The Mustangs finished with a 102 record in both 1983 and 1984

In 1980 he led SMU to an 8-4 record and their first bowl appearance since 1968. The Mustangs seemed headed to victory in the Holiday Bowl as they led BYU 45-25 with little more than two minutes remaining in the contest. However, led by the dynamic running tandem of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, the Pony Express was just getting started. SMU won their first conference title in 16 years and finished the 1981 season ranked fifth in the nation with a 10-1 record.

SMU claimed their second straight SWC title and defeated Pittsburgh in the Cotton Bowl to finish ranked second in the country with an 11-0-1 record. In 1981 the National Championship Foundation and in 1982 the Helms Athletic Foundation recognized the Mustangs as the top team in the country. The Mustangs finished with a 10-2 record in both 1983 and 1984. In 1984, the Mustangs were co-champions of the SWC and defeated Notre Dame in the Aloha Bowl.Quarterback Lance McIlhenny was 34-5-1 during his tenure as the starting quarterback. Dickerson finished his career as SMUs all-time leading rusher and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1982. Other prominent Mustangs during this period included Wes Hopkins, Jerry Ball, Joe Phillips, Russell Carter, Michael Carter, Rod Jones, Ron Morris and Reggie Dupard. Just as SMU was enjoying the greatest prolonged period of success in the history of the football program, the roof caved in.

After being put on probation for recruiting violations in 1985, SMU was again investigated by the NCAA the following year for allegedly making approximately $61,000 in booster payments to players in 1985 and 1986. It was later discovered that SMU players and in some cases their parents, had been receiving money through a slush fund since the 1970s and that the administration became aware as early as 1981.Because SMU was already on probation when the second set of violations were discovered, the Mustangs were eligible for what was termed the death penalty where the NCAA could suspend a program in an attempt to purge the culture of chronic abuse. This radical approach had been used only twice by the NCAA, both times in the sport of mens basketball, in 1952 at the University of Kentucky and from 1973-75 at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After the NCAA suspended the SMU football program for the 1987 season, the school also canceled the 1988 season. Even though the football program was reinstated in 1989, the devastating impact of the NCAA punishment was evident for the next two decades. The once proud tradition of the Southwestern Conference began a steady decline around the same time that SMUs program was banished. Only three members of the SWC did not receive NCAA punishment during the 1980s.