2013 Houston Cougars football team

The 2013 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 68th year of season play for Houston. The season marked the first for the Cougars as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Due to construction of the new TDECU Stadium during the 2013 season, the team played its home games at other locations in Houston.

2013 Houston Cougars football
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
2013 record8–5 (5–3 The American)
Head coachTony Levine
Offensive coordinatorDoug Meacham
Defensive coordinatorDavid Gibbs
Home stadiumReliant Stadium (5 games)
BBVA Compass Stadium (2 games)
2013 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 10 UCF $  8 –0     12 –1  
No. 15 Louisville  7 –1     12 –1  
Cincinnati  6 –2     9 –4  
Houston  5 –3     8 –5  
SMU  4 –4     5 –7  
Rutgers  3 –5     6 –7  
UConn  3 –5     3 –9  
South Florida  2 –6     2 –10  
Memphis  1 –7     3 –9  
Temple  1 –7     2 –10  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The season featured the Cougars’ continued Bayou Bucket Classic rivalry with the Rice Owls. The game again became a non-conference battle due to the departure from Conference USA for the Cougars following the 2012 season. The previous time the two teams met as non-conference foes was during the 2004 season when the Rice Owls was a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The 2013 Bayou Bucket Classic was played at Reliant Stadium.

They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in American Athletic play to finish in fourth place. They were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl where they were defeated by Vanderbilt.

Previous season

With a 5–7 overall record, the 2012 season was a step backward for the program, as it compiled only its second losing season since 2005. The team suffered an early season humiliating loss against Texas State in Houston's season opener, and offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt was forced to resign after only one game. First year head coach Tony Levine promoted Travis Bush to fill the position. It was the final season that the team would play its home games at the on-campus Robertson Stadium, as it was closed and demolished soon after the season finished.

Preseason

Recruits

For the 2013 recruiting class, Houston attained its highest overall class ranking since 2010, and its second-highest ranking ever by Rivals.com. However, Scout.com only gave Houston its seventh-best overall ranking.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:30 p.m.Southern*
ESPN3W 62–1326,205
September 711:00 a.m.at Temple
AANW 22–1327,328
September 212:00 p.m.vs. Rice*
  • Reliant Stadium
  • Houston, TX (Bayou Bucket Classic)
FSNW 31–2634,831
September 283:00 p.m.at UTSA*
FSNW 59–2832,487
October 1211:00 a.m.Memphis
  • BBVA Compass Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPNewsW 25–1520,103
October 192:30 p.m.BYU*
  • Reliant Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPNewsL 46–4733,115
October 2611:00 a.m.at Rutgers
ESPNewsW 49–1452,200
October 316:00 p.m.South Florida
  • Reliant Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPNW 35–2322,707
November 96:00 p.m.at No. 21 UCF
ESPN2L 14–1944,665
November 166:00 p.m.at No. 13 Louisville
ESPNUL 13–2053,027
November 2311:00 a.m.Cincinnati
  • BBVA Compass Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPNewsL 17–2420,197
November 2911:00 a.m.SMU
  • Reliant Stadium
  • Houston, TX (Rivalry)
ESPN2W 34–023,210
January 412:00 p.m.vs. Vanderbilt*
ESPNL 24–4142,717

[1][2]

Coaching staff
2013 was head coach Tony Levine's second full season in that position
NamePositionAlma mater (Year)
Tony LevineHead coachMinnesota (1995)
Doug MeachamOffensive coordinatorOklahoma State (1987)
David GibbsDefensive coordinatorColorado (1990)
Jamie ChristianSpecial teams coordinator/Inside receivers/Tight endsCentral Washington (1999)
Glen ElarbeeOffensive lineMiddle Tennessee (2002)
Ricky LogoDefensive lineNorth Carolina State (1992)
Vernon HargreavesLinebackersConnecticut (1986)
Brandon MiddletonOutside receiversHouston (2004)
Zac SpavitalDefensive backsMurray State (2004)

Game summaries

UTSA
See also: UTSA Roadrunners football and 2013 UTSA Roadrunners football team
Houston at UTSA
1 234Total
• Cougars 7 141028 59
Roadrunners 7 1470 28
Source:[3]
Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting

BYU
See also: BYU Cougars football and 2013 BYU Cougars football team
BYU at Houston
1 234Total
• BYU Cougars 24 10013 47
UH Cougars 21 1726 46
  • Date: October 19
  • Location: Reliant Stadium
    Houston, TX
  • Game start: 2:34 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 4:07
  • Game attendance: 33,115
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Indoors
  • Referee: Greg Burks
  • TV announcers (ESPNews): Joe Davis & David Diaz-Infante
Sources:
Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting

Poll rankings
See also: 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV NR NR RV RV NR NR NR NR NR 
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR 
Harris Not released RV RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

References
  1. 2013 Houston Cougars football schedule Archived 2012-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, Houston Athletics, Retrieved March 6, 2013
  2. Duarte, Joseph (April 18, 2013). "UH Football Schedule Dependent on Texans' NFL Slate". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. "Houston Cougars at UTSA Roadrunners (September 28, 2013)". Statbroadcast.com. Retrieved September 28, 2013.


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