UTA FB History: Vol. 9 Gm. 1 - What Could Have Been

It is one of the more exciting times of year for me on this blog as the first Saturday in September kicks off This Day in UTA Football History. For long-time readers, you know that we are in a period of time where prior years covered the same seasons as the current edition.

The rules are simple, in the University era, UT Arlington rarely played on any other day but a Saturday. I can think of only one exception. Every junior college game I have found is the same, but I don't have them all, so I can't definitively say for the entire program. As such, the entries are posted on Saturday. The 2014 entries will be this year's sister season. For the next 12 weeks, we will look at games from the 1969, 1975 and 1980 seasons. But there will be twist this year.

Between my interview with UTA Athletic Director and this, I've been saying excited a lot. But it is genuinely true. I'm excited to announce this twist. Football schedules are made years in advance. Some colleges and universities today schedule games almost a decade out. Contracts are signed, penalties are enforced and conference games planned around these non-conference games. This was true decades ago. It is one reason why the Arlington State College Rebels played only seven games in its first season as a four-year school. There were not enough openings by opponents in a short time to schedule a full season.

No one knew as 1985 progressed that the final game of the program was nearing until the Monday following the last game against North Texas. UTA had already published schedules for 1986 and 1987. Had the program not been disbanded, 1986 would have qualified for this year's entries. I personally have wondered, like many, how the team would have fared. Now, every so often, a game that was scheduled was postponed or rescheduled, so nothing in 1986 was 100 percent guaranteed.

For every entry this year, I will introduce what was on the schedule for 1986, a breakdown of the opponent, how the opponent finished that year and any historical significance related to that game. It will have the same flair as the historical games, just without the article covering the game, obviously.

Some of the biggest heartbreaks of the 1985 announcement surround thoughts of what UTA would have had returning. Every single offensive starter, eight defensive starters and both kickers would have been eligible in 1986. That kind of consistency is unreplicable in today's era, but back then, barring an occasional transfer, coaches and fans knew who would be playing year after year.

While 1985's overall record of 4-6-1 looks sub-par, it really was a very good team. The year started poorly with a loss to Division II team, covered last year. Fan interest never rebounded, but player performance certainly did. Head coach Chuck Curtis had massive holes to replace and/or fill from 1984. It took a while for Coach Curtis to find the right people and for the team to gel, but when they did, it was a record setting offensive year.

Quarterback David Bates would have been a senior in 1986, For all future references to players, I'll give their classification based on what they would have been for the first fall without UTA football. Bates set single-season records for so many quarterback stats. Every stat of his from 1985 that follows is first in the record book: attempts (288), completions (160), completion percentage (56.6), passing yards (2,055), touchdowns (11) and total yards (2,373). He is tied for first in interceptions thrown (20) and is second in most plays (334).

In a weird twist, his completions are third on the career list and he would likely have been in second place after today's game, needing only six to enter sole possession. His career completion percentage, with a minimum of 200 attempts, is first all-time. He likely would have entered the top five in career yards after this game, needing only 138 yards to enter the list. Had he had a full season and repeated his performance, or even improved it, he would have replaced Mike Baylor at the top of the career passing leaders. After just two years. Bates was second team all-Southland Conference, only the third UTA QB in the 22-year run in the SLC to make either first or second team. Baylor and Roy Dewalt earned both second and first in their careers. I don't think it is a stretch to think Bates could have done the same after 1986.

It helped that he had Keith Arbon as his favorite target. The would-be senior wide receiver caught 54 passes for 860 yards and three touchdowns. The catches are a single season record at UTA. The yards are good for second place. His 15.9 yards per completion is the third best among receivers who caught more than 30 passes in a season. He is only the fourth receiver in program history to earn first team all-conference. The first two were in the 1960's and there was only one in the '70's.

Senior James White finished second behind Arbon and deserved all-conference consideration, but didn't land on either team. He caught 37 passes, second most in the conference and would have been first on every other SLC team, for 475 yards and four touchdowns. The TD's are tied for fourth in the SLC. Arbon was the big play receiver while White was the ball control guy.

Those two were a potent pair for Bates. But they weren't the only aspect of a high-powered offense.

Senior Jarvis McKyer, brother to former NFL cornerback and UTA alum Tim McKyer, ran for 627 yards on 155 carries. All subsequent references to the running back will be just his last name while his brother will be a full name. That equates to a yards per carry of 4.0. His yards per game average was good for fourth in the SLC. Seeing as he became more productive as the season wore on, he had the potential for an all-SLC performance and a 1,000 yard season.

Competing with McKyer for an all-SLC spot would have been sophomore Tony Brown. McKyer was the tailback, Brown the fullback, though Brown could play both. Both positions would get the ball and run with it in Curtis' offense. The sophomore ran the ball 147 times for 638 yards and five touchdowns. He was actually best on the team in yards per carry at 4.3. His yards per game average put him at sixth in the SLC. UTA had two of the top six yards per game running backs. Only Arkansas State's wishbone offense repeated that feat, with a second and a fifth place showing.

No team outside of UTA had three players in the top ten for all-purpose yards. Arbon was fifth with his 860 receiving yards, good for 78.2 per game. McKyer racked up an even 700, which was sixth in the SLC at 77.8 yards a game. Rounding out the top ten was Brown. He played in two more games than his backfield mate. Therefore his 762 yards amounted to 69.3 ypg.

No team has a showing like that without a good-to-great offensive line. At center, junior Clint Hailey was a first-team SLC guy and transferred to TCU for this season. There were two second-team SLC recognitions as senior Mike Fay appeared at guard and junior George Andrie made the team at tackle. Andrie transferred to Baylor for 1986 and I have no record of Fay leaving UTA. At the other tackle and guard spots were senior Rick Flores and junior Errol Ware. At tight end, junior Dean Teykl likely was the last piece of the offense.

So the offense could run, pass, catch and block. The biggest shame of the disbandment was not seeing what would have happened with them getting a full season in 1986. There's a real chance it would have been the most high-powered, balanced attack since 1968. There's a very good chance it would have been the best in program history.

On defense, things were a little shakier as no returner for 1986 earned all-conference in 1985. There was also a big shoe to fill as future-NFL-pro-bowler Tim McKyer graduated. But that's not to say there would not be anyone in 1986. There were some names that appeared constantly in game write-ups. They include juniors John Deller (defensive end), Mike Buffins, seniors Randy Parham and Curtis Wright at linebackers, junior cornerback Bruce Porter and senior safety Jason Watson.

I can also say that senior nose tackle Felix Velasco, Buffins, Parham, Wright, and senior safety David Phillips were starters in 1984. Yes, all three linebackers would have been three-year starters.

Unfortunately, the only wide-spread stat kept for defense was interceptions. There were no Mavericks with five or more, none with four in less than 11 games and the only record the SLC has after that says there were four players with four interceptions in a full 11 games. The SLC ranked their leaders based on interceptions per game, giving the advantage to players who didn't play every game.

UTA would publish the stats for individual players later. All of my records have been attained through the media guides, but there wouldn't be an '86, obviously. I don't know about tackles, fumbles, sacks, pass breakups, etc. 

As a team, the defense gave up 136.5 yards on the ground, second best in the SLC and 30th nationally in Division 1-AA, todays Football Championship Subdivision. The passing defense was fourth in the seven-team SLC, but 24th nationally at 166.1 yards a game. For reference, the best SLC passing defense gave up 149.3 yards a game, seventh nationally. As far as total defense, UTA was second in the SLC at 302.5 yards a game, tied for 19th nationally. If UTA had only one defender make the all-SLC team, then it surely was a team effort. Tim McKyer was really good, but a cornerback can only do so much.

The hits don't stop at just those units. At kicker, junior Scott Roper broke records set by NFL kicker Skip Butler. Roper set the UTA record with 17 made field goals in 1985. More impressively his 26 attempts land him at only third. He is the only regular kicker I could find that missed single digit field goals in an entire season. He notched 72 points in 1985, third most in school history. He would earn second team all-conference in 1985.

The kicker (pun intended), Roper was an all-SLC kicker in 1986 as he helped Arkansas State to the I-AA national championship game. There is zero doubt he would have done the same at UTA.

At punter, senior Andy McCarter was second in the SLC with a 40.1 yards per punt average. He had 53 punts for 2,125 yards and a long of 53. Additionally, his per punt average was good for 21st nationally.

After the announcement, UTA's roster was picked clean by other programs like a vulture on a carcass. I mentioned that Hailey went to TCU and Andrie went to Baylor. Ware and sophomore running back Dennis Washington went with Andrie to Baylor while sophomore linebacker Huey Blackmon went to TCU. Blackmon would later transfer again to Sam Houston State. Brown went to a pre-death-penalty SMU. Junior defensive tackle David Barksdale transferred to Texas Tech. Sophomore tight end Casey Smith went down I-35 to Austin to play for the Longhorns. Junior quarterback Steve Ewing played for the Florida Gators. Sophomore tackle Kevin Krueger transferred to the University of Mississippi. These are just the players going to what we would call the power schools today. And it isn't exhaustive.

Eight more would go to SLC schools. White and sophomore center Clay Hudson went to Texas State, which would be a school in the SLC in 1987. Sam Houston also grabbed sophomore running back Victor Henry. Boise State picked up a player, as did Tennessee Tech and Texas Southern. New Mexico took the star power in Arbon and McKyer. Senior defensive tackle Danny Douglass and Velasco made their way to Albuquerque too. Bates enrolled at Utah State, but I don't believe he played his senior year. Instead, he joined the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. Ultimately, the number I have seen is 40. 40 players transferred to another roster. Others could have but choose to finish their academic careers at UTA.

And then there's the sad tale of Coach Curtis. He broke a UTA program career losing record streak started by John Symank and continued by Harold "Bud" Elliott, going 11-10-1 in his two-year stint. He was so committed to his players that he put his career at a disadvantage by working to get his players roster spots for 1986. There were a couple of collegiate, Division I openings that he be in the mix, but were filled early as he worked for his players.

He was a long-time high school coach prior to coaching at UTA and returned to the high schools ranks in 1987. I don't think it is a stretch to say he would have been on the positive side of the ledger for the win-loss record again in '86.

In the preseason poll, Arkansas State was picked to win the SLC in 1986, and indeed they did, partially with the steady leg of Roper. In fact, they went to the I-AA title game, losing to the Georgia Southern Eagles. Their head coach, Larry Lacewell said UTA would have been his pick. The Mavs would also have had stAte in Arlington. I often wonder if that game would have been the first five digit attended game at The Mav since its opening, but that day will come later this volume. There was a three-way tie for second at 3-2 in 1986, with the best overall record sitting of those three at 6-5, so there is a very good chance that UTA would have filled that spot minimum. A national ranking was also likely.

Today's opponent would have been the Nicholls State Colonels. At the time, they were playing in the newly formed Gulf Star Conference. That conference would see four schools transition to the Southland Conference after 1986 as they were facing their own similar issue when Southeastern Louisiana dropped football at the conclusion of the 1985 season.

The 1980's were kinder to Louisiana schools than following years as the Colonels were quite competitive this year. They lost two games in the regular season, both in conference. The first was to conference winner Sam Houston State in Thibodaux, 38-41. The second was an upset win by the Demons of Northwestern State, 28-13 in Natchitoches. The Colonels finished 12th in the country and went to the Division I-AA playoffs, going 1-1, losing to the eventual national champions, Georgia Southern. The 10-3 overall record looks really intimidating, but six of the wins were by a touchdown or less. I believe with Coach Curtis knowing who his guys were to start the season, it would have been a competitive game on the road with a great chance for a win.

As it was, NSU opened against Youngstown State on the road and won 34-17. YSU was 2-9 overall that year and the game was likely just a last-minute add. NSU quarterback at the time was a senior had 17 completions on 26 attempts for 254 yards and three touchdowns. It would have been fun to see him and Bates go toe-to-toe.

But alas, on this day in 1986, UTA did not make history by traveling to the Nichols State Colonels to open the season.