The 1978 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1] The Cougars were led by 17th-year head coach Bill Yeoman and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, winning the conference with a 7–1 conference record. This was Houston's first outright conference title and second overall, in only their third year in the league. They were invited to the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic, played on New Year's Day, where they were defeated by Notre Dame. Houston was ranked 10th in the final AP Poll of the season and 11th in the Coaches' Poll.
| 1978 Houston Cougars football | |
|---|---|
 | |
SWC champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 34–35 vs. Notre Dame | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 11 |
| AP | No. 10 |
| Record | 9–3 (7–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive scheme | Houston Veer |
| Defensive coordinator | Don Todd (7th season) |
| Home stadium | Houston Astrodome |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Houston $ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Arkansas | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Texas | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Tech | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Texas A&M | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 16 | at Memphis State* | L 3–17 | 31,316 | [2] | |||
| September 23 | Utah* | W 42–25 | 30,000 | [3] | |||
| September 30 | at No. 10 Florida State* | W 27–21 | 41,142 | [4] | |||
| October 7 | at Baylor | W 20–18 | 35,000 | [5] | |||
| October 14 | No. 6 Texas A&M | No. 17 |
| W 33–0 | 52,156 | [6] | |
| October 21 | at SMU | No. 11 | W 42–28 | 64,871 | [7] | ||
| October 28 | No. 9 Arkansas | No. 11 |
| W 20–9 | 50,913 | [8] | |
| November 4 | TCU | No. 10 |
| W 63–6 | 30,011 | [9] | |
| November 11 | at No. 6 Texas | No. 8 | W 10–7 | 83,053 | [10] | ||
| November 25 | at Texas Tech | No. 5 | L 21–22 | 36,691 | [11] | ||
| December 2 | Rice | No. 9 |
| W 49–25 | 33,186 | [12] | |
| January 1 | vs. No. 10 Notre Dame* | No. 9 |
| CBS | L 34–35 | 72,000 | [13] |
| |||||||
References
edit- ^ "1978 Houston Cougars". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ "Memphis State claims 17–3 win over Houston". The Marshall News Messenger. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston captures 42–25 win". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston strikes early, upends Florida State". The Sunday Oregonian. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston thwarts Baylor". Abilene Reporter-News. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cougs stun Aggies, 33–0". Del Rio News Herald. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston bombards SMU 42–28". The El Paso Times. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Davis sparks Houston past Arkansas, 20–9". Lincoln Journal Star. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Early scores by Houston deflate TCU". The Miami Herald. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston catapults into SWC lead". The Kilgore News Herald. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston caught in revolt". The Shreveport Times. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cougars cook Rice, 49–25". Syracuse Herald-Journal. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Joe says it's so, so, it's Joe, 35–34". The Indianapolis Star. January 2, 1979. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1978 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
 | This college football 1970s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |