1969 Houston Cougars football team

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1969 Houston Cougars football
University of Houston's classic athletics logo
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 12
Record9–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Yeoman (8th season)
Offensive schemeHouston Veer
Defensive coordinatorMelvin Robertson (5th season)
Home stadiumAstrodome (53,000)
Seasons
← 1968
1970 →
1969 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Penn State     11 0 0
No. 17 West Virginia     10 1 0
No. 12 Houston     9 2 0
No. 5 Notre Dame     8 2 1
Buffalo     6 3 0
Rutgers     6 3 0
Villanova     6 3 0
Florida State     6 3 1
Colgate     5 3 1
Air Force     6 4 0
West Texas State     6 4 0
Boston College     5 4 0
New Mexico State     5 5 0
Southern Miss     5 5 0
Syracuse     5 5 0
Army     4 5 1
VPI     4 5 1
Georgia Tech     4 6 0
Miami (FL)     4 6 0
Pittsburgh     4 6 0
Dayton     3 7 0
Marshall     3 7 0
Northern Illinois     3 7 0
Tulane     3 7 0
Utah State     3 7 0
Idaho     2 8 0
Navy     1 9 0
Xavier     1 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. It was the 24th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by eighth-year head coach Bill Yeoman who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. The team played its home games in the Astrodome, a 53,000-person capacity stadium off-campus in Houston. Houston competed as a member of the NCAA in the University Division, independent of any athletic conference. It was their tenth year of doing so. After completion of the regular season, the Cougars were invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where they defeated the Auburn Tigers. Following the overall season, several players were selected for the 1970 NFL Draft.

Preseason[edit]

Top 25 rankings[edit]

Houston was nationally ranked in the AP Poll for the pre-season with the #7 spot.[1] It was the first time that Houston had received votes in the pre-season for that poll since the 1953 season, and was the highest pre-season ranking for the team ever. Outside of the 1967 season, it was the highest that Houston had ever been ranked in the poll.

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 20at FloridaNo. 7L 34–5953,807[2]
September 27at Oklahoma StateL 18–2423,500
October 4Mississippi StateW 74–036,207[3]
October 11at ArizonaW 34–1732,800
October 25No. 17 Ole Miss
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 25–1148,049[4]
November 1Miami (FL)
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
ABCW 38–3625,498
November 8at TulsaW 47–1417,750
November 15at NC StateNo. T–18W 34–1331,000[5]
November 22WyomingNo. 19
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 41–1435,389
November 29Florida StateNo. 18
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 41–1336,508
December 31vs. No. 12 AuburnNo. T–17
HTNW 36–755,203[6]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[7]

Game summaries[edit]

Florida[edit]

Houston opened the 1969 season ranked as #7 in the Pre-season AP Poll. For its first game, the team traveled to Gainesville, Florida to compete against Florida of the Southeastern Conference at Florida Field. Led by tenth-year head coach Ray Graves, Florida had not lost a season opener for the past three years, while Houston had not lost a season opener for the past four years.[8] It was the first time in history that the two teams had met.[7] The victory by the Gators was considered a major upset, as the #7-ranked Houston quickly fell to an unranked position following the game, while Florida rose to #12 in the AP Poll.[9] Following the game, Florida eventually went on to earn a 9–1–1 overall record, and after the defeat of Tennessee in the Gator Bowl, a #14 national ranking the poll to finish the season.[10]

Poll rankings[edit]

Week-to-Week Rankings[11]
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 Final
AP 7 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 18 19 18 19 17 12

Coaching staff[edit]

Head coach Bill Yeoman coaches Houston
Name Position Alma mater (Year) Year at Houston
Bill Yeoman Head coach/offensive coordinator Army (1948) 7th
Melvin Robertson Defensive coordinator West Texas State (1950) 5th
Melvin Brown Offensive backs coach Oklahoma (1954) 8th
Billy Willingham Offensive line coach TCU (1951) 4th
Barry Sides Offensive line coach/defensive ends coach Houston (1968) 1st
Ben Hurt Defensive line coach Middle Tennessee (1957) 5th
Howard Tippett Linebackers coach East Tennessee State (1958) 3rd
Joe Arenas Wide receivers coach Nebraska-Omaha (1951) 7th
Carroll Schultz Freshmen coach Louisiana Tech (1948) 8th
Bobby Baldwin Freshmen coach Houston (1958) 5th

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Houston 1969 AP Football Rankings". College Poll Archive. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Florida bombards Houston, 59 to 34". Pensacola News Journal. September 21, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Cougs rattle Miss. St. in Astrodome". The Odessa American. October 5, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Cougars upset 17th ranked Ole Miss, 25–11". The Odessa American. October 26, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Houston pops Wolfpack". The News and Observer. November 16, 1969. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Auburn downed 36–7". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1970. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "2009 Houston Cougars football media guide: Year-by-Year results" (PDF). Houston Cougars athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  8. ^ "Cougars, Gators Gamble Opening Game Streaks". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. September 19, 1969. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  9. ^ Moran, Sheila (September 23, 1969). "Houston Drops Out of College Ratings". The Daily Courier. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  10. ^ "Gutty Florida Defence Stops Tennessee 14–13 in Gator Bowl". Ottawa Citizen. December 29, 1969. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  11. ^ "1969 Final AP Football Poll". AP Poll Archive. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2010.