Padron and the SMU Mustangs ripped the Nevada D last night for a 45-10 victory. The game was so lopsided that it gave ESPN endless opportunities to show these beautiful vistas of exotic Hawaiian locations from the 'Blimp' and have all you guys having a White Christmas turn green with envy. Lots of talk of SMU overcoming the 'Death Penalty' in the build-up to the game but I thought not enuf was said about the storied SMU program and what it meant to the CFB world. So here is a tribute from Buckeye fans to that great program which we all hope is on the ascendancy again.
The SMU program existed since 1915 when they got their first win over Hendrix. Conference affiliations were not common at the time. In 1917, they acquired the name 'Mustangs' after the Presidents secretary saw the team practicing and felt they were a bunch of 'Mustangs'. After playing on a field for several years SMU got its own stadium, Ownby Stadium in 1926. A few years before that they got their first win over arch rival Texas, became a member of the Southwest conference and played in a bowl game.
Glory came in 1935 when SMU led by coach Matty Bell and RB Harry Shuford won the national title after going undefeated in the regular season. That 12-0 season comprised a thrilling win over Sammy Baugh and the TCU Horned Frogs.
And then in 1945 came Doak Walker to SMU.
The man did everything possible on offense - run, pass, catch, punt, kick, return kickoffs - you name it. In the 4 years he spent at SMU from 1945-1949, Walker was the gold standard of leadership, sportsmanship, and academic and athletic achievement. And in 1948 he became the first junior to win a Heisman trophy.
Their first real success against the Buckeyes however came after Walker had left in 1950 when they came to Columbus to play the Buckeyes led by Vic Janowicz. After a gr8 start by the Buckeyes to go up 24-6, the SMU coach took his son out and put in Fred Benners as QB. Benners threw for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns in a sensational comeback to beat us 32-27. A Columbus newspaper called the Bucks 'The Has-Benners'.
Their other memorable game against us came in 1978 when Ford led them back from a 35-21 deficit to end the game in a 35-35 tie leading to a frustrated and grumpy Woody Hayes.
All great programs have an association with great coaches and SMU gave the CFB Hayden Fry. I am not sure if that was his first job as head coach but he sure became famous as head coach of SMU for 11 years giving them their only 3 winning seasons since Walker left. Fry was fired and in his autobiography he maintains that the boosters at SMU wanted him out as he would not go along with their desire to have a slush fund to pay players and recruits in order to compete with the likes of the Longhorns. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. We haven't talked of the Pony Express yet.
The Pony Express debuted in October 1980 when the Mustangs went to Austin to take on their bitter rivals in a nationally televised game as heavy underdogs. At halftime the Longhorns led 6-3. But in the third quarter, Craig James the running back for the Mustangs took the pitch from McIlhenny and ran 53 yards for a touchdown to give the Mustangs the lead which they would not surrender and Bevo's birthday turned sour for the Horns. The Pony Express of Craig James and Eric Dickerson (who came later) had made a sensational debut. Dickerson's memorable game against that other hated rival, the Aggies against whom he ran for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns in 1982.
In 1963, SMU took an undersized but fast football team to Ann Arbor to play a massive squad from TTUN. TTUN got off to a gr8 start but had to hold off Fry's resurgent and speedy squad late in the game to win 27-16. Ford's Lee Iacocca was in attendance and was so impressed by the quick, light but speedy SMU squad that he decided to name their new sports car the 'Mustang'. Or so the story goes.
In the early 80's led by the Pony Express, the Mustangs won a lot of games and were a dominant team. Keg-filled buses herded students to Texas stadium for games and then in Feb 1987, the party ended.
A slush fund was discovered to pay players even while SMU was on probation. I dont remember all the details but they were essentially not allowed to play Football that fall and only a limited schedule the next year. 7 games I believe and no home games. Players were only allowed to participate in conditioning drills and they could transfer without having to sit out a year. No scholarship could be offered and only a limited number (I think 10) were allowed in the subsequent year. Number of coaches were reduced and they were allowed only limited contact to high school recruits. SMU did not play football for 2 years and went without a full dose of scholarships till 1992. All this was collectively referred to as 'The Death Penalty'.
They have come a long way since that fateful day in February 1987. But if they have to reach the level of national prominence that Doak Walker, the Pony Express and Hayden Fry took them to, they have a long way to go. But welcome back all ye Mustangs. The Buckeyes welcome you and wish you well.
i would like to seem them in a MNC game..
ReplyDeletethe problem Ian is that they are in the C-USA. The good thing is that they are in the state of Texas where even the leftovers from the Horns, Texas Tech and the Aggies are still pretty good. And then they compete with Houston within their conference. And dont forget the rise of TCU again. But first things first - I think SMU should set themselves a goal of winning the C-USA West and going to the title game. After that - win the C-USA. After that, start scheduling good teams - maybe even the Aggies and the Horns. Man - I'd go watch that game and that should propel them to national prominence. But they took that first step yesterday.
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