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 fifteenth-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.
| 1976 Houston Cougars football | |
|---|---|
 | |
SWC co-champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 30–21 vs. Maryland | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 4 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 10–2 (7–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bill Yeoman |
| Offensive scheme | Houston Veer |
| Defensive coordinator | Don Todd |
| Home stadium | Houston Astrodome |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Houston + | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule edit
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | at Baylor | ABC | W 23–5 | 37,500 | |||
| September 18 | at Florida* | L 14–49 | 49,820 | [1] | |||
| September 25 | vs. No. 9 Texas A&M | W 21–10 | 70,001 | ||||
| October 9 | West Texas State* |
| W 50–7 | 23,498 | |||
| October 16 | at SMU | No. 19 | W 29–6 | 28,204 | |||
| October 23 | vs. No. 15 Arkansas | No. 14 |
| L 7–14 | 47,192 | ||
| October 30 | TCU |
| W 49–21 | 18,263 | |||
| November 6 | at No. 20 Texas | No. 19 | W 30–0 | 77,809 | |||
| November 20 | at No. 5 Texas Tech | No. 9 | ABC | W 27–19 | 45,102 | ||
| November 27 | at Rice | No. 7 |
| W 42–20 | 32,212 | ||
| December 4 | Miami (FL)* | No. 6 |
| W 21–16 | 20,849 | ||
| January 1 | vs. No. 4 Maryland* | No. 6 |
| CBS | W 30–21 | 58,500 | [2] |
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Poll rankings edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
- ^ "Florida eases past Houston by 49–14". The Odessa American. September 19, 1976. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston stuns Maryland in Cotton Bowl". The Marshall News Messenger. January 2, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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