1980 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1980 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ron Meyer, the Mustangs compiled an overall record 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the SWC. SMU was invited to the Holiday Bowl, there they lost to BYU. The Mustangs finished the season ranked No. 20 in both major polls.

1980 SMU Mustangs football
Holiday Bowl, L 45–46 vs. BYU
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 20
Record	8–4 (5–3 SWC)
Head coach	Ron Meyer (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Steve Sidwell (5th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Texas Stadium

1980 Southwest Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Baylor $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 20 SMU	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Houston	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Texas	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Rice	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	5	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Texas A&M	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Texas Tech	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
TCU	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	North Texas State*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)		W 28–9	52,781
September 20	TCU		Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)		W 17–14	39,622
September 27	Texas–Arlington*		Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 52–16	26,611
October 4	at Tulane*		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 31–21	42,563
October 11	at No. 18 Baylor	No. 20	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		L 28–32	35,000
October 18	Houston		Texas Stadium Irving, TX		L 11–13	32,109
October 25	at No. 2 Texas		Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	ABC	W 20–6	73,535
November 1	Texas A&M	No. 19	Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 27–0	41,289
November 8	at Rice	No. 18	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 34–14	23,000
November 15	at Texas Tech	No. 18	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX		L 0–14	42,197
November 23	Arkansas		Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 31–7	28,225
December 19	vs. No. 13 BYU*	No. 20	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	Mizlou	L 45–46	50,200
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 19 Eric Dickerson So QB 10 Mike Ford Sr OL 77 Perry Hartnett Jr RB 32 Craig James So OL 71 Mike Jusko Sr OL 67 Mike Mason Sr OL 76 Lee Spivey Sr QB 12 Jim Bob Taylor  So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 75 Harvey Armstrong Jr DB 27 Charles Bruton Sr DT 74 Michael Carter So DB 29 Russell Carter Fr DL 99 Eric Ferguson Jr DB 9 Mark Gibson Sr DL 80 Byron Hunt Sr DB 20 James Mobley Jr DB 34 John Simmons Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Eddie Garcia Jr	Head coach Ron Meyer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

Texas

SMU at Texas

1 2 3 4 Total • SMU 0 3 10 7 20 Texas 3 3 0 0 6 Date: Saturday, October 25 Location: Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas Game attendance: 73,535 TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels

Scoring summary 1 Texas Goodson 20 yard field goal Texas 3-0 2 SMU Garcia 47 yard field goal Tie 3-3 2 Texas Goodson 47 yard field goal Texas 6-3 3 SMU James 53 yard run (Garcia kick) SMU 10-6 3 SMU Garcia 44 yard field goal SMU 13-6 4 SMU Mobley 22 yard interception return (Garcia kick) SMU 20-6

This game became notable for a significant change made during it. Coach Meyer, who had run a pro-style offense with Mike Ford to this point, chose instead to adjust and run an option attack with freshman Lance McIlhenny instead. The adjustment worked, as Texas could not stop what became known as the Mustangs’ “Pony Express” running game of Craig James and eventual NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
John Simmons	Defensive back	3	64	Cincinnati Bengals