2013 Houston Cougars football team

2013 Houston Cougars football
Conference American Athletic Conference
2013 record 8–5 (5–3 The American)
Head coach Tony Levine
Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham
Defensive coordinator David Gibbs
Home stadium Reliant Stadium (5 games)
BBVA Compass Stadium (2 games)
2013 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#10 UCF $   8 0         12 1  
#15 Louisville   7 1         12 1  
Cincinnati   6 2         9 4  
Houston   5 3         8 5  
SMU   4 4         5 7  
Rutgers   3 5         6 7  
Connecticut   3 5         3 9  
South Florida   2 6         2 10  
Memphis   1 7         3 9  
Temple   1 7         2 10  
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 68th year of season play for Houston. The season marked the first for the Cougars as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Due to construction of the new TDECU Stadium during the 2013 season, the team played its home games at other locations in Houston.

The season featured the Cougars’ continued Bayou Bucket Classic rivalry with the Rice Owls. The game again became a non-conference battle due to the departure from Conference USA for the Cougars following the 2012 season. The previous time the two teams met as non-conference foes was during the 2004 season when the Rice Owls was a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The 2013 Bayou Bucket Classic was played at Reliant Stadium.

They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in American Athletic play to finish in fourth place. They were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl where they were defeated by Vanderbilt.

Previous season

With a 5–7 overall record, the 2012 season was a step backward for the program, as it compiled only its second losing season since 2005. The team suffered an early season humiliating loss against Texas State in Houston's season opener, and offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt was forced to resign after only one game. First year head coach Tony Levine promoted Travis Bush to fill the position. It was the final season that the team would play its home games at the on-campus Robertson Stadium, as it was closed and demolished soon after the season finished.

Preseason

Recruits

For the 2013 recruiting class, Houston attained its highest overall class ranking since 2010, and its second-highest ranking ever by Rivals.com. However, Scout.com only gave Houston its seventh-best overall ranking.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
August 30 7:30 p.m. Southern* Reliant StadiumHouston, TX ESPN3 W 62–13   26,205
September 7 11:00 a.m. at Temple Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA AAN W 22–13   27,328
September 21 2:00 p.m. vs. Rice* Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX (Bayou Bucket Classic) FSN W 31–26   34,831
September 28 3:00 p.m. at UTSA* AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX FSN W 59–28   32,487
October 12 11:00 a.m. Memphis BBVA Compass Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNews W 25–15   20,103
October 19 2:30 p.m. BYU*dagger Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNews L 46–47   33,115
October 26 11:00 a.m. at Rutgers High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ ESPNews W 49–14   52,200
October 31 6:00 p.m. South Florida Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN W 35–23   22,707
November 9 6:00 p.m. at No. 21 UCF Bright House Networks StadiumOrlando, FL ESPN2 L 14–19   44,665
November 16 6:00 p.m. at No. 13 Louisville Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY ESPNU L 13–20   53,027
November 23 11:00 a.m. Cincinnati BBVA Compass Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNews L 17–24   20,197
November 29 11:00 a.m. SMU Reliant Stadium • Houston, TX (Rivalry) ESPN2 W 34–0   23,210
January 4 12:00 p.m. vs. Vanderbilt* Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (BBVA Compass Bowl) ESPN L 24–41   42,717
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[1][2]

Coaching staff

2013 was head coach Tony Levine's second full season in that position
Name Position Alma mater (Year)
Tony Levine Head coach Minnesota (1995)
Travis Bush Offensive coordinator Texas State (2000)
David Gibbs Defensive coordinator Colorado (1990)
Jamie Christian Special teams coordinator/Inside receivers/Tight ends Central Washington (1999)
Glen Elarbee Offensive line Middle Tennessee (2002)
Ricky Logo Defensive line North Carolina State (1992)
Vernon Hargreaves Linebackers Connecticut (1986)
Brandon Middleton Outside receivers Houston (2004)
Zac Spavital Defensive backs Murray State (2004)

Game notes

UTSA

Houston at UTSA
1 234Total
Cougars 7 141028 59
Roadrunners 7 1470 28

Source:[3]

Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting

BYU

BYU at Houston
1 234Total
BYU Cougars 24 10013 47
UH Cougars 21 1726 46

Sources:

Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting

Poll rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV NR NR RV RV NR NR NR NR NR 
Coaches' NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR 
Harris Not released RV RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

References

  1. 2013 Houston Cougars football schedule, Houston Athletics, Retrieved March 6, 2013
  2. Duarte, Joseph (April 18, 2013). "UH Football Schedule Dependent on Texans' NFL Slate". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. "Houston Cougars at UTSA Roadrunners (September 28, 2013)". Statbroadcast.com. Retrieved September 28, 2013.

External links

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