Conference Southwest Conference AP No. 2 Home stadium Texas Stadium | Coaches No. 2 1982 record 11–0–1 (7–0–1 SWC) | |
Head coach Bobby Collins (1st year) | ||
The 1982 SMU Mustangs football team represented the Southern Methodist University in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the first year for the team under head coach Bobby Collins and the Mustangs finished undefeated at 11–0–1. However, the tie in their final regular season game against Arkansas caused the voters in the AP Poll to drop SMU out of the #2 spot in their ranking, possibly costing the Mustangs the national championship in the wire-service polls when Penn State defeated top-ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State had inherited the No. 2 ranking when SMU tied Arkansas, and went on to win the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll after their victory over Georgia despite a slightly less impressive final record of 11–1.
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As Southwest Conference champions, the Mustangs earned an automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl, where they defeated #6 Pittsburgh 7–3 in what was the final college football game for the "Pony Express" running back tandem of Eric Dickerson and Craig James (as well as for Pitt quarterback Dan Marino). The Mustangs were voted #2 in the AP Poll, but the Helms Athletic Foundation, in the final year in which it selected a national college football champion, split the honor between SMU and Penn State.