1989 Houston Cougars football team

1989 Houston Cougars football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 14
Record	9–2 (6–2 SWC)
Head coach	Jack Pardee (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	John Jenkins (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Run and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Jim Eddy (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
Seasons ←  1988 1990  →

1989 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Arkansas $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 20 Texas A&M	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 14 Houston	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Texas Tech	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Baylor	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Texas	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
TCU	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rice	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
SMU	0	–	8	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the 44th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by third-year head coach Jack Pardee. Serving as offensive coordinator was John Jenkins, who succeeded Pardee as head coach following the season. The team played its games off-campus at the Astrodome, which had recently received upgrades to seat 62,439 spectators. These Cougars boasted the first squad to have a 4,000-yard passer (Andre Ware), 1,000-yard rusher (Chuck Weatherspoon), and 1,000-yard receiver (Manny Hazard) in FBS history, finishing the season ranked as No. 14 by the AP Poll. ^[1] Junior quarterback Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award following the conclusion of the season. Under probation by the NCAA from rules violated in prior seasons, Houston was ineligible for participation in a bowl game and could not be listed in the Coaches Poll. The Cougars were also barred from live television.

Ware became the first Black quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy when he threw for 4,699 yards, 46 touchdowns, and set 27 NCAA records. Many of the records were thanks to the innovative use of the run and shoot offense, which his successor, David Klingler, also used to great effect. The Cougars ended the season ranked the No. 14 team in the nation by the Associated Press. Ware then declared for the NFL Draft, foregoing his senior year. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	at UNLV *	No. 21	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 69–0	22,416	[3]
September 23	at Arizona State *	No. 17	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	W 36–7	67,357	[4]
September 30	Temple *	No. 14	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	W 65–7	15,121	[5]
October 7	Baylor	No. 12	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 66–10	31,433	[6]
October 14	at Texas A&M	No. 8	Kyle Field College Station, TX	L 13–17	66,423	[7]
October 21	SMU	No. 16	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 95–21	20,009	[8]
October 28	at No. 13 Arkansas	No. 12	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 39–45	55,112	[9]
November 4	at TCU	No. 17	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 55–10	19,212	[10]
November 11	Texas	No. 15	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	W 47–9	45,586	[11]
November 25	No. 18 Texas Tech	No. 13	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 40–24	30,097	[12]
December 2	at Rice	No. 13	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 64–0	22,700	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Rankings

Main article: 1989 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Week-to-Week Rankings
Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Final
AP	21	22	18	17	14	12	8	16	12	17	15	13	13	13	13	13	14
Coaches'	Ineligible (on probation)

Game summaries

SMU

SMU at Houston

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	6	8	7	0	21
•No. 16 Cougars	24	35	22	14	95

• Date: October 21
• Location: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
• Game attendance: 20,009
• Game weather: Indoors

• Source: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary

1		HOU	Anderson 28-yard field goal	Houston 3–0
1		HOU	Weatherspoon 2-yard run (Anderson kick)	Houston 10–0
1		HOU	Weatherspoon 54-yard run (Anderson kick)	Houston 17–0
1		SMU	Ballard fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked)	Houston 17–6
1		HOU	P. Smith 62-yard pass from Andre Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 24–6
2		HOU	Cooper 7-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 31–6
2		SMU	Beard 2-yard pass from Mike Romo (Collins pass from Lawson)	Houston 31–14
2		HOU	Williams 40-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 38–14
2		HOU	Hazard 3-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 45–14
2		HOU	Williams 87-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 52–14
2		HOU	Hazard 28-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 59–14
3		HOU	Hazard 46-yard pass from David Klingler (Anderson kick)	Houston 66–14
3		SMU	Love 26-yard run (Lomerick kick)	Houston 66–21
3		HOU	Weatherspoon 22-yard run (Anderson kick)	Houston 73–21
3		HOU	P. Smith 53-yard pass from Klingler (Perry run)	Houston 81–21
4		HOU	P. Smith 74-yard pass from Klingler (Anderson kick)	Houston 88–21
4		HOU	Cooper 16-yard pass from Klingler (Anderson kick)	Houston 95–21

See also: 1989 SMU Mustangs football team

Houston shattered the NCAA record for total offense with 1,021 yards, and set the mark for passing yards with 771. ^[15] Andre Ware threw for 517 yards and 6 touchdowns while completing 25 of 41 attempts, and did not play in the second half. Backup David Klingler threw for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns in the second half. Paul Smith caught 6 passes for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chuck Weatherspoon rushed 15 times for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns. ^[16]

At Arkansas

See also: 1989 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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Texas

Texas at Houston

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Longhorns	3	6	0	0	9
•No. 15 Cougars	6	21	14	6	47

• Date: November 11
• Location: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
• Game start: 4:02 pm CST
• Elapsed time: 3:25
• Game attendance: 45,586
• Game weather: Indoors
• Referee: Joe Thomas

• Source: Box Score

Scoring summary

1	8:26	TEX	Clements 25-yard field goal	Texas 3–0
1	3:27	HOU	Anderson 24-yard field goal	Tied 3–3
1	2:17	HOU	Anderson 38-yard field goal	Houston 6–3
2	13:00	HOU	Anders 18-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 13–3
2	6:43	TEX	Clements 52-yard field goal	Houston 13–6
2	1:40	HOU	Hazard 38-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 20–6
2	0:44	HOU	Anders 31-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 27–6
2	0:00	TEX	Clements 47-yard field goal	Houston 27–9
3	11:08	HOU	Weatherspoon 60-yard run (Anderson kick)	Houston 34–9
3	8:12	HOU	Hazard 9-yard pass from Ware (Anderson kick)	Houston 41–9
4	10:39	HOU	Anderson 33-yard field goal	Houston 44–9
4	4:28	HOU	Anderson 36-yard field goal	Houston 47–9

See also: 1989 Texas Longhorns football team

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At Rice

See also: Rice Owls football and Bayou Bucket Classic

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^{[20] [21] [22]}

Roster

1989 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL   Joey Banes Sr WR 20 Manny Hazard Jr QB 7 David Klingler So QB 11 Andre Ware Jr RB 28 Chuck Weatherspoon Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB   Reggie Burnette Jr DB   Chris Ellison Sr LB 46 Lamar Lathon Sr SS 29 Alton Montgomery Sr DT 96 Alfred Oglesby Sr DB   Cornelius Price DT 63 Craig Veasey Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K   Roman Anderson So	Head coach Jack Pardee Coordinators/assistant coaches John Jenkins – Offensive coordinator Jim Eddy – Defensive Coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

• Andre Ware, Heisman Trophy ^{[23] [24]}
• Andre Ware, Davey O`Brien Award

Team players in the NFL

Main article: 1990 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Andre Ware	Quarterback	1	7	Detroit Lions
Lamar Lathon	Linebacker	1	15	Houston Oilers
Alton Montgomery	Defensive back	2	52	Denver Broncos
Alfred Oglesby	Nose tackle	3	66	Miami Dolphins
Craig Veasey	Defensive tackle	3	81	Pittsburgh Steelers
Chris Ellison	Defensive back	11	278	Atlanta Falcons
Joey Banes	Tackle	11	295	Houston Oilers

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• Note: David Klingler was drafted into the NFL in 1992.

References

1. "25 years later, Andre Ware's season matters". ESPN.com. August 7, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
2. "Houston: History & Records" (PDF). University of Houston Athletic Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
3. "Ware, UH annihilate UNLV, 69–0". Times Record News. September 4, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Houston gains 744 yards in 36–7 win over ASU". The Arizona Daily Star. September 24, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "UH Wares out Temple, 65–7". The Galveston Daily News. October 1, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cougars overwhelm Bears 66–10". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 8, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "A&M stops Coogs". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. October 15, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Houston rips SMU, 95–21; totals 1,021 yards". Wisconsin State Journal. October 22, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "A classic duel in Little Rock". The Shreveport Times. October 29, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Ware & tear gets to Frogs against No. 17 UH, 55–10". Times Record News. November 5, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Houston routs Texas once more". San Angelo Standard-Times. November 12, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Houston, Ware topple Tech in Heisman quest". Austin American-Statesman. November 26, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Ware sets more records in 64–0 UH rout of Rice". The Victoria Advocate. December 3, 1989. Retrieved June 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "2009 Houston Cougars Media Guide: All-Time Series Game-By-Game" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
15. "FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA . Retrieved August 24, 2019.
16. "Houston Rolls It Up Against SMU With 95 Points, 1,021 Yards". Los Angeles Times . October 22, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
17. "Arkansas Chills Score-Happy Houston, 45-39". Tulsa World . October 29, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
18. "UH air show bombs 'Horns again, 47-9". Odessa American via newspapers.com. November 12, 1989. p. 37. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
19. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Houston Routs Rice". The New York Times . December 3, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
20. "Passing Puts Ware on Receiving End of Heisman". The Washington Post . December 3, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
21. "THE HEISMAN TROPHY: Invisible Ware Gets Hardware". Los Angeles Times . December 3, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
22. "Houston's Ware Wins Heisman". The New York Times . December 3, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
23. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
24. "Ware wins Heisman". Houston Chronicle. December 3, 1989. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
25. "NFL Draft History: Full Draft". NFL.com . Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.