1979 Houston Cougars football team
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.
| 1979 Houston Cougars football | |
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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 |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bill Yeoman |
| Offensive scheme | Houston Veer |
| Defensive coordinator | Don Todd |
| Home stadium | Houston Astrodome |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | W 24–16 | 40,008 | |||
| September 15 | Florida* | No. 13 | W 14–10 | 33,851–34,432 | [2] | ||
| September 29 | West Texas State* | No. 8 |
| W 49–10 | 27,080 | [3] | |
| October 6 | Baylor | No. 6 |
| W 13–10 | 41,371 | ||
| October 13 | at Texas A&M | No. 7 | W 17–14 | 59,545 | |||
| October 20 | SMU | No. 5 |
| W 37–10 | 43,409 | ||
| October 27 | at No. 4 Arkansas | No. 6 | ABC | W 13–10 | 43,319 | ||
| November 3 | at TCU | No. 4 | W 21–10 | 25,412 | |||
| November 10 | No. 8 Texas | No. 5 |
| L 13–21 | 55,155 | ||
| November 23 | Texas Tech | No. 9 |
| ABC | W 14–10 | 25,637 | |
| December 1 | at Rice | No. 10 |
| W 63–0 | 27,800 | ||
| January 1 | vs. No. 7 Nebraska* | No. 8 |
| CBS | W 17–14 | 72,032 | |
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Roster
| 1979 Houston Cougars football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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References
- "1979 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results".
- "Backup Elston guides slumbering Coogs past Florida". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Coogs maul West Texas". Victoria Advocate. September 30, 1979. Retrieved May 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.