1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

August 2023 March 2026 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl December 31 1969 1969 Houston Cougars 8–2 Bill Yeoman 17 16 7 9 6 14 HB Jim Strong (Houston) Auburn Tigers 8–2 Ralph Jordan 12 15 0 7 0 0 bg Astrodome Houston, Texas Percy Penn (SWC;split crew: SWC, SEC) 55,203 HTN The 1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football bowl game that featured the Houston Cougars and the Auburn Tigers. Background After two losses to Florida and Oklahoma State, the Cougars won eight straight games, including a perfect 5–0 record in the Astrodome, in their first bowl game since 1962. The Tigers finished third in the Southeastern Conference, after losses to #17 Tennessee and #9 LSU. This was their second straight bowl game. Game summary Auburn's Terry Beasley fumbled the opening kickoff and Houston safety Nick Holm recovered to set up a Houston opportunity three minutes into the game. Quarterback Gary Mullins scored on a touchdown plunge to make it 7–0. After Auburn punted the ball, Houston drove 70 yards in 14 plays, culminating with a Carlos Lopez 27-yard field goal to make it 10–0 in the beginning of the second quarter. After another Auburn punt, the Cougars scored again, highlighted by a 74-yard run by Jim Strong on first-and-10 at Houston's 16 to the Auburn 10. He scored on a touchdown plunge soon after. Auburn’s Mickey Zofko completed a 36-yard halfback option pass to Connie Frederick to make it 16–7 with 3:36 in the half. An 8- play, 71-yard drive was culminated by a Ted Heiskell touchdown run to make it 22–7 in the third quarter. With 11:48 remaining in the game, Houston scored again on a 12 yard touchdown run by Strong. With :35 seconds left, Rusty Clark threw a touchdown pass to Tommy Mozisek to make the final score 36–7. Jim Strong rushed for 184 yards on 32 carries.2010 Houston Cougars Football Media Almanac 2010 History: Bowl Recaps 87 University of Houston Department of Athletics Houston, Texas http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2010-media-guide-history.pdf December 25, 2015 PDF July 14, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140714204926/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2010-media-guide-history.pdf dead Aftermath Houston finished with a #12 ranking in the final AP Poll. The Cougars returned to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl two years later. The next bowl game for Auburn was the 1971 Gator Bowl, following the 1970 season. Statistics Statistics Houston AuburnFirst downs 25 14 Rushing yards 376 25 Passing yards 140 188Interceptions thrown 2 2Total offense 516 189 Fumbles–lost 2–1 1–1Penalties–yards 6–63 4–26 Punts–average 2–42.5 6–39.8 References Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Category:Bluebonnet Bowl Category:Auburn Tigers football bowl games Category:Houston Cougars football bowl games Astro-Bluebonnet Category:December 1969 sports events in the United States