# 1969 Houston Cougars football team

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.

## 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.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 20 | at Florida | No. 7 | Florida FieldGainesville, FL | | L 34–59 | 53,807 |
| September 27 | at Oklahoma State | | Lewis FieldStillwater, OK | | L 18–24 | 23,500 |
| October 4 | Mississippi State | | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX | | W 74–0 | 36,207 |
| October 11 | at Arizona | | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | | W 34–17 | 32,800 |
| October 25 | No. 17 Ole Miss | | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX | | W 25–11 | 48,049 |
| November 1 | Miami (FL) | | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX | ABC | W 38–36 | 25,498 |
| November 8 | at Tulsa | | Skelly StadiumTulsa, OK (rivalry) | | W 47–14 | 17,750 |
| November 15 | at NC State | No. 18 | Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC | | W 34–13 | 31,000 |
| November 22 | Wyoming | No. 19 | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX | | W 41–14 | 35,389 |
| November 29 | Florida State | No. 18 | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX | | W 41–13 | 36,508 |
| December 31 | vs. No. 12 Auburn | No. 17 | Houston AstrodomeHouston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl) | HTN | W 36–7 | 55,203 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Week-to-week rankings 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 |

## 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 | Nebraska-Omaha (1951) | 7th |
| Carroll Schultz | Freshmen coach | Louisiana Tech (1948) | 8th |
| Bobby Baldwin | Freshmen coach | Houston (1958) | 5th |