Saturday's game will be the first meeting of ranked opponents involving SMU in more than 30 years.

On Saturday, the 19th-ranked Southern Methodist University will play No. 25 Temple University.

It's the first meeting of ranked opponents involving the SMU Mustangs since Oct. 12, 1985, when No. 16 SMU lost to No. 19 Baylor, 21-14.

It is a huge moment, for a long-tortured program that has longed for a winner.

"Those uniforms and that Mustang on that helmet means what it did when I was a little kid, " longtime SMU fan Thaddeus Matula said.

Matula is an SMU alum and was the director of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary Pony Excess, documenting the rise and fall of the Mustangs program.

Now, back living in Dallas, he's watching his alma mater return to prominence.

In the early 1980s, SMU had the most successful college football program in America. Routinely a national championship contender, they went 41-5-1 between 1981 and 1984.

But there was one problem. A rampant cheating scandal, with boosters paying the players.

Many programs were paying players in those days. But in the heart of Dallas, at the center of a major media market, the SMU Mustangs were the ones who got caught.

"We would go to play games and people would throw money on the field," said former SMU receiver Jeff Jacobs.

WFAA reported on the payment made to SMU player David Stanley. The scandal eventually led to the imposition of the death penalty.

"I hoped for the longest time that the story wasn't true, but I'm incredibly proud of the fact that we were the ones who reported it," said WFAA sports anchor Dale Hansen.

The 1987 SMU football season was canceled, and, later, school officials canceled the 1988 season too.

"WFAA is still not four letters that are enjoyed over here," Matula said. "They are a four-letter word for some."

That sentiment is shared by former players too.

"WFAA?" Jacobs says with a wry smile. "Oh, no, it was that man Dale Hansen. That was the person. He called my name too many times. Often. Over and over. But, you know, that was his job."

More than 30 years later, the football program is improving. But what took so long?

"I think when they began football back, I don't necessarily think they wanted to come back and be a winning program from day one," said Mustangs head coach Sonny Dykes.

Recruiting was a challenge for years after the death penalty because of strict rules and guidelines imposed on the university.

"They were rejecting kids that should have been allowed to play football and go to school at SMU," Hansen says. "And made it almost impossible for coaches."

"We did that for 25 years," Matula says. "And we sucked."

Now, the program doesn't have that problem.

SMU is undefeated this year and the team is ranked 19th nationally.

"Enjoy the moment, because nothing is guaranteed," said SMU Athletic Director Rick Hart.

Still, some fans are already dreaming of a bright future, such as conference realignment.

"If we win, this is one of the great media markets in the country," Matula said. "No conference is not going to consider us."

The head coach says the team has to keep winning games before shifting conferences.

"If that happens, then I think someone who's looking to expand, or as conference realignment shakes up, I think they'd be crazy not to consider a team like SMU," Dykes said.

Who would have thought we'd be talking about SMU like this again?