1979 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1979 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Ron Meyer, the Mustangs compiled an overall record 5–6 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing sixth in the SWC.^[1]

1979 SMU Mustangs football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	5–6 (3–5 SWC)
Head coach	Ron Meyer (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Steve Sidwell (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Texas Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Houston +	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Arkansas +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Texas	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Baylor	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
SMU	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	2
TCU	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Rice	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Rice		Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)	W 35–17	60,217	[2]
September 15	at TCU	No. 20	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 27–7	18,732	[3]
September 22	North Texas State*	No. 18	Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)	W 20–9	57,923	[4]
September 29	at Tulane*	No. 19	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	L 17–24	42,563	[5]
October 13	Baylor		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	L 21–24	65,101	[6]
October 20	at No. 5 Houston		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 10–37	43,409	[7]
October 27	No. 9 Texas		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	L 6–30	53,327	[8]
November 3	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	L 14–47	58,690	[9]
November 10	at Wichita State*		Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	W 34–0	6,110	[10]
November 17	Texas Tech		Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 35–10	42,226	[11]
November 24	at No. 7 Arkansas		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 7–31	54,718	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Roster

1979 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 19 Eric Dickerson Fr TE 87 Bob Fisher Sr QB 10 Mike Ford Jr OL 77 Perry Hartnett So RB 32 Craig James Fr OL 71 Mike Jusko Jr OL 53 Randy Katz Sr OL 67 Mike Mason Jr OL 50 Lance Pederson Jr OL 76 Lee Spivey Jr QB 12 Jim Bob Taylor  Fr WR 21 Emanuel Tolbert Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 75 Harvey Armstrong So DB 27 Charles Bruton Jr DT 74 Michael Carter Fr DL 99 Eric Ferguson So DB 9 Mark Gibson Jr DL 80 Byron Hunt Jr DL 61 Charles Hunt Sr DL Jerry Kovar So DB 20 James Mobley So DB 34 John Simmons Jr DL 95 John Wells So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Eddie Garcia So	Head coach Ron Meyer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Emanuel Tolbert	Wide receiver	7	183	Chicago Bears
Bob Fisher	Tight end	12	323	Chicago Bears

References

1. "2020 Football Media Guide".
2. "Ponies sputter, then roll". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "SMU whips TCU; Ford hurt". The Austin American-Statesman. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Unbeaten Mustangs down North Texas". The Kilgore News Herald. September 23, 1979. p. 1B. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tulane edges Ponies, 24–17". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Baylor wins on late FG". The Victoria Advocate. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Houston first quarter dumps Ponies, 37–10". The Odessa American. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Texas bounces back, smothers SMU, 30–6". The Shreveport Times. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "A&M's Mosley mows down SMU". Tulsa World. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "SMU pounds Wichita St". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 11, 1979. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Taylor leads Southern Methodist". Lincoln Journal Star. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Hogs, Holtz happy Scanlon saps SMU". The El Paso Times. November 25, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1979 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2024.