1979 Houston Cougars football team

Last updated

1979 Houston Cougars football
University of Houston classic logo.png
SWC co-champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 17–14 vs. Nebraska
Conference Southwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record11–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive scheme Houston Veer
Defensive coordinator Don Todd (8th season)
Home stadium Houston Astrodome
Seasons
  1978
1980  
1979 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Houston + 7 1 011 1 0
No. 8 Arkansas + 7 1 010 2 0
No. 12 Texas 6 2 09 3 0
No. 14 Baylor 5 3 08 4 0
Texas A&M 4 4 06 5 0
SMU 3 5 05 6 0
Texas Tech 2 5 13 6 2
TCU 1 6 12 8 1
Rice 0 8 01 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.

Contents

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

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8at UCLA *No. 16W 24–1640,008
September 15 Florida *No. 13W 14–1033,851–34,432 [2]
September 29 West Texas State *No. 8
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 49–1027,080 [3]
October 6 Baylor No. 6
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 13–1041,371
October 13at Texas A&M No. 7W 17–1459,545
October 20 SMU No. 5
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX (rivalry)
W 37–1043,409
October 27at No. 4 Arkansas No. 6 ABC W 13–1043,319
November 3at TCU No. 4W 21–1025,412
November 10No. 8 Texas No. 5
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
L 13–2155,155
November 23 Texas Tech No. 9
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
ABCW 14–1025,637
December 1at Rice No. 10
W 63–027,800
January 1vs. No. 7 Nebraska *No. 8 CBS W 17–1472,032
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Houston Cougars football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 70 Leonard Mitchell Jr
DT 79 Hosea Taylor Jr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

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References

  1. "1979 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results".
  2. "Backup Elston guides slumbering Coogs past Florida". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Coogs maul West Texas". Victoria Advocate. September 30, 1979. Retrieved May 2, 2021 via Newspapers.com.