1980 Houston Cougars football team

1980 Houston Cougars football
Garden State Bowl champion
Garden State Bowl, W 35–0 vs. Navy
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	7–5 (5–3 SWC)
Head coach	Bill Yeoman (19th season)
Defensive coordinator	Don Todd (9th season)
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
Seasons ←  1979 1981  →

1980 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Baylor $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 20 SMU	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Houston	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Texas	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Rice	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	5	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Texas A&M	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Texas Tech	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
TCU	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 19th-year head coach Bill Yeoman and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing tied for second. Coming off of a Cotton Bowl-winning 1979 season, the Cougars started the year ranked in the top 10, but ended with a disappointing five regular season losses. Houston was invited to the 1980 Garden State Bowl, where they defeated Navy, 35–0.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	at Arizona State *	No. 9	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		L 13–29	64,868	[1]
September 20	Miami (FL) *	No. 18	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		L 7–14	31,423	[2]
September 27	North Texas State *		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 24–20	23,672	[3]
October 4	at No. 20 Baylor		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)		L 12–24	40,000	[4]
October 11	Texas A&M		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 17–13	46,525	[5]
October 18	at SMU		Texas Stadium Irving, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 13–11	32,109	[6]
October 25	No. 15 Arkansas		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 24–17	41,308	[7]
November 1	TCU		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 37–5	26,502	[8]
November 8	at Texas		Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		L 13–15	79,154	[9]
November 22	at Texas Tech		Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	ESPN	W 34–7	36,386	[10]
November 29	Rice		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–35	29,950	[11]
December 14	vs. Navy *		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)	Mizlou	W 35–0	41,117	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Roster

1980 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 9 Delrick Brown Sr QB 7 Terry Elston Sr C 62 Billy Kidd Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 70 Leonard Mitchell Sr DT 79 Hosea Taylor Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bill Yeoman Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "No. 9 Houston falls to ASU in 29–13 upset". The Arizona Daily Star. September 14, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Miami upsets Houston, 14–7". The Kilgore News Herald. September 21, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Cougars slip past NT Eagles". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 28, 1980. Retrieved October 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Baylor, Jeffrey deck UH, 24–12". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 5, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cougars edge Texas A&M in a yawner". Austin American-Statesman. October 13, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Houston pulls out 13–11 win over SMU". Abilene Reporter-News. October 19, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "UH displays perfect timing". The Orange Leader. October 26, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Cougars keep TCU without win, 37–5". Longview News-Journal. November 2, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "UT slips past Cougars". The Victoria Advocate. November 9, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Elston paces Cougar win". The Galveston Daily News. November 23, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Rice shocks Houston, 35–7". The Tampa Tribune-Times. November 30, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Houston blows Navy out of Garden State". Daily News. November 15, 1980. Retrieved November 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1980 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.