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1984 SMU

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southwest Conference), coached by Bobby Collins, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

SMU in 1984, game by game: won at Louisville 41–7; won vs. North Texas 24–6; won vs. TCU 26–17; won at Baylor 24–20; lost vs. Houston 20–29; lost at No. 3 Texas 7–13; won vs. Texas A&M 28–20; won at Rice 31–17; won at Texas Tech 31–0; won vs. Arkansas 31–28; won at UNLV 38–21; won vs. No. 17 Notre Dame 27–20+34−9Won 41–7 at Louisville+34LouisvilleWon 24–6 vs. North Texas+18North TexasWon 26–17 vs. TCU+9TCUWon 24–20 at Baylor+4BaylorLost 20–29 vs. Houston-9HoustonLost 7–13 at No. 3 Texas-6No. 3 TexasWon 28–20 vs. Texas A&M+8Texas A&MWon 31–17 at Rice+14RiceWon 31–0 at Texas Tech+31Texas TechWon 31–28 vs. Arkansas+3ArkansasWon 38–21 at UNLV+17UNLVWon 27–20 vs. No. 17 Notre Dame+7No. 17 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15atLouisvilleW 41–⁠777%
Sep 22vsNorth TexasW 24–⁠686%
Sep 29vsTCUW 26–⁠1781%
Oct 13atBaylorW 24–⁠2067%
Oct 20vsHoustonL 20–⁠2980%
Oct 27at3TexasL 7–⁠1328%
Nov 3vsTexas A&MW 28–⁠2070%
Nov 10atRiceW 31–⁠1786%
Nov 17atTexas TechW 31–⁠068%
Nov 24vsArkansasW 31–⁠2862%
Dec 1atUNLVW 38–⁠2147%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs17Notre DameAloha BowlW 27–⁠2060%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 27–⁠20 in the Aloha Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 17
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 11
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 10
  16. Final: 8

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 1984.

Southwest Conference champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Houston

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 6
Points
328–⁠198
Coach
Bobby Collins
Elo
1724 +86 this season
SP+ rating
15.4 No. 15 of 106; offense No. 19, defense No. 25
SRS
11.0 No. 24 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bill Clay
Offense
No-huddle option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1985

The 1985 draft
Rd 2Reggie Phillips DBChicago Bears
Rd 4Dale Hellestrae OTBuffalo Bills

All-Southwest Conference

7 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1984 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1984 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU6–⁠210–⁠28
Houston6–⁠27–⁠5
TCU5–⁠38–⁠4
Texas5–⁠37–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas5–⁠37–⁠4–⁠1
Baylor4–⁠45–⁠6
Texas A&M3–⁠56–⁠5
Texas Tech2–⁠64–⁠7
Rice0–⁠81–⁠10

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