1989 Houston Cougars football team explained

Year:1989
Team:Houston Cougars
Conference:Southwest Conference
Short Conf:SWC
Record:9–2
Conf Record:6–2
Aprank:14
Head Coach:Jack Pardee
Hc Year:3rd
Off Coach:John Jenkins
Oc Year:3rd
Off Scheme:Run and shoot
Def Coach:Jim Eddy
Dc Year:4th

The 1989 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the 44th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by third-year head coach Jack Pardee. Serving as offensive coordinator was John Jenkins, who succeeded Pardee as head coach following the season. The team played its games off-campus at the Astrodome, which had recently received upgrades to seat 62,439 spectators. These Cougars boasted the first squad to have a 4,000-yard passer (Andre Ware), 1,000-yard rusher (Chuck Weatherspoon), and 1,000-yard receiver (Manny Hazard) in FBS history, finishing the season ranked as No. 14 by the AP Poll.[1] Junior quarterback Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award following the conclusion of the season. Under probation by the NCAA from rules violated in prior seasons, Houston was ineligible for participation in a bowl game and could not be listed in the Coaches Poll. The Cougars were also barred from live television.

Ware became the first Black quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy when he threw for 4,699 yards, 46 touchdowns, and set 27 NCAA records. Many of the records were thanks to the innovative use of the run and shoot offense, which his successor, David Klingler, also used to great effect. The Cougars ended the season ranked the No. 14 team in the nation by the Associated Press. Ware then declared for the NFL Draft, foregoing his senior year.[2]

Schedule

[3]

Rankings

See main article: 1989 NCAA Division I-A football 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 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final
AP212218171412816121715131313131314
Coaches'Ineligible (on probation)

Game summaries

At UNLV

See also: UNLV Rebels football.

At Arizona State

See also: 1989 Arizona State Sun Devils football team.

Temple

See also: Temple Owls football.

Andre Ware threw for a career-high 7 touchdown passes.

Baylor

See also: 1989 Baylor Bears football team.

Manny Hazard hauled in a school-record 5 touchdown receptions.

At Texas A&M

SMU

See also: 1989 SMU Mustangs football team.

Houston shattered the NCAA record for total offense with 1,021 yards, and set the mark for passing yards with 771.[4] Andre Ware threw for 517 yards and 6 touchdowns while completing 25 of 41 attempts, and did not play in the second half. Backup David Klingler threw for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns in the second half. Paul Smith caught 6 passes for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chuck Weatherspoon rushed 15 times for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns.[5]

At Arkansas

See also: 1989 Arkansas Razorbacks football team.

[6]

At TCU

See also: 1989 TCU Horned Frogs football team.

Texas

See also: 1989 Texas Longhorns football team.

[7]

Texas Tech

See also: 1989 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team.

At Rice

See also: Rice Owls football.

[8]

[9] [10] [11]

Awards and honors

Team players in the NFL

See main article: 1990 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Quarterback 1 7Detroit Lions
Linebacker 1 15Houston Oilers
Defensive back 2 52Denver Broncos
Nose tackle 3 66Miami Dolphins
Defensive tackle 3 81Pittsburgh Steelers
Chris Ellison Defensive back 11 278Atlanta Falcons
Tackle 11 295Houston Oilers
[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2014-08-07 . 25 years later, Andre Ware's season matters . 2024-05-22 . ESPN.com . en.
  2. Web site: Houston: History & Records . . August 24, 2019 . March 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302195140/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/hou-09-mg-section8.pdf . dead .
  3. Web site: 2009 Houston Cougars Media Guide: All-Time Series Game-By-Game . 2009-09-13 . 2012-11-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121112083439/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/hou-09-mg-section4.pdf . dead .
  4. Web site: FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION RECORDS . . August 24, 2019.
  5. News: Houston Rolls It Up Against SMU With 95 Points, 1,021 Yards . . October 22, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  6. News: Arkansas Chills Score-Happy Houston, 45-39 . . October 29, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  7. News: UH air show bombs 'Horns again, 47-9 . Odessa American via newspapers.com . 37 . November 12, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  8. News: COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Houston Routs Rice . . December 3, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  9. News: Passing Puts Ware on Receiving End of Heisman . . December 3, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  10. News: THE HEISMAN TROPHY: Invisible Ware Gets Hardware . . December 3, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  11. News: Houston's Ware Wins Heisman . . December 3, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  12. Web site: Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy . 2007-04-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090916003323/http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html . 2009-09-16 .
  13. News: Ware wins Heisman . . December 3, 1989 . August 24, 2019.
  14. Web site: NFL Draft History: Full Draft . . 2008-12-15 . 2009-03-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090307180546/http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1990 . dead .