American Football Database
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1969 Houston Cougars football
File:University of Houston classic logo.png
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, W 36–7 vs. Auburn
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 12
1969 record9–2
Head coachBill Yeoman (8th season)
Offensive coordinatorBill Yeoman (8th season)
Offensive schemeHouston Veer
Defensive coordinatorMelvin Robertson (5th season)
Home stadiumAstrodome (53,000)
Seasons
← 1968
1970 →
1969 NCAA University Division independents football records
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 Penn State         11 0 0
#17 West Virginia         10 1 0
#12 Houston         9 2 0
#5 Notre Dame         8 2 1
Buffalo         6 3 0
Rutgers         6 3 0
Villanova         6 3 0
Florida State         6 3 1
Colgate         5 3 1
Air Force         6 4 0
West Texas A&M         6 4 0
Boston College         5 4 0
New Mexico State         5 5 0
Southern Miss         5 5 0
Syracuse         5 5 0
Army         4 5 1
Virginia Tech         4 5 1
Georgia Tech         4 6 0
Miami (FL)         4 6 0
Pittsburgh         4 6 0
Dayton         3 7 0
Northern Illinois         3 7 0
Tulane         3 7 0
Utah State         3 7 0
Idaho         2 8 0
Navy         1 9 0
Xavier         1 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Pre-season[]

Top 25 rankings[]

Houston was nationally ranked in the AP Poll for the pre-season with the #7 spot.[1] 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[]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 20at Florida*No. 7L 59–3453,807[2]
September 27at Oklahoma State*L 24–1823,500[2]
October 4Mississippi State*W 74–036,207[2]
October 11at Arizona*W 34–1732,800[2]
October 25No. 17 Mississippi*
  • Astrodome
  • Houston
W 25–1148,049[2]
November 1Miami*
  • Astrodome
  • Houston
ABCW 38–3625,498[2]
November 8at Tulsa*
W 47–1417,750[2]
November 15at NC State*No. 18W 34–1331,000[2]
November 22Wyoming*No. 19
  • Astrodome
  • Houston
W 41–1435,389[2]
November 29Florida State*No. 18
  • Astrodome
  • Houston
W 41–1336,508[2]
December 31No. 12 Auburn*No. 17
  • Astrodome
  • Houston (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)
HTNW 36–755,203[2]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries[]

Florida[]

Houston opened the 1969 season ranked as #7 in the Pre-season AP 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.[3] It was the first time in history that the two teams had met.[2] 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.[4] 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.[5]

Poll rankings[]

Week-to-Week Rankings[6]
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 7 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 18 19 18 19 17 12

Coaching staff[]

File:Bill Yeoman coaching team.jpg

Head coach Bill Yeoman coaches Houston

Name Position Alma mater (Year) Year at Houston
Bill Yeoman Head coach/offensive coordinator Army (1948) 7th
Melvin Robertson Defensive coordinator West Texas State (1950) 5th
Melvin Brown Offensive backs coach Oklahoma (1954) 8th
Billy Willingham Offensive line coach TCU (1951) 4th
Barry Sides Offensive line coach/defensive ends coach Houston (1968) 1st
Ben Hurt Defensive line coach Middle Tennessee (1957) 5th
Howard Tippett Linebackers coach East Tennessee State (1958) 3rd
Joe Arenas Wide receivers coach Nebraska-Omaha (1951) 7th
Carroll Schultz Freshmen coach Louisiana Tech (1948) 8th
Bobby Baldwin Freshmen coach Houston (1958) 5th

References[]

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