1979 Houston Cougars football team

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1979 Houston Cougars football
SWC co-champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record11–1 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Yeoman
Offensive schemeHouston Veer
Defensive coordinatorDon Todd
Home stadiumHouston Astrodome
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Southwest Conference football standings
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[edit]

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

Roster[edit]

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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References[edit]

  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.