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1976 Houston Cougars football
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	Bill Yeoman (15th season);
Offensive scheme	Houston Veer
Defensive coordinator	Don Todd (5th season)
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
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

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Baylor		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	ABC	W 23–5	37,500
September 18	at Florida*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL		L 14–49	49,820	^[1]
September 25	No. 9 Texas A&M		Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 21–10	70,001
October 9	West Texas State*		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 50–7	23,498
October 16	at SMU	No. 19	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)		W 29–6	28,204
October 23	No. 15 Arkansas	No. 14	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 7–14	47,192
October 30	TCU		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 49–21	18,263
November 6	at No. 20 Texas	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 30–0	77,809
November 20	at No. 5 Texas Tech	No. 9	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 27–19	45,102
November 27	at Rice	No. 7	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 42–20	32,212
December 4	Miami (FL)*	No. 6	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 21–16	20,849
January 1	vs. No. 4 Maryland*	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 30–21	58,500	^[2]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Poll 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	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	19	14	NR	19	12	9	7	6	4

Coaching staff

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

^ "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.