2011 Houston Cougars football team

American college football season August 2012 February 2026 2011 Houston Cougars football Houston Cougars Logo (1999-2012).svg 150 Conference USA West Division C-USA 14 18 13–1 8–0 Kevin Sumlin 4th regular season Tony Levine interim; bowl game Jason Phillips 2nd Kliff Kingsbury 2nd Air raid Brian Stewart 2nd 3–4 Robertson Stadium C-USA West Division championTicketCity Bowl champion C-USA Championship Game L 28–49 vs. Southern Miss TicketCity Bowl W 30–14 vs. Penn State The 2011 Houston Cougars football team (also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH) represented the University of Houston in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 66th year of season play for Houston. The program was a member of Conference USA in its West Division. The team was coached by fourth-year head football coach Kevin Sumlin, and played its home games at Robertson Stadium—a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. After missing a majority of the 2010 season due to injury, starting quarterback Case Keenum had returned for 2011.https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=6022570 Case Keenum granted sixth year 2011-01-14 2011-01-23 ESPN The Cougars finished the regular season 12–0, setting a new school record for wins. It was also the first undefeated and untied regular season in the program's 66-year history; however, the team lost to Southern Miss 49–28 in the 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game. Had the team won the championship game, Houston would have garnered its (and C-USA's) first-ever Bowl Championship Series berth, as well as its first major-bowl appearance since the 1985 Cotton Bowl. Instead, Houston played in the TicketCity Bowl against Penn State—at the site of the Cotton Bowl—beating Penn State 30–14. Pre-season thumb|Houston City Hall illuminated red in celebration of Houston's undefeated regular season and C-USA Championship appearance Top 25 rankings During the pre-season, Houston was ranked in several notable top 25 polls. Phil Steele ranked the team as No. 21.http://blog.philsteele.com/2011/05/17/top-30-countdown-begins Top 30 Countdown Begins! Steele, Phil Phil Steele's College Football Blog 2011-05-17 2011-08-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20110920143426/http://blog.philsteele.com/2011/05/17/top-30-countdown-begins/ September 20, 2011 dead mdy-all Just outside the Top 25, Houston was ranked as No. 30 in ESPN.com's power rankings, No. 31 by Sporting News, No. 36 in the AP Poll, and No. 37 in the Coaches' Poll.http://espn.go.com/college-football/powerrankings https://archive.today/20120708001622/http://espn.go.com/college-football/powerrankings dead July 8, 2012 College Football Power Rankings – Preseason ESPN 2011-08-15 2011-08-29http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2011-07/preseason-rankings/story/college-football-preseason-poll-top-120-lsu-oklahoma-alabama-stanford-oregon College football preseason top 120: A closer look after a busy offseason Hayes, Matt Sporting News 2011-08-29 2011-08-29https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/1 2011 NCAA Football Rankings – AP Top 25 Preseason ESPN 2011-08-29https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/2 2011 NCAA Football Rankings – USA Today Coaches' Poll Preseason ESPN 2011-08-29 Awards & award watch lists Bryce Beallhttp://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071811aab.html Quarterback Case Keenum Named to Walter Camp Award Watch List Houston Cougars athletics 2011-07-18 2011-07-22 Doak Walker Award watch list Conference USA Preseason offensive first team selectionhttp://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072711aad.html Houston Earns League-Leading Six Preseason All-Conference USA Selections Houston Cougars athletics 2011-07-27 2011-08-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20180113092927/http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072711aad.html January 13, 2018 dead Case Keenum Davey O'Brien Award semi-finalist Manning Award watch list Maxwell Award watch list Walter Camp Award watch list Conference USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Conference USA Preseason offensive first team selection Sammy Baugh Award Conference USA Most Valuable Player Conference USA Male Athlete of the YearQuarterback Case Keenum Named C-USA Male Athlete of the Year. Houston Cougars, 16 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-16. Chris Thompson Lombardi Award watch list Outland Trophy watch list Conference USA Preseason offensive first team selection Marcus McGraw Lombardi Award watch list Conference USA Preseason defensive first team selection Patrick Edwards Fred Biletnikoff Award watch list Conference USA Preseason offensive first team selection Conference USA Preseason special teams first team selection Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Schedule Houston Cougars Schedule – 2011, ESPN, retrieved 1 August 2011NCAA Football TV Listings, NCAAFootball.com, retrieved 1 August 2011 2011 AP September 3 2:30 p.m. w y UCLA Robertson Stadium Houston, TX FSN 38–34 31,144 September 10 6:00 p.m. w y y North Texas Apogee Stadium Denton, TX ESPN3 48–23 28,075 September 17 6:00 p.m. w y y Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA ESPN3 35–34 24,628https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=312602348 Houston Cougars vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs – Box Score – September 17, 2011 ESPN 2011-09-17 2011-09-17 September 24 7:00 p.m. w y Georgia State Robertson Stadium Houston, TX CSS 56–0 32,005 September 29 7:00 p.m. w y UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX CBS SN 49–42 24,111 October 8 6:00 p.m. w East Carolina Robertson Stadium Houston, TX CBS SN 56–3 30,126 October 22 3:30 p.m. w y 21 Marshall Robertson Stadium Houston, TX CSS 63–28 32,107 October 27 7:00 p.m. w 18 Rice rivalry Robertson Stadium Houston, TX FSN 73–34 32,112 November 5 6:00 p.m. w y 14 UAB Legion Field Birmingham, AL CBS SN 56–13 13,909 November 10 7:00 p.m. w y 11 Tulane Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA CBS SN 73–17 17,657https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=313142655 Houston Cougars vs. Tulane Green Wave Box Score ESPN.com November 10, 2011 November 19 2:30 p.m. w 11 SMU College GameDay / rivalry Robertson Stadium Houston, TX FSN 37–7 32,207 November 25 11:00 a.m. w y 8 Tulsa Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK FSN 48–16 29,015 December 3 11:00 a.m. l 7 Southern Miss 24 C-USA Championship Robertson Stadium Houston, TX ABC 28–49 32,413 January 2 11:00 a.m. w y y 20 Penn State 24 TicketCity Bowl Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX ESPNU 30–14 46,817 Game summaries UCLA 2011 UCLA Bruins football team thumb|UCLA at Houston Bruins 0 14 14 6 Cougars 10 21 0 7 UCLA of the Pac-12 Conference traveled to Robertson Stadium in Houston's season opener. The Bruins led the overall series with Houston 3–2, which started on September 17, 1977, in the Astrodome. In 2010, the Bruins had defeated the Cougars 31–13 in the Rose Bowl. The game's first quarter consisted of a 10–0 lead of Houston over UCLA. Senior running back Michael Hayes was credited with the first touchdown of the game. Redshirt junior Matt Hogan was responsible for the PAT as well as a 35-yard field goal later in the quarter. Although the Bruins' Johnathan Franklin and Joseph Fauria with quarterback Richard Brehaut managed to score two touchdowns, Houston still outscored UCLA in the second quarter. Michael Hayes scored another touchdown for Houston, and fellow senior running back Bryce Beall. Senior wide receiver Tyron Carrier scored the third Cougar touchdown when he received a 23-yard pass from senior quarterback Case Keenum before the half. Houston went to the locker room with a 31–14 lead. In the second half, UCLA struck back to make the game close, as UCLA scored an unanswered 14 points in the third quarter with two touchdowns by Derrick Coleman and Brehaut respectively. However, the both teams' offenses struggled in the fourth quarter. Houston's senior offensive lineman Chris Thompson recovered a fumble from teammate Bryce Beall in the UCLA end zone to receive credit for a touchdown. Following the score, UCLA's Brehaut completed an 11-yard pass to Anthony Barr in another UCLA touchdown. Freshman kicker Kip Smith's kick was blocked by Houston, thus halting the PAT. Houston won the game with a 38–34 score. At North Texas 2011 North Texas Mean Green football team Cougars 17 3 21 7 Mean Green 7 10 0 6 Houston traveled to Denton, Texas, to face North Texas of the Sun Belt Conference for the thirteenth time in program history. A former conference-mate of Houston in the Lone Star Conference, Gulf Coast Conference, and Missouri Valley Conference, the Mean Green led the all-time series against the Cougars 7–5. However, Houston had won their last three games against North Texas. The game marked the opening of a new home for the Mean Green at Apogee Stadium. Its attendance was 28,075, and was the third-largest in North Texas' history.http://www.chron.com/sports/cougars/article/UH-takes-charge-in-third-routs-North-Texas-48-23-2164858.php UH takes charge in third, routs North Texas 48–23 Khan Jr., Sam Houston Chronicle 2011-09-11 2011-09-26 At Louisiana Tech 2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team Cougars 0 7 7 21 Bulldogs 7 13 14 0 In Houston's second away game of the season, the team traveled to Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana, to compete against Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference for the sixth time in history. The two programs had first met in 1948, and Houston led the all-time series 3–2. Louisiana Tech's record was 1–1, and was coached by second-year Sonny Dykes. With a lopsided 14–34 score heading into the fourth quarter, Houston managed to achieve their biggest comeback in school history by shutting out the Bulldog offense, and scoring 21 points to win the game. Louisiana Tech took a 7–0 lead after Lennon Creer scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:12 left in the first quarter.http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/latech03.html Houston vs Louisiana Tech (Sep 17, 2011) September 17, 2011 Louisiana Tech & CSTV CSTV September 18, 2011 Tech extended their lead over Houston to 10–0 after Matt Nelson kicked a 30-yard field goal with 10:10 left in the second quarter. Houston scored its first points of the night with 7:21 left in the second quarter when Case Keenum connected with Michael Hayes for a 54-yard touchdown to cut Louisiana Tech's lead to 10–7. Louisiana Tech answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ray Holley and a 47-yard field goal by Nelson to take the 20–7 lead at halftime. Both teams traded punts to open the third quarter. With 6:47 left in the third quarter, Louisiana Tech QB Nick Isham completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton to increase Tech's lead to 27–7. After Quinn Giles intercepted a pass by Case Keenum, Ray Holley scored his second rushing touchdown in the game on a 7-yard TD run to bring the Louisiana Tech lead to 34–7 with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Houston began their comeback when Keenum completed a 50-yard touchdown pass with 4:27 left in the third quarter to make the score Louisiana Tech 34, Houston 14. Bryce Beall ran for a 2-yard touchdown to cut the Tech lead to 34–21 with 12:53 left in the fourth quarter. After Houston recovered a fumble by Tech's Ray Holley, Houston completed an 80-yard drive down the field with a 4-yard touchdown run by Beall to make the score 34–28 Louisiana Tech with 7:25 remaining in the game. Houston took its first lead of the night after Keenum threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to make the score Houston 35–34 with 1:36 remaining in the game. Houston went on to win the game after Tech turned the ball over on downs in the last minute of the game. Louisiana Tech generated 444 yards on offense on 98 plays. Lennon Creer and Ray Holley combined for 47 carries, 161 yards, and three touchdowns on the ground, as Louisiana Tech ran 66 rushing plays in the game which is tied for the 2nd-most carries by a Bulldog team in the history of the program.2011 Louisiana Tech Football Media Guide, p. 156 Quinton Patton caught five passes for 82 yards and one touchdown for the evening and was later named to the Fred Biletnikoff Award Watch List after the game as a result of his play through the first three games of the 2011 college football season. The crowd of 24,628 at Joe Aillet Stadium for the Louisiana Tech vs. Houston marked the sixth-largest crowd for a Louisiana Tech football game at Joe Aillet Stadium. Houston LA Tech collapsed 1 11:12 LA Tech 4 8 1:17 RushTD Lennon Creer 1 good Matt Nelson 0 7 2 10:10 LA Tech 15 57 4:43 FG 30 Matt Nelson 0 10 2 7:21 Houston 8 74 2:49 RecTD Michael Hayes Case Keenum 54 good Matt Hogan 7 10 2 4:02 LA Tech 11 77 3:19 RushTD Ray Holley 2 good Matt Nelson 7 17 2 0:02 LA Tech 9 49 2:14 FG 47 Matt Nelson 7 20 3 6:47 LA Tech 12 64 4:28 RecTD Quinton Patton Nick Isham 16 good Matt Nelson 7 27 3 5:11 LA Tech 5 43 1:23 RushTD Ray Holley 7 good Matt Nelson 7 34 3 4:27 Houston 3 80 0:44 RecTD Patrick Edwards Case Keenum 50 good Matt Hogan 14 34 4 12:53 Houston 9 64 3:17 RushTD Bryce Beall 2 good Matt Hogan 21 34 4 7:25 Houston 9 80 2:48 RushTD Bryce Beall 4 good Matt Hogan 28 34 4 1:36 Houston 6 84 1:10 RecTD Patrick Edwards Case Keenum 32 good Matt Hogan 35 34 35 34 Georgia State thumb|left|Georgia State at Houston 2011 Georgia State Panthers football team Panthers 0 0 0 0 Cougars 21 14 14 7 Houston returned home for their game against Georgia State. An NCAA Division I FCS independent, Georgia State was coached by Bill Curry, and had a 1–2 record at this point in the season. This was the first meeting between the two teams, and it marked the end of Houston's out-of-conference schedule. With a score of 56–0, this was Houston's first shutout victory since the 1999 season, when they defeated Louisiana–Lafayette 45–0.http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/092511aad.html Football Postgame Notes vs. Georgia State Houston Cougars 2011-09-24 2011-11-28http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312670248 https://archive.today/20120715063100/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312670248 dead July 15, 2012 Houston 56, Georgia State 0 ESPN 2011-09-24 2011-11-28 Senior quarterback Case Keenum threw for 415 yards, and two touchdowns before being replaced by Cotton Turner in the third quarter of the game. A sell-out game with 32,005 in attendance, the matchup was regionally televised on Comcast Sports Southwest. At UTEP 2011 UTEP Miners football team Cougars 0 21 17 11 Miners 14 7 14 7 East Carolina 2011 East Carolina Pirates football team Pirates 3 0 0 0 Cougars 14 21 7 14 Marshall 2011 Marshall Thundering Herd football team Thundering Herd 7 7 7 7 No. 21 Houston 14 21 14 14 Case Keenum became the Football Bowl Subdivision's career leader in total offense, throwing for 376 yards and tying his career high with six touchdown passes as Houston beat Marshall 63–28. The senior quarterback needed 130 yards to eclipse the record (16,910 yards) set by Hawaii's Timmy Chang from 2000–04. He moved past Chang on a 30-yard pass to Justin Johnson with 3:56 left in the first quarter. A.J. Graham threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score for Marshall, which lost handily despite gaining 506 yards and winning possession time by 24 minutes. External link: Rice 2011 Rice Owls football team Owls 17 3 14 0 No. 18 Houston 14 24 28 7 At UAB 2011 UAB Blazers football team No. 14 Houston 7 14 14 21 Blazers 7 3 3 0 At Tulane 2011 Tulane Green Wave football team No. 11 Houston 0 35 24 14 Green Wave 0 10 0 7 SMU 2011 SMU Mustangs football team Mustangs 0 0 0 7 No. 11 Cougars 3 10 10 14 This game marked the 26th meeting of the SMU Mustangs and the Houston Cougars. They last met in the previous season on October 23, 2010, where Houston defeated SMU with a final score of 45–20. Following Houston's 37–7 victory, Houston now leads the series 17–9–1. The game was previewed on ESPN's College GameDay, where it was broadcast live from the University of Houston campus outside of the Cullen Performance Hall. It was the first time that Houston had hosted an episode of the show, and the first time that it had visited a Conference USA school. Cougar alumnus Carl Lewis appeared as a guest on the show. The game itself was nationally broadcast on Fox Sports Net. At Tulsa 2011 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team No. 8 Cougars 6 7 14 21 Golden Hurricane 10 0 6 0 The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane had an opportunity to accomplish one of the goals set long before the season started: Win the C-USA Western Division Title and play the C-USA Championship game. The task was not easy. Undefeated #8 Houston Cougars (11–0, 7–0 in C-USA) were coming to Tulsa to face off against Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8–3, 7–0 in C-USA). The winner was guaranteed to host the C-USA Championship game against the C-USA Eastern Division Title. The Golden Hurricane kept the game close for the first half, but 457 yards and 5 Touchdowns by Case Keenum proved to be too much for the Golden Hurricane to keep up with. No. 24 Southern Miss (C-USA Championship) 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game 2011 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team No. 24 Golden Eagles 7 14 21 7 No. 7 Cougars 0 14 7 7 Vs. No. 24 Penn State (TicketCity Bowl) 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team 2012 TicketCity Bowl No. 20 Houston vs. No. 24 Penn State No. 20 Cougars 17 7 3 3 No. 24 Nittany Lions 0 7 7 0 January 2 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX 12:00 p.m. EST Clay Matvick, Danny Kanell and Lisa Salters ESPNU Source: https://archive.today/20130124065728/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=320020213 yes 1 13:08 HOU Patrick Edwards 40-yard pass from Case Keenum (Matt Hogan kick) HOU 7-0 1 9:12 HOU Matt Hogan 35-yard field goal HOU 10-0 1 2:35 HOU Justin Johnson 8-yard pass from Case Keenum (Matt Hogan kick) HOU 17-0 2 5:57 PSU Stephfon Green 6-yard run (Anthony Fera kick) HOU 17-7 2 1:43 HOU Patrick Edwards 75-yard pass from Case Keenum (Matt Hogan kick) HOU 24-7 3 4:21 HOU Matt Hogan 38-yard field goal HOU 27-7 3 2:38 PSU Justin Brown 69-yard pass from Rob Bolden (Anthony Fera kick) HOU 27-14 4 14:52 HOU Matt Hogan 22-yard field goal HOU 30-14 yes Roster 2011 Houston Cougars f 7 Sr Case Keenum QB y yes 2 Jr D. J. Hayden DB y https://uhcougars.com/roster.aspx?roster=43&path=football *Kevin Sumlin Poll rankings 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 15 6 7 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 22 24 21 20 22 19 18 18 18 17 14 14 14 13 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 11 8 7 7 8 7 6 6 6 20 17 17 19 18 14 References Houston Category:Houston Cougars football seasons Category:First Responder Bowl champion seasons Houston Cougars football Houston Cougars football