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American college football season
The 1981 SMU Mustangs football team represented the Southern Methodist University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season . The Mustangs offense scored 365 points while the defense allowed 137 points. At season's end, the Mustangs were given the National Championship Foundation 's (NCF) national championship and secured the Southwest Conference championship.
However, the Mustangs had been put on probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations and, per its terms, were banned from participating in any bowl game in 1981 should they have won enough games to qualify. Since SMU's performance would have given them an automatic berth in the Cotton Bowl , the team decided to treat its final regular season game against Arkansas as their bowl game and nicknamed it the "Polyester Bowl".
SMU finished at #5 in the final Associated Press poll of the season. Because its rules prevent schools under probation from being considered, the Mustangs were not ranked in the UPI Coaches Poll at all during the season.
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance September 5 Texas–Arlington * W 48-020,130
September 12 North Texas State * Texas Stadium Irving, Texas W 34-720,400
September 19 Grambling State * Texas Stadium Irving, Texas W 59-2745,700
September 26 at TCU No. 20 W 20-925,862
October 10 Baylor No. 14 Texas Stadium Irving, Texas W 37-2033,110
October 17 at Houston No. 10 W 38-2236,892
October 24 No. 10 Texas No. 8 Texas Stadium Irving, Texas L 7-962,777
October 31 at Texas A&M No. 13 W 27-762,646
November 7 Rice No. 10 W 33-1228,750
November 14 Texas Tech No. 8 Texas Stadium Irving, Texas W 30-624,410
November 21 at No. 16 Arkansas No. 6 W 32-1843,842
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster
1981 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final AP — — — 20 15 14 10 8 13 10 8 6 6 5 5
Game summaries
Arkansas
#6 SMU at #16 Arkansas
1
2 3 4 Total
• SMU
3
9 0 20
32
Arkansas
7
0 11 0
18
Scoring summary 1 SMU Garcia 39-yard field goal SMU 3-0
1 ARK Anderson 7-yard pass from Jones (Lohay kick) ARK 7-3
2 SMU Garcia 43-yard field goal ARK 7-6
2 SMU Washington 10-yard interception return (pass failed) SMU 12-7
3 ARK Clark 1-yard run (Jones to Pierce pass) ARK 15-12
3 ARK Lohay 21-yard field goal ARK 18-12
4 SMU Garcia 24-yard field goal ARK 18-15
4 SMU Garcia 47-yard field goal Tied 18-18
4 SMU Jones 10-yard run (Garcia kick) SMU 25-18
4 SMU Dickerson 31-yard run (Garcia kick) SMU 32-18
SMU wins first conference title since 1966 (ineligible for Cotton Bowl Classic berth).
Team players drafted into the NFL
[1]
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
National championships in bold