The 2018 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars played their home games at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Major Applewhite. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in AAC play to finish in a three-way tie for the West Division championship. After tiebreakers, they did not represent the West Division in the AAC Championship Game. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Army by a score of 14–70, in the process tying records for the most points given up (70) and the largest margin-of-loss (56) in NCAA bowl game history.[1]
On December 30, Houston fired Applewhite after 2 seasons.[2]
Preseason
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Cougars predicted to finish in second place in the AAC West Division.[13]
Media poll (West)
|
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
1 |
Memphis |
171 (23)
|
2 |
Houston |
146 (4)
|
3 |
Navy |
129 (3)
|
4 |
SMU |
72
|
5 |
Tulane |
68
|
6 |
Tulsa |
44
|
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
September 1 | 11:00 a.m. | at Rice* | | CBSSN | W 45–27 | 26,390 |
September 8 | 11:00 a.m. | Arizona* | | ABC/ESPN2 | W 45–18 | 32,534 |
September 15 | 3:00 p.m. | at Texas Tech* | | FOX | L 49–63 | 53,484 |
September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Texas Southern* | | ESPN3 | W 70–14 | 29,970 |
| 7:00 p.m. | Tulsa | | ESPN | W 41–26 | 29,823 |
October 13 | 6:00 p.m. | at East Carolina | | CBSSN | W 42–20 | 29,851 |
October 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at Navy | | CBSSN | W 49–36 | 33,924 |
October 27 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 21 South Florida | | ABC/ESPN2 | W 57–36 | 31,631 |
November 3 | 6:00 p.m. | at SMU | | ESPNU | L 31–45 | 23,654 |
November 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Temple | | CBSSN | L 49–59 | 30,862 |
| 7:00 p.m. | Tulane | | ESPN | W 48–17 | 24,209 |
| 11:00 a.m. | at Memphis | | ABC | L 31–52 | 27,790 |
December 22 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Army* | | ESPN | L 14–70 | 44,738 |
|
- Schedule Source:[14]
Roster
2018 Houston Cougars football team roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
Offense
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
QB
|
1
|
Bryson Smith
|
Fr
|
WR
|
2
|
Keith Corbin
|
Jr
|
QB
|
3
|
Clayton Tune
|
Fr
|
QB
|
4
|
D'Eriq King
|
Jr
|
WR
|
5
|
Marquez Stevenson
|
So
|
WR
|
6
|
Kinte Hatton
|
Sr
|
WR
|
9
|
Courtney Lark
|
Jr
|
WR
|
10
|
Jeremy Singleton
|
Fr
|
QB
|
12
|
Quinten Dormady
|
Sr
|
QB
|
14
|
Ike Ogbogu
|
Fr
|
WR
|
15
|
Raelon Singleton
|
Sr
|
WR
|
17
|
Terry Mark
|
Jr
|
WR
|
19
|
Julon Williams
|
Fr
|
RB
|
21
|
Patrick Carr
|
Jr
|
RB
|
22
|
Terence Williams
|
Sr
|
RB
|
23
|
Chandler Smith
|
So
|
RB
|
25
|
Kelan Walker
|
Fr
|
WR
|
26
|
Ja'Kori Morgan
|
Fr
|
WR
|
27
|
Henry Thomas
|
Fr
|
RB
|
28
|
Josh Burrell
|
Jr
|
WR
|
30
|
Timon Nolan
|
Jr
|
RB
|
32
|
Kevrin Justice
|
Jr
|
RB
|
34
|
Mulbah Car
|
Jr
|
WR
|
36
|
James Homan
|
Sr
|
WR
|
37
|
Payton Pardee
|
Jr
|
WR
|
39
|
Andrew Segovia
|
Jr
|
TE
|
45
|
Spencer Wells
|
Fr
|
OL
|
52
|
Braylon Jones
|
Jr
|
OL
|
53
|
Hayden Mark
|
So
|
OL
|
56
|
Dixie Wooten III
|
Fr
|
OL
|
60
|
Kordell Snyder
|
So
|
OL
|
62
|
Jarrid Williams
|
Jr
|
OL
|
64
|
Dennis Bardwell
|
So
|
OL
|
65
|
Bo Alexander
|
Jr
|
OL
|
66
|
Cole Miller
|
So
|
OL
|
69
|
Will Noble
|
Sr
|
OL
|
70
|
Jordan Boatman
|
Fr
|
OL
|
71
|
Max Banes
|
Fr
|
OL
|
72
|
Mason Denley
|
Sr
|
OL
|
73
|
Kameron Lewis
|
Fr
|
OL
|
74
|
Josh Jones
|
Jr
|
OL
|
75
|
Jack Freeman
|
Fr
|
OL
|
76
|
Kameron Eloph
|
Jr
|
OL
|
77
|
Keenan Murphy
|
So
|
WR
|
80
|
Colton Cerday
|
Jr
|
WR
|
81
|
Tre'von Bradley
|
Fr
|
TE
|
82
|
Romello Brooker
|
Sr
|
WR
|
83
|
Peyton Sawyer
|
Fr
|
WR
|
84
|
Cole McGowan
|
So
|
TE
|
85
|
Christian Trahan
|
Fr
|
TE
|
86
|
Payton Haslam
|
Sr
|
TE
|
87
|
Sid Turnbull-Frazier
|
Jr
|
TE
|
88
|
Shane Creamer
|
Fr
|
TE
|
89
|
Parker Eichenberger
|
Fr
|
|
Defense
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
DB
|
1
|
Garrett Davis
|
Sr
|
DB
|
2
|
Deontay Anderson
|
So
|
DB
|
3
|
Grant Stuard
|
So
|
LB
|
4
|
Leroy Godfrey
|
Jr
|
LB
|
5
|
Darrion Owens
|
Sr
|
DB
|
6
|
Khari Dotson
|
Sr
|
LB
|
8
|
Emeke Egbule
|
Sr
|
CB
|
9
|
Nick Watkins
|
Sr
|
DT
|
10
|
Ed Oliver
|
Jr
|
LB
|
12
|
David Anenih
|
So
|
CB
|
13
|
Joeal Williams
|
Sr
|
CB
|
14
|
Isaiah Johnson
|
Sr
|
CB
|
16
|
Ka'Darian Smith
|
Jr
|
CB
|
18
|
Alexander Myres
|
Sr
|
CB
|
19
|
Javian Smith
|
So
|
LB
|
20
|
Roman Brown
|
Sr
|
DB
|
21
|
Gleson Sprewell
|
So
|
LB
|
22
|
Austin Robinson
|
Sr
|
DE
|
23
|
Willie Smith III
|
Fr
|
LB
|
24
|
Donavan Mutin
|
Fr
|
DB
|
25
|
D. J. Small
|
So
|
LB
|
26
|
Elijah Gooden
|
So
|
LB
|
27
|
Amaud Willis-Dalton
|
Fr
|
DB
|
29
|
Darius Gilbert
|
Jr
|
LB
|
30
|
Alexander Duke
|
Fr
|
LB
|
31
|
Derek Parish
|
Fr
|
DB
|
33
|
Garrison Vaughn
|
Fr
|
DB
|
35
|
Johnathan Phenix
|
Fr
|
CB
|
36
|
Zaire Taylor
|
Fr
|
LB
|
37
|
Zamar Kirven
|
Fr
|
DB
|
39
|
Shaun Lewis
|
Fr
|
LB
|
40
|
Jordan Carmouche
|
So
|
DB
|
41
|
Bradley Mbu
|
Jr
|
LB
|
43
|
Dekalen Goodson
|
Fr
|
LB
|
45
|
Jordan Milburn
|
Jr
|
LB
|
46
|
Melvin Larkins
|
Fr
|
DB
|
48
|
Torrey Richardson
|
Fr
|
DT
|
50
|
Aymiel Fleming
|
Jr
|
DL
|
51
|
Tariq Freeny
|
So
|
DE
|
52
|
Jerard Carter
|
Sr
|
LB
|
59
|
Jacob Daulong
|
Fr
|
DL
|
80
|
Noah Jones
|
Fr
|
DE
|
90
|
Zach Vaughan
|
Sr
|
DE
|
91
|
Tahj Brown
|
Fr
|
DL
|
92
|
Logan Hall
|
Fr
|
DL
|
94
|
Isaiah Chambers
|
So
|
DL
|
98
|
Payton Turner
|
So
|
DL
|
99
|
Blake Young
|
Jr
|
|
Special teams
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
P
|
38
|
Dane Roy
|
Jr
|
K
|
42
|
Caden Novikoff
|
Sr
|
LS
|
44
|
Anthony Cantu
|
Jr
|
K
|
47
|
Dalton Witherspoon
|
So
|
LS
|
97
|
Nick Wildberger
|
Jr
|
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Roster Last update: May 13, 2020
|
Game summaries
At Rice
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
3
|
14
|
14
|
14 |
45 |
Owls
|
7
|
17
|
3
|
0 |
27 |
[15]
Arizona
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Wildcats
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
8 |
18 |
Cougars
|
21
|
10
|
7
|
7 |
45 |
[16]
At Texas Tech
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
21
|
7
|
14
|
7 |
49 |
Red Raiders
|
14
|
21
|
14
|
14 |
63 |
Texas Southern
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Tigers
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7 |
14 |
Cougars
|
14
|
28
|
7
|
21 |
70 |
Tulsa
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Golden Hurricane
|
13
|
0
|
10
|
3 |
26 |
Cougars
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
24 |
41 |
At East Carolina
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
42 |
Pirates
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
14 |
20 |
At Navy
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
7
|
14
|
14
|
14 |
49 |
Midshipmen
|
10
|
14
|
0
|
12 |
36 |
South Florida
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 21 Bulls
|
0
|
21
|
15
|
0 |
36 |
Cougars
|
14
|
14
|
15
|
14 |
57 |
At SMU
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 17 Cougars
|
0
|
14
|
3
|
14 |
31 |
Mustangs
|
10
|
21
|
7
|
7 |
45 |
Temple
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Owls
|
14
|
14
|
21
|
10 |
59 |
Cougars
|
7
|
7
|
21
|
14 |
49 |
Tulane
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Green Wave
|
6
|
3
|
0
|
8 |
17 |
Cougars
|
14
|
17
|
10
|
7 |
48 |
At Memphis
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
7
|
14
|
10
|
0 |
31 |
Tigers
|
3
|
14
|
14
|
21 |
52 |
Vs. Army (Armed Forces Bowl)
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Cougars
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
14 |
No. 22 Black Knights
|
14
|
28
|
14
|
14 |
70 |
Players drafted into the NFL
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
---|
AP | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 17 | RV | — | RV | — | — |
---|
Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 17 | RV | — | — | — | |
---|
CFP | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
---|
References
- ^ "Army West Point dominates en route to 70-14 victory". Armed Forces Bowl. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett. "Houston fires coach Major Applewhite after just two seasons with the Cougars". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ "UCF Tabbed as Favorite in 2018 Preseason Media Poll". TheAmerican.org. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Houston Cougars Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ "Houston vs. Rice - Game Summary - September 1, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
- ^ "Arizona vs. Houston - Game Summary - September 8, 2018". ESPN. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
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Bowls and rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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