped from 26,000 to 52,000 in 1978 and “Mustang Mania” ushered a new era in SMU football the following season, when the Mustangs began playing all of their home games at Texas Stadium. Accompanying the move to a new stadium in 1979 was a freshman class which would lift SMU football to new heights. Freshmen Eric Dickerson and Craig James combined to rush for 1,239 yards in 1979, and the “Pony Express” was born. • Tailback Arthur Whittington finished second in the nation in all-purpose running to Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett in 1976 with 167.5 yards a game. Whittington finished his SMU career in 1977 as the Mustangs’ all-time leader in kickoff return yards with 1,649. • A four-year starter from 1973-76, Ricky Wesson became the first Mustang quarterback to accumulate more yards rushing than passing in a single season in 1974. Wesson rushed for 885 yards while passing for 688. He became the fourth player in SMU history to lead the Mustangs in rushing and passing in the same season. • Putt Choate became the first Mustang defender to record more than 200 tackles in a season when he made 253 in 1978. Choate finished his career with 649 stops. • Despite coming from different backgrounds, Eric Dickerson and Craig James shared similar success before arriving at SMU. Both led their high schools to undefeated 15-0 seasons and state championships as seniors. In three years at Sealy High School, Dickerson rushed for 5,875 yards and 84 touchdowns. James collected 2,411 yards and 35 TDs during his senior season at Stratford High School in Houston. Record for the decade: 48-59-3
Eric Dickerson (pictured) and Craig James teamed to form the "Pony Express" from 1979 to 1982
1980s
There was a great deal of optimism surrounding the SMU football program in 1980. Eric Dickerson and Craig James gave the Mustangs one of the nation’s top backfield duos and Mike Ford returned to the team after a knee injury limited him to just two starts in 1979. Leading the defense were future All-Americans John Simmons and Harvey Armstrong. The Mustangs parlayed their talent into an 8-4 record and the school’s first national ranking (20th) since 1968. A 10-1 record the following season vaulted the Ponies to their second National Championship and their first conference title in 16 years, as a new quarterback took the reigns of the Pony Express. Lance McIlhenny was the perfect leader for SMU’s option attack, using his running ability and leadership capabilities to guide the Mustangs to a 34-5-1 record after becoming the starting quarterback in the seventh game of his freshman season in 1980. After Ron Meyer was named head coach of the New England Patriots prior to the 1982 season, Southern Mississippi coach Bobby Collins was named the Mustangs’ new head coach. Dickerson, James and McIlhenny led SMU to an 11-0-1 record and its second-consecutive National Championship in 1982, highlighted by a victory over Pittsburgh and its star quarterback, Dan Marino, in the Cotton Bowl. With the loss of Dickerson and James to the National Football League in 1983, the Mustangs found a capable replacement in Reggie Dupard, a tailback from New Orleans whose blazing speed made him the first SMU running back to gain over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. Dupard was the nation’s eighth-leading rusher in 1985 with 1,278 yards, and he became a first-round draft choice by the New England Patriots the following spring. After NCAA sanctions forced the cancellation of the 1987 season and University officials cancelled the 1988 campaign, SMU welcomed one of its former gridiron greats back to lead the resurrection of the Mustang football program. Forrest Gregg returned to accept what he called “the ultimate challenge” when he was named as the Ponies’ head coach Jan. 14, 1988, after having coached the Green Bay Packers since 1984. He was given the responsibility of guiding a team consisting of 74 freshmen, 16 of whom were starters. One of those freshmen was quarterback Mike Romo who, on Feb. 10, 1988, became the Mustangs’ first signee since 1985. Romo engineered one of the most exciting wins in Mustang history when he led SMU from a 17-point deficit in the final five minutes to defeat Connecticut, 31-30, in just the second game of the 1989 season. He completed a four-yard pass to Michael Bowen on the game’s final play to give the Ponies their first win since 1986 in a game that came to be known as the "Miracle on Mockingbird."
Under Hayden Fry, Chuck Hixson set numerous records on the Hilltop
• One of the most memorable plays in SMU football history took place Nov. 13, 1982, when Bobby Leach took a cross-field lateral on a kickoff with 17 seconds left and raced untouched for a 91-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 34-27 win over Texas Tech. The play helped preserve the Ponies’ undefeated season and forever branded Leach with the nickname of “Miracle Man.” • As a freshman in 1989, Mike Romo broke four school passing records which had stood for over 20 years. Romo set SMU records for yards passing in a game (450), passes completed in a game (40), passes completed in a season (282) and passes attempted in a season (503). • Jason Wolf set an NCAA freshman record when he caught 61 passes in 1989. • After playing their home games in Ownby Stadium from 1926-48, the Mustangs returned their home games to the on-campus facility in 1989. SMU hosted Rice in the season opener on Sept. 2, marking the return of Mustang football to Ownby exactly 40 years and 11 months after SMU’s last game there.
2016 SMU FOOTBALL
Record for the decade: 63-28-1 n
PAGE 128