The 1990 Houston Cougars football team represented the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by first-year head coach John Jenkins and played their home games at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The team competed as members of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

, finishing in second. Due to NCAA sanctions, Houston was ineligible to be invited to a bowl game and was banned from being ranked in the Coaches Poll. The Cougars lost only once in the season, to eventual SWC champions

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and were ranked 10th in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

of the year. Their last regular season game was played in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, in the

Coca-Cola Classic Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. Quarterback

David Klingler David Ryan Klingler (born February 17, 1969) is an associate professor of Bible exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary and a former American football quarterback. College career A 6-foot, 2-inch quarterback, Klingler rewrote numerous college p ...

finished third in voting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

, leading the nation with 54 passing touchdowns and 374 completions. His 5,140 passing yards trailed only Heisman-winner

Ty Detmer Ty Hubert Detmer (born October 30, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 while playing college football for the BYU Cougars. Detme ...

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

Schedule

Source:

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

UNLV

at Texas Tech

Rice

at Baylor

Texas A&M

The Cougars drove 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown, a 1-yard run by Chuck Weatherspoon with 20 seconds remaining. Weatherspoon accounted for 218 yards from scrimmage (131 rushing) and 2 touchdowns. David Klingler passed for 352 yards and had 2 touchdowns (1 rushing).

at SMU

Arkansas

TCU

at Texas

Eastern Washington

vs. Arizona State

In the 62–45 victory over the Sun Devils,

set the Division I-A single-game passing record with 716 yards.

References

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Houston Cougars football seasons

Houston Cougars football The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" (spoken as "U of H"). The UH football program is a member of the Big 1 ...

{{collegefootball-1990s-season-stub