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Houston highs, lows
Close losses doomed Cougars
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR STUDY WRITER
Despite qualifying for a bowl game and boasting a winning record, Houston was just points away from contending for a Conference USA Championship and qualifying for a more prestigious postseason game than the Fort Worth Bowl.
Instead, the Cougars will bring their 6-5 record to Fort Worth to battle the 6-5 Kansas lahawks.
The Fort Worth Bowl will be Houston's second trip to a bowl game in the past three seasons. Athletic Director Dave Maggard said he was pleased with the progress of Houston and expected them to play well against Kansas.
"For Houston to be in a bowl game two out of the last three years is a terrific thing for our football program," Maggard said. "It gives us tremendous exposure for our recruiting. It indicates that we're serious about getting back on the national stage. Our football program is serious about playing in a bowl game every year."
Here's a look back at the Cougars' season. Oregon 38. Houston 24
UTEP 44, Houston 41 (2 OT)
Houston opened its season at Reliant Stadium against Oregon, who went on to go 10-1. Its only loss came to No. 1 Southern California. Houston jumped on top early, scoring 21 first quarter points and led Oregon at the half but was outscored 21-3 in the second half.
The Cougars struggled with the Bearkats early on. Sam Houston State stopped Houston on three straight possessions in the first quarter and the game was tied at seven. But the Cougars broke the game open with two quick touchdown drives and cruised to victory. UTEP 41 Houston 11 (20)
Houston quarterback Kevin Holb throws a pass during a game against Mississippi State. Houston won the contest 28-16 for 134 yards and two touch past Memphis but lost two fumbles in the end the sec.
Houston lost a heartbreaker to conference foe Texas-El Paso after leading by as many as 14 points. Trailing 19-5, UTEP responded with six straight scoring drives to take a 34-26 lead in the fourth quarter. Houston answered back with a late touchdown and two-point conversion to force overtime. After trading touchdowns in the first overtime, Houston held UTEP to a field goal in the second overtime but lost the game on its ensuing possession on an interception.
Houston 30, Tulsa 23
After the close loss to UTEP, Houston responded by beating eventual Conference USA Champion Tulsa 30-23 on the road. In that game, Houston built its lead in the second quarter outscoring the Golden Hurricane 20-0. Despite a touchdown by Tulsa with five minutes remaining in the game, Houston was able to hold onto its biggest victory of the season. Senior running back Ryan Gilbert led Houston against Tulsa, rushing
Houston 35, Tulane 14
Houston won its next game, giving the Cougars their only back-to-back victories of the season. Gilbert again led the way with 130 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including one on a 42-yard passing play and another on a 42-yard run. Memphis 35. Houston 20
BOWL HISTORY
Tiger running back DeAngelo Williams rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, leading Memphis to a 35-20 victory.
The most costly of those two fumbles came with the Cougars trailing 21-20 and driving when Gilbert fumbled with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.
past Memphis but lost two fumbles in the end zone, in the second half, effectively ending any chance of a comeback.
Houston tried its best to rally
Memphis recovered, and the Tigers scored the game-clinching touchdown on the following drive.
Houston 28. Mississippi St. 16
After losing to Memphis, Houston played at SEC opponent Mississippi State and the
Cougars defeated a down Bulldog team. Houston trailed 13-7 in the second quarter but broke the game open with a play on special teams. Vincent Marshall returned a punt 56-yards for a touchdown to make it 14-13 and the Cougars never looked back. Central Florida 31. Houston 29
The next week, Houston lost another critical conference game by a close margin. This time it lost by two points on the road at the University of Central Florida. Houston did not blow a big lead, but attempted to come back from a deficit. The Cougars scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but missed a two-point conversion to force overtime.
SMU 29. Houston 24
The Cougars suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season to the Mustangs. The game was tied at 24 with time winding down, and SMU made a field goal to effectively win the game. On the Cougars' last ditch effort, from their own 20-yard line, a bad snap turned into a safety, which lead to the five-point loss.
Houston became bowl eligible the same weekend Kansas did. Houston defeated crosstown rival Rice 35-18 at home.
Quarterback Kevin Kolb became Houston's all-time offensive leader as he completed 16 of 25 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed 11 times for 75 yards and a score.
Rice scored on two early drives to take a 10-0 lead and then pinned Houston on its own two-yard line before the Cougars made their comeback.
Houston drove 98 yards in just nine plays to cut the Rice lead to 10-7 on a four-yard run by Kolb with 10:06 left in the first half. The Cougars dominated from that point on and earned their trip to the Fort Worth Bowl in style.
Houston brings long history to bowl against KU
BY DANIEL BERK AND KELIS ROBINETT sports@kansan.com
When Kansas and Houston meet in this year's Fort Worth Bowl, Houston will look to end a five-game bowl losing streak.
The drought dates to 1980 when Houston defeated Navy 35-0 in the Garden State Bowl in East Rutherford, N.I.
Like Kansas, this is Houston's second trip to a bowl game in the past three seasons. The Cougars missed out on a bowl game last season, finishing 3-8.
- Edited by Kellis Robinett
The Fort Worth Bowl will mark the 10th time Houston has played in a bowl game in the state of Texas. Houston has played four games in Dallas, four in Houston and one in El Paso. Houston is 4-4-1 in those nine games.
Houston coach Art Briles said it would be important for the team to stay in Texas for its bowl game and he was pleased the Fort Worth Bowl selected his队.
"I cannot even put into words how important it is to us to be playing this game in Fort Worth, both from an image standpoint and a recruiting standpoint," Briles said. "A third of our players are from the.Dallas/Fort Worth area. We recruit that area very heavily."
Overall, Houston is 7-7-1 in its 15 bowl appearances dating back to 1951.
2003 Hawaii Bowl.
Houston lost a triple-overtime thriller to Hawaii. Houston lost 54-48 despite tying the game at 34 with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation. After the game, the two teams were involved in a brawl after some harsh words were exchanged. Current quarterback Kevin Kolb led Houston throwing for 332 yards and two touchdowns. Current receiver Vincent Marshall had seven catches for 157 yards and one touchdown.
Houston was the inaugural Conference USA champion that year, but lost to Syracuse 30-17 in the bowl. Current NFL running back Antowauz Smith led Houston that season. Smith was selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Smith plays for the New Orleans Saints and has had eight successful seasons in the NFL.
1998 — Aloha Bowl.
1998 ATHENA BOWL. Houston dropped a 24-22 decision to Washington State.
1984 Cotton Bowl.
Led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Doug Flutie's two fourth quarter touchdowns, Boston College defeated Houston 45-28.
Texas and left with a blowout loss at the hands of a superior Oklahoma team 40-14.
1979 — Cotton Bowl.
1980 — Garden State Bowl.
1981 — Sun Bowl.
This might be the most famous victory in Houston football history. Trailing Nebraska 14-10 with time running out, Houston engineered a 66-yard drive that was capped off by a six-yard touchdown with 12 seconds remaining to defeat Nebraska 17-14.
Navy proved no match for Houston, as the Cougars left New Jersey with an easy 35-0 victory.
1978 — Cotton Bowl, aka "The ice Bowl."
If you're looking for more on this game just tune into ESPN Classic and you'll see it soon enough. Houston seemed to have this one well in hand after taking a 34-12 lead with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Joe Montana, who had to stay in the locker room for part of the game because his body had trouble adjusting to the extreme cold in Dallas, led Notre Dame on the first epic comeback of his career. After pulling Notre Dame to within 34-28, he threw an eight-yard touchdown pass with no time remaining to defeat Houston 35-34.
After winning the Southwest Conference for the first time, Houston validated its record-setting season by defeating previously undefeated Maryland 30-21.
1976 — Cotton Bowl.
1974 — Bluebonnet Bowl.
1973 — Bluebonnet Bowl.
Houston had to settle for a 31-31 tie with North Carolina State in this one.
There was never a doubt in this one. Houston set the record for largest margin of victory in a bowl game by winning 47-7 against Tulane.
Houston travelled to El Paso,
1971 — Bluebonnet Bowl.
1971 Bluebonnet Bowl.
Houston lost to Colorado 29-
17.
1969 — Bluebonnet Bowl.
1969 — Bluebonnet Bowl. The Cougars got off to a good start in what would be the first of four trips to the Bluebonnet Bowl by defeating Auburn 36-7.
1962 — Tangerine Bowl.
Houston defeated Miami of Ohio 49-21.
1951 - Salad Bowl.
Stop laughing, that's really what it was called. Houston made it's first bowl appearance in Phoenix, Arizona and got off to a good start by defeating Dayton 26-21.