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For those who remember, do you think our 2009 breakout season bears a closer resemblance to the 1978 season or the 1980 season? Which is the better analogy for where the program is now? Just a little fodder for the off-season.

Not trying to be wise-#ss, but we'll know in two years.

Help some of us to remember 1978 and 1980. I would have been 12 and 14. I remember Mike Ford, how highly recruited he was. I remember guys like Tolbert and Choate. I remember Lance coming along and replacing Ford. But give us a little history of what was happening to SMU football.

I believe SMU's record increased in slight increments every year from 1976 through 1981 in almost exact delayed correlation with improved recruiting classes which each year got better and better. A graph of both recruiting and record would mirror the other with results on the field showing 2-3 years after recruiting success.

Looking at Stassen's database, we won a little over a third of our games in the five years leading up to 1980. 4-7 in 1975, 3-8 in 1976, 4-7 again in 1977, 4-6-1 in 1978, and 5-6 in 1979.

1980 we went 8-4. We would go on to win 76% of our games from 1980-1986, putting us as number 7 in terms of win percentage for that period.

The reason I came up with 1978 and 1980 is because both seasons were major milestones in the development of Ron Meyer's program at SMU.

I don't actually think we had a winning season in 1978. If I have my facts straight, however, that was the year that the "Mustang Mania" marketing campaign was launched that greatly raised the profile of SMU football. That season also featured a killer three-game road trip to Florida, Penn State, and Ohio State. The Ponies beat Florida, barely lost to Penn State, and tied OSU. My understanding is that those results created some buzz around the program. Following that season was the monster recruiting class headed by Craig James and Eric Dickerson.

1979 was a ho-hum year. No big wins, losing record, no bowl.

1980 was of course the year that the record finally turned around and SMU went to its first bowl game in (I believe) 12 years. We also beat Texas that year, which hadn't happened for a long time. After the 1980 season, the program really took off and the rest is history.

So in thinking about the 2009 season and where the program is now, I wondered if 2010 will be more like 1979, with the big breakout coming in 2011. Or was the big breakout actually in 2009, with the program going to new heights from there (like in 1981, 1982).

Obviously only time will tell. Fun the speculate though.

This is a good topic. We were 4-6-1 in 1978 and 5-6 in 1979 before, as you and Stallion said, really taking off from 1980-1986. I would agree that 2009 was analogous to 1978 rather than 1980.

I think the Mustang Mania buzz and the big crowds at Texas Stadium along with the bumper stickers etc got people excited and talking about SMU football again in a much bigger way and thensome excellent recruiting classes. Ford and Tolbert, Choate and Wittington led the way to James, MC, Carter, Ball and Dickerson. The scholarship limits were working for the SWC. Then the DP, UA leaving and the breakup. A sad time for people who had grown up with the swc and still wish it were here today.