Fansided

30 most shocking moments in college football history

By Nathaniel Reeves

Boise State's Ian Johnson scoring the winning 2-point conversion during the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 1, 2007. (Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage)
Boise State's Ian Johnson scoring the winning 2-point conversion during the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 1, 2007. (Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 08: Former Los Angeles Rams Eric Dickerson laugh on the sidelines during a stop in play in a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 08: Former Los Angeles Rams Eric Dickerson laugh on the sidelines during a stop in play in a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

23. SMU gets the death penalty 

Nobody expected the NCAA to unleash its ultimate punishment on SMU, which remains the only college football program to receive the death penalty and has never been able to recover.

A middling program for years in the SWC, the Mustangs abruptly transformed into a powerhouse in the early 1980s under head coaches Ron Meyer and Bobby Collins. The Pony Express backfield with Eric Dickerson and Craig James was unstoppable, helping the Mustangs to a combined 21-1-1 record in 1981 and 1982, albeit while on probation for paying recruits.

After Dickerson, James and Meyer left, SMU continued to thrive with two more 10-win seasons before receiving their first major NCAA punishment ahead of the 1985 season. The NCAA discovered the Mustangs were continuing to pay players based on evidence from former offensive lineman Sean Stopperich and handed down its harshest penalties to date, including a massive loss of scholarships and a bowl ban for two years.

Both Meyer and Collins promised the NCAA such violations would never happen again, and the college football world was stunned the next November when David Stanley detailed how SMU recruited him with a live television interview. On February 25, 1987, the NCAA hit SMU with the death penalty citing a repeat offenders rule, leading to the Mustangs canceling both the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

SMU lost to Houston 95-21 in its first season back on the field and did not qualify for a bowl game until 2010. While the violations were egregious, it was still a surprise to see the NCAA come down so harshly, and the death penalty has been avoided since due to the long-term ramifications it had on the football program.

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