Reality Check

[Stallion]

Delusional for SMU?
Believe me same words were said about TCU, Baylor -(and Rice) who have spent decades in the Bottom 10.

[dbone]

1983 SMU was 10-1 ranked #6 with the only loss to #2 ranked Texas 15-12. (We missed 2 point conversion that would have been 14-13 SMU...late safety added last 2 points for Texas.)

The result of that underappreciated and very good team? No good bowl bids and had to accept the Sun Bowl or nothing.

Yes...times have changed and bowls are not the standard of comparison.

Look at the teams we played...look at the scores...we played very good teams very close...even post Death Penalty we had some seasons that win loss did not reflect the ability of the team.

Today...???

[ponyinNC]

[ponyinNC]

^^^ my sincere message to pug-like pony^^^

[Charleston Pony]

ESPN/cable TV changed the world of college football. Back pre-1980, playing in a bowl game meant you were probably among the top 10-20% of college football programs. Today you don't even need to be in the upper 50%. Youngsters can't appreciate how far SMU has fallen...but they also can't imagine a time when you had only 3-5 channels on your TV and you had to get up and walk to the TV to change the channel (that would make a good song lyric). I attribute SMU's fall in large part to television's impact and how little interest there is, and has been in SMU football since the Dallas Cowboys became Dallas' football team

[lwjr]

ESPN/cable TV changed the world of college football. Back pre-1980, playing in a bowl game meant you were probably among the top 10-20% of college football programs. Today you don't even need to be in the upper 50%. Youngsters can't appreciate how far SMU has fallen...but they also can't imagine a time when you had only 3-5 channels on your TV and you had to get up and walk to the TV to change the channel (that would make a good song lyric). I attribute SMU's fall in large part to television's impact and how little interest there is, and has been in SMU football since the Dallas Cowboys became Dallas' football team

I have I to disagree about getting up and changing the TV. My family had remote control TV in the mid late 60's, myself and two brothers were the remote controls

[max the wonder dog]

Let's take a season, say 1972 for example. That year SMU finished third in the SWC with a 7-4 record, defeating Wake Forest, Florida, New Mexico State, Rice, Arkansas, Baylor, and TCU. They lost to VA Tech 10-13 and to Texas 9-17, and to Tech and aTm as well. Against this year's schedule they would have been 10-2, not 5-7. And they didn't go to a bowl game.

So PugPony, please don't compare bowl appearances in the 21st Century to bowl appearances in an era when 7 solid wins wouldn't get you into a bowl.

[PK]

I have I to disagree about getting up and changing the TV. My family had remote control TV in the mid late 60's, myself and two brothers were the remote controls

[PonyKris89]

Pug Pony,

I bet every one of those Bowl teams pre JJ were ranked Top 25 and there were many other SMU teams that had 6,7, or 8 wins that didn't get bowls
And the 1981 team won the SWC with a !0-1 record, but was on probation so no bowl. And all of this was done vs. the great SWC.

Ever heard of the House that Doak Built? Then there's Kyle Rote, one of the great pro and college players of that era.

Even the late 50's and early 60's had great players… ever heard of Don Meredith, Raymond Berry, Forest Gregg?

SMU has loads of HOFers in pros and college, And loads of ALL Pro/Pro Bowl players of the past...
There are very few schools with as many Iconic football names as SMU.

Not one of Junes teams would have made a bowl games in the old era.

Hell, even the early Post Death Penalty teams beat Arkansas regularly and played competitively against Aggie.

I bet Forest Gregg's and Tom Rossley's post death penalty teams could give JJ teams a nice tussle.

SMU has always been the little school that could and quite often did.

You need to do your research Pugilistic Pony.

[malonish]

Pug Pony, looks like your thread got......

Punched out! That was so bad I know.

[gostangs]

i think pub is not very well informed. We are in reality. What hasn't been reality has been the underachieving done by June and his endless stream of his ancient and worthless cronies.

[Dwan]

I think an honest question is, how bad was the SWC in the early and mid 90s. I'd say on par with The American this year. While the SWC was once the SEC, those last 5 years were ugly. That was a dying league and a ton of talent was living the state to play in the big 8, PAC 10, and SEC

[PonyKai]

Meth is a hell of a drug.

[couch 'em]

I think an honest question is, how bad was the SWC in the early and mid 90s. I'd say on par with The American this year. While the SWC was once the SEC, those last 5 years were ugly. That was a dying league and a ton of talent was living the state to play in the big 8, PAC 10, and SEC

Interesting question.
I couldn't find full rankings of all teams of any kind that far back but I do have the 1995 AP and coaches top 25 polls. Both have UT A&M and Tech in the top 25. How many this year in the AAC?

[BigT3x]

Here is SMU's all-time bowl record:

Season Year Bowl Game Opponent W/L PF PA
1924 1925 Dixie Classic West Virginia Wesleyan L 7 9
1935 1936 Rose Bowl Stanford L 0 7
1947 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic Penn State T 13 13
1948 1949 Cotton Bowl Classic Oregon W 21 13
1963 1963 Sun Bowl Oregon L 14 21
1966 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic Georgia L 9 24
1968 1968 Bluebonnet Bowl Oklahoma W 28 27
1980 1980 Holiday Bowl BYU L 45 46
1982 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic Pittsburgh W 7 3
1983 1983 Sun Bowl Alabama L 7 28
1984 1984 Aloha Bowl Notre Dame W 27 20
2009 2009 Hawaiʻi Bowl Nevada W 45 10
2010 2010 Armed Forces Bowl Army L 14 16
2011 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl Pittsburgh W 28 6
2012 2012 Hawaiʻi Bowl Fresno State W 43 10


If my math is correct, 26.67% of SMU's bowl appearances have been under June Jones! Now, remind me again about what a big, bad football power SMU has been, historically speaking. I just don't see it.

My point is that some people's present-day expectations for SMU football seem delusional to me, given our historical record in football. As further evidence, check out our all-time records against our former SWC foes. Where are all these alleged "glory days"? Occasionally, we had a great team, and now and then, we pulled a big upset (or came close). SMU has never been a traditional, consistent football power.

First off, SMU made 73% of its bowls playing a conference schedule that included UT, Texas A&M, and Arkansas. Second, SMU made those bowl appearances in a world where 50% of all D-I teams did not make a bowl. It was far, far less than that. You can't compare a Hawaii Bowl appearance against the MWC juggernaut that is Nevada to any of our previous bowls. The previous bowls actually meant something. The Hawaii, Compass, and Armed Forces Bowl appearances were participation ribbons.