The 1969 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. It was the 24th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by eighth-year head coach Bill Yeoman who was 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.
Schedule
Rankings + Week-to-week rankingsLegend: ██ 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 AP7NRNRNRNRNRNRNR181918191712
Preseason Top 25 rankings
Houston was nationally ranked in the AP poll for the preseason with the No. 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.
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. 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.
Coaching staff
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 Omaha (1951) 7th Carroll Schultz Freshmen coach Louisiana Tech (1948) 8th Bobby Baldwin Freshmen coach Houston (1958) 5th
References