1976 Houston Cougars football team

1976 Houston Cougars football
Houston's 1976 Southwest Conference championship trophy
SWC co-champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record10–2 (7–1 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeHouston Veer
Defensive coordinatorDon Todd (5th season)
Home stadiumHouston Astrodome
1976 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 13 Texas Tech + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 7 Texas A&M 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Baylor 4 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Texas 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Arkansas 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Rice 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
SMU 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
TCU 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. It was the 31st year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by 15th-year head football coach, Bill Yeoman. The team played its home games at the Astrodome, a 53,000-person capacity stadium off-campus in Houston. It was Houston's first year of season play as a full member of the Southwest Conference eligible as champions. Upon winning the conference as co-champions, the Cougars competed against the Maryland Terrapins in the Cotton Bowl Classic, and finished the post-season at an all-time highest national ranking in the history of the program. Senior defensive tackle Wilson Whitley received the Lombardi Award following the season. Future UH and Baylor head coach Art Briles played on the team.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 11at Baylor
ABCW 23–537,500[1]
September 18at Florida*
L 14–4949,820[2]
September 25No. 9 Texas A&M
W 21–1070,001[3]
October 9West Texas State*
W 50–723,498[4]
October 16at SMUNo. 19
W 29–628,204[5]
October 23No. 15 ArkansasNo. 14
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
L 7–1447,192[6]
October 30TCU
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 49–2118,263[7]
November 6at No. 20 TexasNo. 19
W 30–077,809[8]
November 20at No. 5 Texas TechNo. 9
ABCW 27–1945,102[9]
November 27at RiceNo. 7
W 42–2032,212[10]
December 4Miami (FL)*No. 6
  • Houston Astrodome
  • Houston, TX
W 21–1620,849[11]
January 1vs. No. 4 Maryland*No. 6
CBSW 30–2158,500[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

at Baylor

See also: 1976 Baylor Bears football team and Baylor–Houston football rivalry
Game One – Houston Cougars (0–0) at Baylor Bears (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cougars 0 0 61723
Bears 5 0 005

at Baylor Stadium • Waco, Texas

Game information
First Quarter
  • (0:00) BAY –
  • (0:00) BAY –
Second Quarter

No scoring plays

Third Quarter
  • (0:00) HOU –
Fourth Quarter
  • (0:00) HOU –
  • (0:00) HOU –
  • (0:00) HOU –
Statistics HOU BAY
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Houston Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Baylor Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Florida

See also: 1976 Florida Gators football team
Game Two – Houston Cougars (1–0) at Florida Gators (0–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cougars 0 7 7014
Gators 14 14 14749

at Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida

  • Date: September 18, 1976
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 49,820
Game information
First Quarter
  • (0:00) FLA –
  • (0:00) FLA –
Second Quarter
  • (0:00) FLA –
  • (0:00) FLA –
  • (0:00) HOU –
Third Quarter
  • (0:00) FLA –
  • (0:00) HOU –
  • (0:00) FLA –
Fourth Quarter
  • (0:00) FLA –
Statistics HOU FLA
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Houston Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Florida Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Texas A&M

vs West Texas State

at SMU

vs Arkansas

vs TCU

at Texas

See also: 1976 Texas Longhorns football team
Game Eight – No. 19 Houston Cougars (5–2) at No. 20 Texas Longhorns (3–2–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 19 Cougars 7 3 61430
No. 20 Longhorns 0 0 000

at Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas

  • Date: November 6, 1976
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 77,809
Game information
First Quarter
  • (2:47) HOU –
Second Quarter
  • (0:36) HOU –
Third Quarter
  • (11:35) HOU –
  • (2:58) HOU –
Fourth Quarter
  • (11:28) HOU –
  • (3:51) HOU –
Statistics HOU TEX
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Houston Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Texas Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Texas Tech

at Rice

vs Miami (FL)

vs Maryland (Cotton Bowl Classic)

See also: 1976 Maryland Terrapins football team and 1977 Cotton Bowl Classic
1977 Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 4 Maryland Terrapins (11–0) vs No. 6 Houston Cougars (9–2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Terrapins 0 7 7721
No. 6 Cougars 21 6 0330

at Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas

  • Date: January 1, 1977
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 58,500
  • Referee: James Artley (SEC)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson (play-by-play) and Paul Hornung (color commentator)
Game information
First quarter
  • (6:27) HOU – Dyral Thomas 11-yard run, (Lennard Coplin kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 0:00; Houston 7–0)
  • (3:13) HOU – Alois Blackwell 33-yard run, (Lennard Coplin kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 38 yards, 0:00; Houston 14–0)
  • (0:51) HOU – Alois Blackwell 1-yard run, (Lennard Coplin kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 24 yards, 0:00; Houston 21–0)
Second quarter
  • (9:36) MD – Mark Manges 6-yard run, (Ed Loncak kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 0:00; Houston 21–7)
  • (0:55) HOU – Don Bass 33-yard pass from Danny Davis, (Lennard Coplin kick fail) (Drive: 8 plays, 35 yards, 0:00; Houston 27–7)
Third quarter
  • (1:41) MD – Eric Sievers 11-yard pass from Mark Manges, (Mike Sochko kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 97 yards, 0:00; Houston 27–14)
Fourth quarter
  • (8:46) MD – Tim Wilson 1-yard run, (Mike Sochko kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 0:00; Houston 27–21)
  • (0:18) HOU – Lennard Coplin 28-yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 81 yards, 0:00; Houston 30–21)
Statistics MD HOU
First downs 17 20
Total yards 299 428
Rushing yards 120 320
Passing yards 179 108
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–32–0 5–8–0
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Maryland Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Poll rankings

Week-to-Week Rankings
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
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 NR NR NR NR NR 19 14 NR 19 12 9 7 6 4

Coaching staff

Name Position Alma mater (Year) Year at Houston
Bill Yeoman Head coach/offensive coordinator Army (1948) 15th
Don Todd Defensive coordinator Hardin–Simmons (1964) 5th
Melvin Brown Offensive backs coach Oklahoma (1954) 15th
Clarence Daniel Defensive backs coach Huron (1955) 5th
Ronny Peacock Defensive backs coach Houston (1972) 3rd
Billy Willingham Offensive line coach TCU (1951) 10th
Elmer Redd Offensive backfield coach Prairie View A&M (1950) 7th
Gary Mullins Linebackers coach Houston (1972) 2nd
Joe Arenas Wide receivers coach Nebraska-Omaha (1951) 14th

References

  1. ^ "UH downs Baylor in SWC debut". The Kilgore News Herald. September 12, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Florida eases past Houston by 49–14". The Odessa American. September 19, 1976. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Cougars claw Aggies, 21–10". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 26, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Houston skins Buffaloes". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 10, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Houston Cougars whip SMU, 29–6". Del Rio News Herald. October 17, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Razorbacks hand Cougars first SWC setback". The Odessa American. October 24, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Houston Cougars rattle Horned Frogs". The Tyler Courier-Times. October 31, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Cougars smother Longhorns 30–0". The Galveston Daily News. November 7, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Sophomore q-back sparks Houston upset victory". Hobbs Daily News-Sun. November 21, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Cougs boil Rice; Cotton Bowl bound". The Marshall News Messenger. November 28, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Cougars quell Hurricanes". The Shreveport Times. December 5, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Houston stuns Maryland in Cotton Bowl". The Marshall News Messenger. January 2, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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