1969 Houston Cougars football team
Encyclopedia
The 1969 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston
in the 1969 college football season
. It was the 24th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by eighth-year head coach Bill Yeoman
who would later be 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
.
for the pre-season with the #7 spot. 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.
. 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. It was the first time in history that the two teams had met. 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. 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.
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
in the 1969 college football season
1969 college football season
The 1969 college football season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of college football. During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A"...
. It was the 24th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by eighth-year head coach Bill Yeoman
Bill Yeoman
Bill Yeoman is a former American football player and coach in the United States. Starting in 1962, he was the University of Houston's head coach, holding the position through 1986. In his tenure, he became the winningest coach in school history, with an overall record of 160–108–8...
who would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2001. The team played its home games in the Astrodome
Reliant Astrodome
Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, USA. The stadium is part of the Reliant Park complex...
, a 53,000-person capacity stadium off-campus in Houston. Houston competed as a member of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
in the University Division, independent of any athletic conference
Athletic conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...
. It was their tenth year of doing so. After completion of the regular season, the Cougars were invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was...
where they defeated the Auburn Tigers
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
. Following the overall season, several players were selected for the 1970 NFL Draft
1970 NFL Draft
The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
.
Top 25 rankings
Houston was nationally-ranked in the AP PollAP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
for the pre-season with the #7 spot. 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
Florida
Houston opened the 1969 season ranked as #7 in the Pre-season AP PollAP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
. For its first game, the team traveled to Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
to compete against Florida of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
at Florida Field
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field is the football stadium for the University of Florida and the home field of the university's Florida Gators football team. It is located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The stadium was originally built in 1930, and has been regularly...
. Led by tenth-year head coach Ray Graves
Ray Graves
Samuel Ray Graves is a former American college and professional football player and former college football coach. He is a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee, where he played college football...
, 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. It was the first time in history that the two teams had met. 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. Following the game, Florida eventually went on to earn a 9–1–1 overall record, and after the defeat of Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
in the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, a #14 national ranking the poll to finish the season.
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 Bill Yeoman Bill Yeoman is a former American football player and coach in the United States. Starting in 1962, he was the University of Houston's head coach, holding the position through 1986. In his tenure, he became the winningest coach in school history, with an overall record of 160–108–8... |
Head coach Head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches... /offensive coordinator Offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach... |
Army Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946.... (1948) |
7th |
| Melvin Robertson Melvin Robertson Melvin Robertson is a former American football coach. He was considered as one of the top defensive minds in football during the 1970s and 80s.... |
Defensive coordinator Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach... |
West Texas State West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University , part of the Texas A&M University System, is a public university located in Canyon, Texas, a small city south of Amarillo. West Texas A&M opened on September 20, 1910... (1950) |
5th |
| Melvin Brown | Offensive backs coach | Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association... (1954) |
8th |
| Billy Willingham | Offensive line coach Offensive line coach The offensive line coach is a coaching position in gridiron football that is in charge of the offensive line. This role is very common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The offensive line coach serves the offense, which is led by the offensive coordinator.... |
TCU TCU Horned Frogs football The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football... (1951) |
4th |
| Barry Sides | Offensive line coach/defensive ends coach | Houston (1968) | 1st |
| Ben Hurt | Defensive line coach Defensive Line Coach A defensive line coach is a coach that is in charge of the defensive line in gridiron football. This position is very common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The defensive line coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator. A defensive line coach works primarily... |
Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represents Middle Tennessee State University in NCAA Division I FBS football competition. The Blue Raiders, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, play their home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.Rick Stockstill has... (1957) |
5th |
| Howard Tippett | Linebackers coach Linebackers coach A linebackers coach is a position coach in charge of the linebackers in gridiron football. This role is common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The linebackers coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator and works with the players of the three linebacker... |
East Tennessee State (1958) | 3rd |
| Joe Arenas Joe Arenas Guadalupe Joseph Arenas , also known as "Lupe Joe" Arenas and "Little Joe" Arenas, is a former American football player. He was a halfback and defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers from the 1951 to 1957. He was best known as a kickoff and punt returner... |
Wide receivers coach Wide receivers coach A wide receivers coach is a coach in charge of the wide receivers in gridiron football. The wide receivers coach typically operates under a team's offensive coordinator. This coach also typically resides in the coach's box on gameday, often accompanied by or in place of the offensive coordinator.... |
Nebraska-Omaha UNO Mavericks The Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, except in ice hockey. The hockey program competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate... (1951) |
7th |
| Carroll Schultz | Freshmen coach | Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football program represents Louisiana Tech University in Western Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901, Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 554 wins, 422... (1948) |
8th |
| Bobby Baldwin | Freshmen coach | Houston (1958) | 5th |