best to wear #19 ever

[Corso]

Khalid Beard was well on his way until SMU retired it and made him resume his career in no. 9

Don't forget the great Omar Thompson.

[CalallenStang]

Wait a second...let's step back to 1982. Here's Penn State's results with the teams they played and the opponent records.

9/4 vs. Temple (4-7) W 31 14
9/11 vs. Maryland (8-4) W 39 31
9/18 vs. Rutgers (5-6) W 49 14
9/25 vs. Nebraska (12-1) W 27 24
10/9 vs. Alabama (8-4) L 21 42 @ Birmingham, AL
10/16 vs. Syracuse (2-9) W 28 7
10/23 @ West Virginia (9-3) W 24 0
10/30 @ Boston College (8-3-1) W 52 17
11/6 vs. North Carolina State (6-5) W 54 0
11/13 @ Notre Dame (6-4-1) W 24 14
11/26 vs. Pittsburgh (9-3) W 19 10
1/1 vs. Georgia (11-1) W 27 23 @ New Orleans, LA Sugar Bowl

Look at how bad they lost to Alabama. So we tied Arkansas. So we had a close call against TCU and Baylor. We didn't lose by three touchdowns to a 4-loss team!

[jtstang]

I hope you mean by "taking care of business" that SMU should have just won the game.

That's exactly what I meant. I was a senior in high school, and did not get tickets to that game. Wish I'd known about your seats then.

[jtstang]

Look at how bad they lost to Alabama. So we tied Arkansas. So we had a close call against TCU and Baylor. We didn't lose by three touchdowns to a 4-loss team!

Well, there's the sympathy vote. Didn't we have a pretty close call against Tech that year as well?

[CalallenStang]

Look at how bad they lost to Alabama. So we tied Arkansas. So we had a close call against TCU and Baylor. We didn't lose by three touchdowns to a 4-loss team!

Well, there's the sympathy vote. Didn't we have a pretty close call against Tech that year as well?

Yes...we beat Tech 34-27.

[mrydel]

What you need to check (and this is Jt's point) are the years that Penn St. went undefeated and was the only team to do so, and did not win the National Championship due to strength of schedule. There is no doubt that Penn St. was voted in due to sympathy for past years.

[CalallenStang]

For contrast between ED and Salaam - here's what Colorado did in 1993 & 1994

1993 - lost to 4-7 Stanford, 9-3 Miami (FL), 11-1 Nebraska, tied 9-2-1 Kansas State, ranked #16 in AP, UPI, & CNN/USA Today
1994 - lost to 13-0 Nebraska, ranked #3 in AP, UPI, & CNN/USA Today

he had 3,057 career yards. How many did ED have?

[Corso]

he had 3,057 career yards. How many did ED have?

4,450

[CalallenStang]

What you need to check (and this is Jt's point) are the years that Penn St. went undefeated and was the only team to do so, and did not win the National Championship due to strength of schedule. There is no doubt that Penn St. was voted in due to sympathy for past years.

1968? barely beat 9-2 Kansas 15-14 in Orange Bowl. Second best team on their schedule was Army.

1969? They struggled 15-14 to beat 5-5 Syracuse! They won the Orange Bowl over Missouri 10-3. Mizzou was 9-2 that year.

1973? The two best teams on their schedule were NC State and LSU in the bowl game. And those they barely won.

Those were the only years they were undefeated and did not get the national championship.
1973 was the only year in the decade prior to 1982 in which they went undefeated. So it had been a LONG time and PSU was definetely not deserving of any sympathy as was shown in the first game of 1983 when they got destroyed by Nebraska 44-6.

[CalallenStang]

he had 3,057 career yards. How many did ED have?

4,450

On paper, ED looks better. In the pros, ED looked better. But Salaam has that Heisman trophy. So we have to go to the tiebreaker:

Who was on the Monday Night Football crew?

ED wins.

[mrydel]

Please know that I think SMU deserved the NC over Penn St. There is just a reason for justifying Penn St. although not one I like or respect.

[jtstang]

From my view, it was awarded more to Paterno than to Penn State, but I'm probably splitting hairs.

[jtstang]

Didn't we have a pretty close call against Tech that year as well?

Yes...we beat Tech 34-27.

Please tell me a big SMU supporter like yourself hasn't forgotten about that game. Stallion will be heartbroken.

[CalallenStang]

Please know that I think SMU deserved the NC over Penn St. There is just a reason for justifying Penn St. although not one I like or respect.

Oh, I know. The point of my argument is that SMU should have won the NC with ED (wow, lots of acronyms!) which adds to his legacy here. And that the "sympathy" vote really wasn't deserved. Nor should it ever happen again. If that was the true reason, by the way, they should have done it in 1978 when PSU's only loss was a 14-7 loss to Alabama. Or in 1977 when their only loss was a 24-20 loss to 10-1 Kentucky.

Please tell me a big SMU supporter like yourself hasn't forgotten about that game. Stallion will be heartbroken.

Jt, I wasn't alive at the time. My parents were both at UT at the time. I've heard all about how great SMU was that year, but nothing about that game. And my uncle didn't get to Tech (where he played) until the year after.

[JesuitPony]

At least ESPN got #37 right.

#37 Doak Walker, RB, SMU, 1945, 1947-49
There was only one Doaker, one of the biggest reasons that college football was second only to baseball in popularity after World War II. Forget his 1948 Heisman. He made the cover of "Life"!
Honorable mention: LSU DB Tommy Casanova.