1969 Houston Cougars football team
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.
| 1969 Houston Cougars football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion | |
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, W 36–7 vs. Auburn | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 14 |
| AP | No. 12 |
| 1969 record | 9–2 |
| Head coach | Bill Yeoman (8th season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Bill Yeoman (8th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Houston Veer |
| Defensive coordinator | Melvin Robertson (5th season) |
| Home stadium | Astrodome (53,000) |
| 1969 NCAA University Division independents football records | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | – | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | – | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah State | – | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Navy | – | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xavier | – | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pre-season
Top 25 rankings
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
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20 | at Florida* | No. 7 |
| L 59–34 | 53,807[2] | |
| September 27 | at Oklahoma State* |
| L 24–18 | 23,500[2] | ||
| October 4 | Mississippi State* | W 74–0 | 36,207[2] | |||
| October 11 | at Arizona* | W 34–17 | 32,800[2] | |||
| October 25 | No. 17 Mississippi* |
| W 25–11 | 48,049[2] | ||
| November 1 | Miami* |
| ABC | W 38–36 | 25,498[2] | |
| November 8 | at Tulsa* |
| W 47–14 | 17,750[2] | ||
| November 15 | at NC State* | No. 18 | W 34–13 | 31,000[2] | ||
| November 22 | Wyoming* | No. 19 |
| W 41–14 | 35,389[2] | |
| November 29 | Florida State* | No. 18 |
| W 41–13 | 36,508[2] | |
| December 31 | No. 12 Auburn* | No. 17 |
| HTN | W 36–7 | 55,203[2] |
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Game summaries
Florida
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.[3] It was the first time in history that the two teams had met.[2] 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.[4] 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.[5]
Poll rankings
| 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
| 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
- "Houston 1969 AP Football Rankings". College Poll Archive. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- "2009 Houston Cougars football media guide: Year-by-Year results" (PDF). Houston Cougars athletics. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- "Cougars, Gators Gamble Opening Game Streaks". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 1969-09-19. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
- Moran, Sheila (1969-09-23). "Houston Drops Out of College Ratings". The Daily Courier. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
- "Gutty Florida Defence Stops Tennessee 14–13 in Gator Bowl". Ottawa Citizen. 1969-12-29. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
- "1969 Final AP Football Poll". AP Poll Archive. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-05-04.