1978 Houston Cougars football team American college football season
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 .
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 16 at Memphis State * L 3–1731,316 [ 2]
September 23 Utah * W 42–2530,000 [ 3]
September 30 at No. 10 Florida State * W 27–2141,142 [ 4]
October 7 at Baylor W 20–1835,000 [ 5]
October 14 No. 6 Texas A&M No. 17 Houston Astrodome Houston, TX W 33–052,156 [ 6]
October 21 at SMU No. 11 W 42–2864,871 [ 7]
October 28 No. 9 Arkansas No. 11 Houston Astrodome Houston, TX W 20–950,913 [ 8]
November 4 TCU No. 10 Houston Astrodome Houston, TX W 63–630,011 [ 9]
November 11 at No. 6 Texas No. 8 W 10–783,053 [ 10]
November 25 at Texas Tech No. 5 L 21–2236,691 [ 11]
December 2 Rice No. 9 Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry ) W 49–2533,186 [ 12]
vs. No. 10 Notre Dame * No. 9 CBS L 34–3572,000 [ 13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 14]
References
^ "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 .
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons
National championships in bold