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1981 SMU

10–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Ron Meyer, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 1981, game by game: won vs. Texas–Arlington 48–0; won vs. North Texas 34–7; won vs. Grambling 59–27; won at TCU 20–9; won vs. Baylor 37–20; won at Houston 38–22; lost vs. No. 10 Texas 7–9; won at Texas A&M 27–7; won vs. Rice 33–12; won vs. Texas Tech 30–6; won at No. 16 Arkansas 32–18+48−2Won 48–0 vs. Texas–Arlington+48Texas–ArlingtonWon 34–7 vs. North Texas+27North TexasWon 59–27 vs. Grambling+32GramblingWon 20–9 at TCU+11TCUWon 37–20 vs. Baylor+17BaylorWon 38–22 at Houston+16HoustonLost 7–9 vs. No. 10 Texas-2No. 10 TexasWon 27–7 at Texas A&M+20Texas A&MWon 33–12 vs. Rice+21RiceWon 30–6 vs. Texas Tech+24Texas TechWon 32–18 at No. 16 Arkansas+14No. 16 Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTexas–ArlingtonW 48–⁠078%
Sep 12vsNorth TexasW 34–⁠773%
Sep 19vsGramblingW 59–⁠2775%
Sep 26atTCUW 20–⁠973%
Oct 10vsBaylorW 37–⁠2062%
Oct 17atHoustonW 38–⁠2249%
Oct 24vs10TexasL 7–⁠969%
Oct 31atTexas A&MW 27–⁠758%
Nov 7vsRiceW 33–⁠1288%
Nov 14vsTexas TechW 30–⁠690%
Nov 21at16ArkansasW 32–⁠1849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas 32–⁠18; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 15
  3. Wk 6: 14
  4. Wk 7: 10
  5. Wk 8: 8
  6. Wk 9: 13
  7. Wk 10: 10
  8. Wk 11: 8
  9. Wk 12: 6
  10. Wk 13: 6
  11. Wk 14: 5
  12. Final: 5

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1981.

National championsa title the school claims

Southwest Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 5
Points
365–⁠137
Coach
Ron Meyer
Elo
1747 +160 this season
SP+ rating
25.5 No. 6 of 132; offense No. 8, defense No. 10
SRS
23.7 No. 6 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Steve Sidwell
Offense
Option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 5Perry Hartnett OGChicago Bears
Rd 7Harvey Armstrong DTPhiladelphia Eagles

1981 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU7–⁠110–⁠15
Texas6–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Houston5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas5–⁠38–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠5
Baylor3–⁠55–⁠6
Rice3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠7–⁠2
Texas Tech0–⁠7–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.