1979 Houston Cougars football team

1979 Houston Cougars football
SWC co-champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 17–14 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
Record	11–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach	Bill Yeoman (18th season)
Offensive scheme	Houston Veer
Defensive coordinator	Don Todd (8th season)
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Houston +	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Arkansas +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Texas	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Baylor	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
SMU	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	2
TCU	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Rice	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. ^[1] The Cougars were led by 18th-year head coach Bill Yeoman and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. They competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing as co-champions with Arkansas. This was Houston's second consecutive conference championship, and their third overall in their first four years as members of the conference.

The Cougars finished the season with a record of 11–1. Their only loss was at home to the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns, 21–13. Houston was invited to the 1980 Cotton Bowl Classic, played on New Year's Day, where they defeated seventh-ranked Nebraska. Houston finished ranked fifth in both major final polls.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at UCLA *	No. 16	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 24–16	40,008	[2]
September 15	Florida *	No. 13	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 14–10	33,851–34,432	[3]
September 29	West Texas State *	No. 8	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 49–10	27,080	[4]
October 6	Baylor	No. 6	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 13–10	37,142	[5]
October 13	at Texas A&M	No. 7	Kyle Field College Station, TX		W 17–14	59,545	[6]
October 20	SMU	No. 5	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 37–10	43,409	[7]
October 27	at No. 4 Arkansas	No. 6	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ABC	W 13–10	43,319	[8]
November 3	at TCU	No. 4	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		W 21–10	25,412	[9]
November 10	No. 8 Texas	No. 5	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		L 13–21	53,650	[10]
November 23	Texas Tech	No. 9	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 14–10	25,637	[11]
December 1	at Rice	No. 10	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 63–0	27,800	[12]
January 1	vs. No. 7 Nebraska *	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 17–14	72,032	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

at Arkansas

See also: 1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

Game Seven – No. 6 Houston Cougars (6–0) at No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks (6–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Cougars	7	0	0	6	13
No. 4 Razorbacks	3	7	0	0	10

at Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas

• Date: October 27, 1979
• Game time: 11:30 a.m. CDT
• Game attendance: 43,319
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson (play-by-play), Ara Parseghian (color commentator) and Bill Flemming (sideline reporter)

Game information
First Quarter (0:00) ARK – (0:00) HOU – Second Quarter (0:00) ARK – Third Quarter No scoring plays Fourth Quarter (0:00) HOU – (0:00) HOU –

Statistics	HOU	ARK
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Arkansas	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Texas

See also: 1979 Texas Longhorns football team

Game Nine – No. 8 Texas Longhorns (6–1) at No. 5 Houston Cougars (8–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Longhorns	7	7	0	7	21
No. 5 Cougars	3	7	0	3	13

at Houston Astrodome • Houston, Texas

• Date: November 10, 1979
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 53,650
• Referee: Clint Fuller (SWC)

Game information
First Quarter (8:09) HOU – (1:45) TEX – Second Quarter (11:14) HOU – (1:24) TEX – Third Quarter No scoring plays Fourth Quarter (13:24) HOU – (1:25) TEX –

Statistics	TEX	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Texas Tech

See also: 1979 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team and Houston–Texas Tech football rivalry

Game Ten – Texas Tech Red Raiders (3–5–2) at No. 9 Houston Cougars (8–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	3	0	7	0	10
No. 9 Cougars	0	0	7	7	14

at Houston Astrodome • Houston, Texas

• Date: November 23, 1979
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 25,637
• TV announcers (ABC): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) and Steve Davis (color commentator)

Game information
First Quarter (0:00) TTU – Second Quarter No scoring plays Third Quarter (0:00) TTU – (0:00) HOU – Fourth Quarter (0:00) HOU –

Statistics	TTU	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas Tech	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Nebraska (Cotton Bowl Classic)

See also: 1979 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and 1980 Cotton Bowl Classic

1980 Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10–1) vs No. 8 Houston Cougars (10–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Cornhuskers	7	0	0	7	14
No. 8 Cougars	0	7	0	10	17

at Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas

• Date: January 1, 1980
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 72,032
• Referee: Robert Aillet (SEC)
• TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson (play-by-play – 1st quarter), Frank Glieber (sideline reporter – 1st quarter; play-by-play – 2nd thru 4th quarters) and Paul Hornung (color commentator)

Game information

First quarter (5:13) NEB – Jarvis Redwine 9-yard run, (Dean Sukup kick) (Drive: 14 plays, 85 yards, 0:00; Nebraska 7–0) Second quarter (12:17) HOU – Terry Elston 8-yard run, (Kenny Hatfield kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 0:00; Tied 7–7) Third quarter No scoring plays Fourth quarter (8:25) HOU – Kenny Hatfield 41-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 0:00; Houston 10–7) (3:56) NEB – Jeff Finn 6-yard pass from Jeff Quinn, (Dean Sukup kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 31 yards, 0:00; Nebraska 14–10) (0:12) HOU – Eric Herring 6-yard pass from Terry Elston, (Kenny Hatfield kick) (Drive: 13 plays, 66 yards, 0:00; Houston 17–14)

Statistics	NEB	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nebraska	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Roster

1979 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 70 Leonard Mitchell Jr DT 79 Hosea Taylor Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bill Yeoman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1979 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results".
2. "Houston whips UCLA 24–16 with 2nd-half comeback". The Sunday Oregonian. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Backup Elston guides slumbering Coogs past Florida". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Coogs maul West Texas". Victoria Advocate. September 30, 1979. Retrieved May 2, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
5. "UH outscraps Bears 13–10". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "7th-ranked Cougars beat A&M". The Paris News. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Houston first quarter dumps Ponies, 37–10". The Odessa American. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Houston edges Arkansas". Tallahassee Democrat. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "No. 4 Houston passes over TCU". Fort Myers News-Press. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Longhorns stick Cougars with loss". Syracuse Herald-Journal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Houston rallies to pin 14–10 loss on Texas Tech". The Patriot-News. November 24, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Houston annihilates Rice, gets Cotton". The Victoria Advocate. December 2, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Houston gets help from above in Cotton Bowl win over Nebraska". Rapid City Journal. January 2, 1980. Retrieved October 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.