CFN's Pete Fiutak's take on 1980s SMU

[Harry0569]

… Nice timing, kids. What better after an hour long dance around the elephant in the room than a documentary about SMU in the 1980s?

But it would be far more entertaining than the one about the USFL … I’m really, really, really hoping ESPN doesn’t end up debuting, “30 for 30: $cam Newton,” after the 2015 Heisman presentation.

The “Pony Excess” documentary did a great job of going through the particulars of just how corrupt and just how dumb the SMU administrators were, but it didn’t effectively convey how bad the program was before it started systematically paying players. (Oddly enough, the best current example of the same sort of meteoric rise would probably be Stanford, going from miserable to a stepping-stone year to the national title debate in a hiccup.) The doc also failed to address one huge, glaring point about the program that went 45-5-1 from 1980 to 1984 ...

SMU didn’t beat anyone.

Let’s not romanticize the Southwest Conference too much; towards the end, the league wasn’t the dominant force that old-schoolers make it out to be. The Mustangs were Boise State with an all-world nose tackle (Michael Carter) and all-timer running backs (Eric Dickerson and Craig James).

The first huge recruiting class cut its teeth with a 5-6 1979 season, and then in 1980, when things started to come together, the Mustangs went 8-4 with just four wins over teams that finished with a winning record. The best win of the bunch was over an overrated Texas squad that finished 7-5.

The 1981 team that didn’t get to go to a bowl game, but won the SWC title and beat four teams that finished with a winning record, with the best victory the season-ender over a decent, but not elite Arkansas team, to finish 10-1. The one loss came against the one great team on the slate, Texas.

About that supposedly dominant 11-0-1 team that some still think should’ve won the 1982 national title, check out the final records of the teams the Mustangs beat: Tulane (4-7), UTEP (2-10), TCU (3-8), North Texas (2-9), Baylor (4-6-1), Houston (5-5-1), Texas (9-3), Texas A&M (5-6), Rice (0-11), and Texas Tech (4-7). Four of those games (TCU, Baylor, Houston, and Texas Tech) were nailbiters against bad teams with SMU winning all four by seven points or fewer and three of them in the final moments. Outside of the win over Texas, the only other game of note was against Arkansas, who had one of the nation’s best defenses, in a 17-17 tie. The 7-3 ice bowl win over Pitt in the Cotton Bowl wasn’t exactly convincing for a team that simply wasn’t that great.

…Yes, everyone was doing the same stuff that SMU did, especially in the Southwest Conference, and yes, the NCAA did make an example out of the program, but going nuclear worked. Verne Lundquist put it best when he said that the NCAA wasn’t going to apply the Death Penalty again except for extreme circumstances, but it also made its statement in a case where it was absolutely justified in dropping the hammer. SMU was given second and third chances, and the place still kept screwing up. Of course the other schools in the Southwest Conference should’ve been hit harder, but no one surrounding the SMU situation has any right for whining about getting nailed with a ticket even though everyone was speeding. The Mustangs happened to be going 183 miles per hour in the wrong lane.

To bring it home, and to try to fight through the Cam Fatigue, this is why there’s such an uproar over the lack of punishment in any way for the Newton Family Fun Time. The NCAA always, always, always, thinks about the precedent it’s setting, and it’ll always, always, always go out of its way to make a point with the future in mind.

[Harry0569]

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1031051.html

[crazy horse]

Oh Geez not this stuff again.

He omits Arkansas (9-2-1) record, a very solid and ranked Lou Holtz coached team in 1982.

Penn State beat Temple (2-9), Rutgers (5-6), Syracuse (2-9), Notre Dame (6-4-1)
They also beat West Virginia (9-3) with victories over: ECU, Richmond, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Temple, Rutgers and Syracuse
And NC State (6-5) with victories over: Furman, ECU, Duke and Wake Forest
And Boston College (8-3-1) with victories over: Holy Cross, Army, Navy, Temple, Massachusetts and Syracuse

To their credit they beat Nebraska (12-1), Pittsburgh (9-3), and Georgia (11-1). They lost to Alabama (8-4)

I still believe the 82 squad on a neutral field would spank Penn State. Its shame we never got the chance to see it.

[PonyKai]

The idea of comparing us to that uppity, glorified JC in Idaho infuriates me. He can sod off for that comparison alone.

[Stallion]

Adjusting for weight and strenth differences in modern teams SMU would pound all the top schools in 2010 into the ground including Oregon, Auburm, Boise. Why? Because the NFL Draft hadn't started taking underclassmen yet. If they had then Dickerson, James, Michael Carter, Russell Carter, Harvey Armstrong, and maybe more would have already been in the NFL. There are about 20 Future NFL Players playing on that 1982 team. The better teams in the 1980s are better than the modern teams for this reason. We now have a diluted product-the SEC would be incredible.

[lwjr]

What a putz!

[Harry0569]

What pisses me off is that I genuinely enjoyed reading Fiutak's work. He writes almost everyday for CFN. Damn him.

[Junior]

who the hell is pete fuitak?

[PonyKai]

Sorry, but recruiting strength alone from that period invalidates most of, if not all of his claims as our resident guru pointed out. Dickerson was the #1 recruit in the entire country...James wasn't far behind, then we put together multiple very impressive classes with prep kids that never panned out for various reasons like Stanley/Stoppervich. Boise State and TCU and Utah have never recruited to that degree. We didn't march out a bunch of Pac-10 rejects with camoflouged uniforms and "coach em up!" to go 12-0 for one or two years. We marched out the most talented damn college football team in the country at the time.

TCU has been the best non-AQ recruiting team for a while, right....and they crack into the 30's. Not a slam on them, but a clear and demonstratable difference between his ill-formulated comparison. That would be like Boise State outrecruiting Alabama, Florida, Texas, Notre Dame, and USC all in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

[Harry0569]

who the hell is pete fuitak?

He is arguably one of the best college football writers out there. Writes for college football news (cfn.scout.com), which I think is the best college football website out there. I read it everyday.

[Longtime]

Pete Fiutak one of the best college football writers? On what planet?

He's prolific, sure. He's good at yanking people's chains with blowhard opinions. But if you think he's one of the best, you need to broaden your horizons.

[Charleston Pony]

I seem to recall 14 guys from that 1982 team going on to play in the NFL; I think they were the best college team that year

[CalallenStang]

Penn State LOST a game. SMU didn't. Fiutak can go Fiutak himself.

[orguy]

Such drivel and fantasy. I saw that 82 team. They were incredible. They found a way to win. The SWC stayed very strong till around 86 or so.

I was at the Arkansas game? how bout you jerky? or you just write bs on an internet board?

That team should have gotten a share of the 82 national championship. Not saying they would have beaten Penn State but then again its not at all clear Papa OLD would have beaten SMU... it was an NC in name only that year and many of the top sports writers of the time knew it.

And as for Boise Junior College: yeah academically it is a JC but they are also a very very good football program. Well coached and disciplined. And considering their recruiting classes are not that highly ranked I would say they are underrated as a football program.

[mustang1108]

I am not a big fan of style points when it comes to determining a teams ranking. I'm pretty sure if you look back at the national champions from the past 20 years with the exception of maybe Nebraska in 95 there has always been at least one game where the champion was barely able to get by a lesser opponent. The fact of the matter is we were the only team in the country with no losses, even penn state had a loss and their one loss wasn't even close. I think that by being the only undefeated team in the country we deserved the national championship.