SMU....

[CTOkie]

After 30-plus years it’s great to see this team on the way back, even if it’s with baby steps.
While SMU deserved punishment for its blatant infractions in the late 1980’s, I believe that now, the “death penalty” levied on SMU was excessive in so many ways....and I think the NCAA realizes it as do most people.
We will not see such punishment given again .
Welcome back, SMU.

 

[owenfieldreams]

SMU was my first favorite team. During my 1st, 2nd, & 3rd grade years we lived in Dallas. The Mustangs were all the rage at that time. DOAK WALKER, KYLE ROTE, GIL JOHNSON, FREDDY BENNERS, JOHNNY CHAMPION, HERSCHEL FORRESTER were all stars on those great SMU teams that played epic games with ND and their long list of stars including Imel Sitko, Leon Hart, etc. I thought the death penalty was too harsh. I am glad to see them having success but I think they are overrated. I watched the game with UH last night and the Cougars were in it all the way while playing with a decimated starting lineup. OU would boat race the Mustangs.

 

[owenfieldreams]

The home/home with ND ( 1949 & 1951 ) was epic. My hero was Doak Walker. The Mustangs were referred to as the "aerial circus."

 

[CTOkie]

No doubt SMU is a few levels below being what they were prior to the mid-1980's.....and maybe they will never be like the team that featured James and Dickerson. But I like what they are doing and regard it as a step in the right direction. It's good for college football and the state of Texas.
In 1959 I attended the SMU-Rice game at Rice Stadium and saw Meredith's team play to a 13-13 tie.

 

[kcstorm06]

I find it great that they and Baylor have the best record in the whole State of Texas. In your eye Tom Herman & Jimbo Fisher.

 

[Oklabama]

I’ve always had the belief that there should be another NCAA division. Division 1a*, for the lack of something better, so teams like SMU, Tulsa, etc. can play for a National Championship. Teams remaining in Division 1 should be limited to one D1a* game a year. Take a look at Alabama’s schedule. New Mexico State and Western Carolina shouldn’t be allowed. Saban can say whatever he wants now but with a limit he wouldn’t have an excuse for two cream puffs. It’s about time that programs like SMU had a legitimate opportunity to win a national championship. Just think about it like high school sports. Just my two cents on another otherwise lousy, rainy day. And it continues.

 

[owenfieldreams]

If I'm not mistaken, the English Premier League has a system that drops teams to a lower level and promotes teams to the higher level based on performance.

 

[OUnabomber]

I highly doubt SMU will ever be what it once was, but they can be a nice program in their league that gets a few big wins here and there against power 5 schools.

 

[CTOkie]

I’ve always had the belief that there should be another NCAA division. Division 1a*, for the lack of something better, so teams like SMU, Tulsa, etc. can play for a National Championship. Teams remaining in Division 1 should be limited to one D1a* game a year. Take a look at Alabama’s schedule. New Mexico State and Western Carolina shouldn’t be allowed. Saban can say whatever he wants now but with a limit he wouldn’t have an excuse for two cream puffs. It’s about time that programs like SMU had a legitimate opportunity to win a national championship. Just think about it like high school sports. Just my two cents on another otherwise lousy, rainy day. And it continues.

Agree.
Teams like UConn will always play in the shadows of its basketball teams and trying to climb to relevancy is futile.
Put Rutgers, Rice, UConn, etc in a lower tiered level. SMU may be on the bubble but we should know for sure in 2-3 more years.

 

[Tollboothmgr]

I’ve always had the belief that there should be another NCAA division. Division 1a*, for the lack of something better, so teams like SMU, Tulsa, etc. can play for a National Championship. Teams remaining in Division 1 should be limited to one D1a* game a year. Take a look at Alabama’s schedule. New Mexico State and Western Carolina shouldn’t be allowed. Saban can say whatever he wants now but with a limit he wouldn’t have an excuse for two cream puffs. It’s about time that programs like SMU had a legitimate opportunity to win a national championship. Just think about it like high school sports. Just my two cents on another otherwise lousy, rainy day. And it continues.

i like the idea a lot. my boss does not. (he was all big12 for osu 20 years ago so i have to at least give him a listen...and he's the owner so there's that) I say it's like HS football in any state you have divisions based on size or status. even 6a has the biggest schools (union, jenks, edmond) separated from the not as big schools (lawton, bixby, stillwater). he says that's different. most kids can't choose where they grow up and go to school. but college begins the talent separation and so he says the most talented players (and therefore the schools with those most talented players) should be the ones playing for the "one" championship. i counter with bama's proposal, for the simple reason that it gives more kids a chance to play for a gold trophy and what's wrong with that? bama's right. in our system, san jose st and eastern michigan will NEVER make the final 4. so why not have their own

 

[Oklabama]

i like the idea a lot. my boss does not. (he was all big12 for osu 20 years ago so i have to at least give him a listen...and he's the owner so there's that) I say it's like HS football in any state you have divisions based on size or status. even 6a has the biggest schools (union, jenks, edmond) separated from the not as big schools (lawton, bixby, stillwater). he says that's different. most kids can't choose where they grow up and go to school. but college begins the talent separation and so he says the most talented players (and therefore the schools with those most talented players) should be the ones playing for the "one" championship. i counter with bama's proposal, for the simple reason that it gives more kids a chance to play for a gold trophy and what's wrong with that? bama's right. in our system, san jose st and eastern michigan will NEVER make the final 4. so why not have their own

Your Aggie boss’s point has at least one flaw. The BEST athletes rarely end up at the San Jose States and are more likely to sign with the Oklahomas and Alabamas of college football.

 

[Tollboothmgr]

Your Aggie boss’s point has at least one flaw. The BEST athletes rarely end up at the San Jose States and are more likely to sign with the Oklahomas and Alabamas of college football.

actually that IS his point bama. only the best athletes should be the ones competing for the crystal ball. i disagree. some really solid guys practice and play their hearts out knowing they'll be done after their senior year. but that doesn't mean they can't have their own championship.. like d2, d3 right? it'd just be d1b!

 

[WP76]

After 30-plus years it’s great to see this team on the way back, even if it’s with baby steps.
While SMU deserved punishment for its blatant infractions in the late 1980’s, I believe that now, the “death penalty” levied on SMU was excessive in so many ways....and I think the NCAA realizes it as do most people.
We will not see such punishment given again .
Welcome back, SMU.

The thing that made the SMU issue in the 80s so problematic was the fact that a nuclear option was about the only punishment left. They went on probation and then proceeded to break the rules even worse. Probation...pay players, another probation...ok we're obviously not playing the players enough so we'll cheat even more...repeat. They had something like three sets of major infractions in five years. The NCAA almost had to give them the death penalty or forfeit its standing completely.

I'm sure they couldn't have foreseen that it'd take over three decades to recover but, again, I don't know what else they could've done while maintaining any degree of credibility as the governing body of college sports.

 

[iasooner1]

And to Tollbooth's point, I had the good fortune of seeing Kurt Warner battle Randy Moss 6 blocks from my house in the UNI Dome (cap 18,500) in a quarter final game in that league in the past which was pretty cool too...