UTA FB History - Vol. 6 Gm. 8 - A Nice Winning Streak

After getting their first win of the season in their first appearance of this volume, the 1983 UTA Mavericks "traveled" to 13th ranked SMU, at Texas Stadium. It wasn't a close affair, but a 34-0 score had some bright spots. Danny Jackson did not start, Kraig Hopkins did. But Jackson went 9-17 for 159 yards in relief, compared to Hopkins' 1-7 for eight yards and an interception. I said it in the first entry, I think had Coach Harold "Bud" Elliott stuck with Jackson all year, UTA may have had a better season. It's all conjecture, but it may have saved his job and maybe the program, but there's no way to know for sure. The stats were in favor of SMU, but not by a 34-0 score. UTA had a couple of golden opportunities to score, but SMU's defense did what good, ranked teams do and made plays when they needed.

After the game, Coach Elliott noted the difference between this game and the 1981 48-0 game. There, UTA didn't move the ball and couldn't stop the Mustang offense. He would later say that "I think you will be surprised to see what our football team will do from here on out. We may not lose another game." Considering they were 1-3, he didn't get a lot of credit for his prediction.

But they did win the next one. A 34-24 win against Wichita State at home in a thriller. UTA lead 14-10 at halftime, the Shockers squeaked out a lead to open the final quarter. Twice, UTA came from behind in the fourth. Trailing 17-14, Jackson threw a 63-yard pass to under-rated receiver Andre Gray to regain the lead. Wichita State immediately answered on a 13-play, 82-yard drive for their final touchdown. Once again, Jackson found his team trailing as he re-took the field. After Jarvis McKyer (brother of UTA teammate and former NFL great Tim McKyer) returned the kickoff 36 yards, Jackson found tight end Jon Dyer for 21 yards and Scotty Caldwell for 27, though Caldwell made moves to get that amount. Randy Johnson went the final five yards get UTA the lead for good. The defense finally held and Johnson tacked on another TD as time expired for the final score.

Coach Elliott got the second of a predicted seven wins against Lamar at Maverick Stadium. The offense struggled for three quarters, including an eight play, -4 yard performance in the third, but the defense made plays all game long, shutting out the Cardinals. The Mavericks got a good rushing performance from Johnson, 111 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns. Caldwell added 78 yards of his own and another TD in the 21-0 homecoming win.

Now sitting at 3-3, UTA went to the road for this week's game. They've played the New Mexico State Aggies many times, 18 to be exact. That ties NMSU for UTA's fifth most-played opponent with Louisiana Tech. They first met on the field in 1964 and scheduled a game every year since then, save 1973 and 1982. In fact, it would be the last game played between the schools. 

New Mexico State is a big reason UTA achieved University Division status in the NCAA, as rules required schools to play over half their schedule against University Division schools. Since UTA was the first Southland member to attain the highest level, the bulk of the non-conference, if not all in UTA's case, had to be against higher-level schools. NMSU and West Texas State were the two earliest schools to help UTA out and were fixtures on the schedule most years. 

UTA trailed the all-time series going into this one 5-12. but they had won four of the prior six meetings. UTA lost the first three meetings, and ten of the first 11. It really was a series of runs.

The Aggies were 3-4 heading into this contest. This was the first year the football team was an independent since 1970. Their old home, the Missouri Valley Conference, was a hybrid Division I-A and DI-AA conference. Several schools were forced down to I-AA by the NCAA the prior year. The had wins over Louisiana Tech, Iowa State and, coming into this game, Drake. They also maintained their I-A status, probably prompting their departure from the conference. They also were a geographic outlier. It made sense for all-sports considerations.

On this day in UTA football history, the 1983 Mavericks host the New Mexico State Aggies in the final match-up between the two schools.

Taken from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 23, 1983.