A Call To Remember

If you didn’t have a chance to catch any of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series over the last year, then you’re in luck, because they’re now available for streaming on Netflix.

One of the more riveting stories produced, Pony Excess, focused on the powerful Southern Methodist football teams of the 1980s and the subsequent recruiting scandals that eventually led to the program receiving the infamous "death penalty.

And as a die-hard Razorbacks fan, I cannot in good faith, ignore the documentary’s failure to mention one of the most monumentally terrible calls in the history of college football. 

BACKGROUND

In 1982, SMU was looking for more than just a second consecutive Southwest Conference title – the Mustangs were gunning for a national championship. Only a few hurdles stood in their way: the perennial conference power Texas Longhorns, a pesky Texas Tech team, and the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks.

 

The first obstacle SMU cleared easily, knocking off No. 17 Texas in Austin 30-17. Erick Dickerson, the Mustangs’ All-American running back and Heisman finalist, rushed for 119 yards and one touchdown while quarterback Lance McIlhenny directed the offense and SMU’s powerful running game. McIlhenny only completed 4-of-9 passes, but finished with 188 yards and three touchdowns. SMU's defense also played well, picking off Texas quarterback Robert Brewer three times.

But three weeks later, the No. 2 Mustangs found themselves tied in Lubbock with a mediocre Texas Tech team looking for an upset. Once again, Dickerson was stellar. He all but carried SMU’s offense, rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns. But the real star running back that day was the Red Raider’s Anthony Hutchinson, who rushed for 206 yards and one touchdown against the SWC’s second best defensive team in 1982. 

With the game tied at 24 and only a few seconds remaining, Texas Tech squib kicked the ball to the Mustangs. The Red Raiders initially planned on wasting the last few seconds off the clock in hopes that SMU couldn’t recover the ball, thus ending the game in a tie. And when the ball reached defensive back Blaine Smith, who bobbled the catch, it looked like things were going to work out in Tech’s favor. But with some quick thinking, and hours of practice that included a session tailored for moments like this, Smith lateraled the ball back to wide receiver Bobby Leach, who proceeded to race 91 yards down field for the game winning touchdown, ensuring the Mustangs another chance at perfection (skip to 2:34 for the play).

THE GAME

Now 10-0 (7-0 SWC) and still ranked No. 2, the stage was set for the final game of the 1982 regular season against No. 9 Arkansas (8-1, 5-1 SWC). 

The Mustangs and Razorbacks had shared a somewhat contentious rivalry as long-time members of the SWC, but things were really getting heated in the early 1980s. SMU had knocked off the Razorbacks the year before in Fayetteville in the infamous “Polyester Bowl,” so dubbed because of NCAA sanctions which kept the Mustangs from competing in the postseason. But that didn’t stop SMU from having a great year, and in 1981 they finished 10-1 (7-1 SWC), clinching the SWC Championship in the final game of the season with a 32-18 win over Arkansas. 

On the road in Dallas the following year, and inside a sold out Texas Stadium no less, the Hogs were looking to save their season and knock off the defending conference champions. 

And for most of the first three quarters, Arkansas was in control. The Hogs had the conference’s best defense in 1982, giving up just over 11 points per game (11.6). And despite SMU having two stellar running backs in Craig James and Eric Dickerson, the latter of which would go on to be the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, Arkansas’ defense held each to just 72 and 81 yards rushing, respectively. The game ended up being Dickerson’s second worst rushing performance of the year, and he added to it with a crucial fumble early in the first quarter after a hit from Arkansas’ All-American defensive end, Billy Ray Smith. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 10-10, and both teams were hung up on their missed opportunities. Arkansas had a field goal blocked by SMU’s Russell Carter in the first quarter, which could’ve made it 10-0 for the Razorbacks. And SMU’s offense was sputtering, frustrated that they had blown earlier chances for touchdowns. 

But with just under five minutes left to go, and Arkansas leading 17-10 thanks to two big plays from running back Gary Anderson, the Mustangs found themselves facing a long drive down field to keep their perfect season alive.

And then, like so many other Razorback games both before and since, the zebras struck.

Official Horton Nesrsta called Arkansas’ Nathan Jones for pass-interference against SMU’s Jackie Wilson, sealing a 40+ yard gain for the Mustangs (the pass-interference rule was a spot-foul back in ’82, something that would be changed a year later) and effectively swaying the game’s momentum in SMU's favor.

Despite Arkansas’ best attempts to hold the Mustangs on a short field, which the Hogs did for a handful of plays, SMU eventually scored to tie the game with a touchdown run from McIlhenny. After the game was tied, neither team could get much of a drive going, and the Mustang’s potential game-winning field goal kick from 52-yards out fell short, ending the game in a tie, as overtime in college football wouldn’t be introduced until the 1996 season.

AFTERMATH

Neither team lived up to its national championship aspirations, as Penn State (11-1) was controversially awarded that year’s honor after knocking off No. 1 Georgia (11-1, 6-0 SEC) in the Sugar Bowl.The Mustangs would eventually go on to beat No. 6 Pittsburgh (9-3) in the Cotton Bowl, 7-3, while No. 14 Arkansas (9-2-1, 5-2-1 SWC) won the Bluebonnet Bowl over Florida (8-4, 3-3 SEC), 28-24.

And although the game's announcers pointed out how terrible the call was, what really bothers me is that Pony Excess, as well as SMU’s own athletics page, glosses over the interference call. No one mentions it. Even if it is the first thing Google's suggestion feature brings up when you type “SMU Arkansas” into the search bar.

 

Instead, you get stuff like this:

“That team was unstoppable. No one could beat us, and we settled for a tie – that was a slap in the face.” 

That’s former SMU defensive-end Doug Hollie speaking in Pony Excess about the 1982 game with Arkansas. 

And then later you get this gem from Erick Dickerson:

“I feel like they [the pollsters] really screwed us out of a national championship more than anything. I still believe we were the best team in the country. For sure.” 

It’s hard enough for Hog fans to deal with the loss, but having to stomach both of these sentiments is simply too much. Arkansas all but shut down the “best team in the country” that day, holding SMU to its fewest points since mid-September, and keeping the Mustangs to just 326 yards of total offense.  

And it’s one thing for the players to leave out the bad calls. Maybe they felt they got shafted earlier in the game. And after all, the flag didn’t technically win the game, as SMU still had to score. But what really surprised me was that the documentary never mentioned it either, only saying:

“In 1982, the Mustangs dominated the college football landscape. But in the last game of the regular season new coach Bobby Collins settled for a tie against Arkansas, putting a blemish on an otherwise perfect record.” 

That's it? I'd figure the filmmakers to have a neutral point of view, but somehow one of the most famous calls, not just in either school’s history, but the entire SWC, gets left out because it doesn’t reflect the narrative that SMU was the nation’s best team (that money could buy) in 1982.  

But at least those Mustang teams of the early '80s didn’t lead to the eventual collapse of SMU's program or help dissolve the once prominent SWC . Oh, wait...