Fantasy college football in the 1980s….oh what it could have been! The beginning of the common era at least for most of us. ESPN and MTV became huge. We had a New Wave British Invasion in music and now what we call old-skool (rap, hip-hop) was pretty new to those in the ‘burbs. It was a time where we knew Boy George was gay….and still thought George Michael wasn’t (and, no, not the George Michael with his “Sports Machine” show).

It was also a time where college football fans got to see more than a couple games per weekend. The greatest Supreme Court ruling in the land…college football’s “Brown v Board of Education”…removed the NCAA ban on the number of a school’s TV appearances per season. College football was everywhere on the tube. Sports bars everywhere rejoiced!

The trend in college football in the 1980s was the forward pass. More and more, teams were advancing the ball downfield through the air. When Penn State in 1982 became the first National Champion to have more passing yards than rushing yards….everyone knew by then you could win with the forward pass. Legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal’s “Three things happen when you pass, and two of them are bad” quote about passing was forever eschewed.

Not that the ground game went ignored…in fact some of the biggest single-season rushing records were set in the 1980s. The passing game opened up the field for some of the greatest RBs in history.

So, flip your remote away from your MTV, put up your parachute pants, stop crushing on Molly Ringwald, and enjoy the trip back into the Eighties via Fantasy College Blitz.

QUARTERBACKS

There may be some argument whether Andre Ware should be the top fantasy QB of the decade, but Jim McMahon (right) put together two great seasons, one of them absolutely phenomenal. In 1980, McMahon threw for 4571 yards and 47 TDs…at the time the best ever in history. Even more freakish is that McMahon averaged 10.3 yards per pass…think first-down every time he threw the ball. In 1981, McMahon slipped to 3555 yards and 30 TDs, but these were still the second-highest totals in the nation that season. Most people tend to remember McMahon for his “Rozelle” headbands and his renegade style while with the Chicago Bears, but, McMahon was one of the most prolific passers in college football history.

Andre Ware, the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner, went berserk that same season throwing for 4699 yards and 46 TDs. Houston put up some major butt-whippings that season (like a 95-21 win over SMU) , but at times struggled against good defenses (losing 17-13 to Texas A&M). Ware put up great numbers, but his 8.1 yards per pass that season was average compared to most QBs. This by no means is meant to be a negative towards Ware, for he would have made a top overall draft pick in fantasy leagues that season, but, McMahon just was a little better when thinking fantasy football. Ware was very instrumental in resurrecting the Cougar program, which had fallen in stature in the mid-1980s.

Many know Steve Young was a great NFL QB, and many prayed to get him first in their NFL fantasy leagues in the 1990s but Young was pretty good in college, too. Although other QBs threw for more yards and TDs than Young, no passing QB of the time put up the rushing numbers. In his best season, 1983, Young threw for 3902 yards and 33 TDs…and rushed for over 400 yards and 8 TDs. In 1982, Young had only 3100 yards and 18 TDs passing, but scored 10 rushing TDs. In today’s spread-offenses Young would easily flourish. Obviously he got the BYU QB job because of his skills, not because the school was founded by his great-great-great-great grandfather.

RUNNING BACKS

In a decade deep with great RBs, few would consider that a back from Indiana would be one of the most productive, but Anthony Thompson (right) was one of the best. By the time he finished his Hoosier career in 1989, Thompson scored 68 TDs, at the time the NCAA record. His best season was 1989, when he led the nation in rushing (1793 yards) and scoring (25 TDs, 154 points total). His 1988 season was sweet, too, rushing for 1546 yards and 24 TDs. Although Indiana finished only 5-6 in 1989, Thompson’s 4-year run at IU was one of the most successful eras at a school more known for its hoops.

No one thought that the leading kick returner and second-ranked punt returner from 1987 (2 KOs and 2 PRs for TDs) would bitch-slap the record books the following season but that is what Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders did. Sanders rushed for 2628 yards and scored 39 TDs in his Heisman-winning season of 1988, single-season records that probably will never be broken. Sanders also averaged nearly 300 yards per game total offense. Putting it in the most-conservative of fantasy scoring terms….Sanders would have averaged 32 fantasy points per game. No doubt this would have been the greatest single-season fantasy performance, ever.

There have been a lot of good players “Between The Hedges” at Georgia, but none were as great as Herschel Walker. A big back with world-class speed, Walker produced three stellar seasons in Athens, His best season was in 1981, when he rushed for 1891 yards and scored 20 TDs. Walker’s UGA teams won 3 SEC Titles and the 1980 National Championship, while he rambled for over 5000 career yards and 52 TDs. Had Walker played his senior season (he left early for the newly-created USFL) he would have definitely broke every career NCAA rushing and scoring record….and possibly the best all-time fantasy football player, ever.

USCs Marcus Allen was another of the great RBs produced by the Trojans. In his 1981 Heisman Trophy season, Allen ran for 2342 yards (then a single-season record) and 23 TDs. Adding his 1563 yards and 14 TDs from 1980, few backs in the 1980s had as great a two-year run like Allen.

Nebraska also has produced a bevy of great RBs, and one of the best Husker backs of all time was Mike Rozier. The 1983 Heisman winner led one of the most devastating offensive machines in college football history, rushing for 2148 yards and scoring 29 TDs. In that same 1983 season, Rozier broke many big runs, and averaged nearly 8 yards per carry.

Another school known for its great RBs is Ohio State, and Keith Byars may have been the best of them, fantasy-wise. In 1984 Byars led the nation in rushing and scoring, with 1655 yards and 24 TDs. The previous season, Byars finished second to Nebraska’s Mike Rozier in scoring (20 TDs) and had 1126 yards on the ground.

RECEIVERS

In the early 1980s, the University of Houston called its “dunk-a-minute” basketball team as “Phi Slamma Jamma”. By the late 1980s, Houston had a football team just as exciting….which should have been named “Sigma Alpha Passa” (OK so I wasn’t a Greek). No one receiver epitomized the Houston attack of the 1980s more than Manny Hazard, who went nuts in the 1989 season, hauling in 142 passes for 1689 yards and 22 TDs. Hazard’s 142 receptions are still, today, the single-season NCAA record, and his 22 TDs are still third-highest ever. Few receivers put up two-year or three-year totals like Hazard did, and, like Sanders, gets on this list because of one truly amazing season.

Definitely the one name on this list that college football fans may not be real familiar with is Marc Zeno. In the mid 1980s, no receiver produced as consistently as the Tulane star, who amassed over 3700 yards receiving and three consecutive 1000 yard-plus receivng seasons in his Green Wave career. Zeno’s best season was 1987, when he had 1206 yards and 13 TD receiving, and averaged nearly 16 yards per catch…and led Tulane to a rare bowl appearance.

Another of the great Houston WRs of the 1980s was Jason Phillips. The nation’s leader in receptions in 1987 and 1988, Phillips broke loose in the latter season, hauling in 108 catches, 1444 yards, and 15 TDs. In 1987 Phillips hauled in 99 passes, but only for 875 yards and 3 TDs….which kept him off the first-team of this list.

There may have been no better athlete to grace New Mexico Lobos football (yes, that includes Brian Urlacher) than Terance Mathis. One of the most productive receivers of the 1980s, Mathis shined in 1989, with 1315 yards receiving and 13 TDs, and earning consensus All-America honors. In his Lobo career, Mathis had 4214 yards receiving, at the time the most ever in college football history.

LSUs Wendell Davis had a good two-year run in 1986-1987 where he caught 152 passes for 2235 yards and 18 TDs. Considering the SEC at the time was not the most pass-friendly of conferences, and contained some of the best defenses in America, Davis was able to produce fantasy-friendly stats in spite of that. Davis still owns the Tiger record in all-time career receiving yards.

KICKER

The NCAAs all-time scoring leader among kickers only had two seasons in the 1980s, but they were some very good ones. Houston kicker Roman Anderson put together two seasons that most kickers would give their plant-leg for. In 1988, his freshman season, Anderson scored 108 points. In 1989 Anderson topped that with 131 points, finishing third overall in scoring (all players) that season. What made Anderson unique among kickers who play in high-scoring passing offenses was that he hit 41 FGs in that two-year span, and, his 22 FGs in 1989 tied him for first nationally that season. A fantasy kicker who averages over 11 points per game, like Anderson did, are extremely rare.

Yes, many jokes have been made over the years about Florida State and their FG kicking (“wide-right”), but Derek Schmidt was one of the most consistent scoring kickers of the mid 1980s. Schmidt’s best season was 1987, where he finished second overall in scoring with 116 points. Florida State has produced a lot of great players in the 30+ seasons under Bobby Bowden, but no Seminole has scored more career points than Derek Schmidt.

I think the word “Zendejas” in Spanish means “great kicker”. Well, pardon my ignorance in the language, but no family on the planet has produced as many quality kickers like the Zendejas clan, and the best of them was Luis, who kicked at Arizona State. In his career at ASU, Luis Z. averaged 95 points per season, and in 1983 scored 112 points and hit 28 FGs, leading all kickers in both categories that season.

DEFENSE

In the mid-1980s, no program had a dominant defense like Oklahoma. Led by LB Brian Bosworth, the Sooner D held opponents to under double-digit scoring for three straight seasons. In 1986, the Sooners held opponents to an average of 169 yards total offense and 6.6 points per game, shutting out five opponents.

Miami (FL) rose to prominence in the 1980s, winning three National Championships. Their defense was the real reason for all those titles, especially when you have guys like Russell Maryland and the late Jerome Brown manning the D-line. In the 1989 championship season, Miami held opponents to 216 yards and 9 points per game.

In the late 1980s Auburn had one of the stingiest defenses around. A program that produced Tracy Rocker and other fine college defensive players, the Tigers were one of the dominant programs in the SEC, and consistently finished in the top ten nationally in both scoring and total defense.

FREAKY STAT

Northwestern RB Byron Sanders topped off his Wildcat career in 1988, leading the team with 1062 yards rushing. In most families, rushing for 1000 yards in one season for a Big Ten school would make you the talk of generations to come. Alas, however, not in the Sanders home in Wichita, KS. Younger bro Barry… uh, yes, that same Barry Sanders….had his NCAA record-smashing season that year. It is not often when a 1000 yard rusher finished nearly 1600 yards behind a sibling. Fortunately, the Heisman winning Barry was legendary for his humbleness and quietness, so there was not the smack-talk towards older brother Byron. The 3690 yards produced by the Sanders brothers in 1988 is one record that will stand for a very long time.

FANTASY PLAYER OF THE DECADE (F-POD)

Not an easy choice, and an argument can be made for many of the players on the All-Decade Team, but the F-POD goes to…..Indiana RB Anthony Thompson. The Hoosier RB put together the most consistent four seasons (we mentioned only his two best), and, EVERYBODY in the Big Ten knew who Indiana was going to give the ball to (granted this could be said for Georgia’s Herschel Walker, but the Dawgs had a lot of talent around him compared to the Hoosiers and AT). Many Hoosier fans felt Thompson got shafted in the 1989 Heisman voting (only 70 points behind Houston QB Andre Ware, one of the closest finishes ever), so, winning the FCB F-POD award for the top fantasy player of the 1980s should be some consolation.