2010 Houston Cougars football team

The 2010 Houston Cougars football team (also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH) represented the University of Houston in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 65th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by third-year head football coach Kevin Sumlin, and played its home games at Robertson Stadium—a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. The program is a member of Conference USA in its West Division. Although ranked favorably early in the season, the team finished with a 5–7 record, (4–4 in C-USA play) after season-ending injuries to starting quarterback Case Keenum and other key players.

2010 Houston Cougars football
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest
2010 record5–7 (4–4 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJason Phillips
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBrian Stewart
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumRobertson Stadium
(Capacity: 32,000)
2010 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 21 UCF x$  7 –1     11 –3  
East Carolina  5 –3     6 –7  
Southern Miss  5 –3     8 –5  
Marshall  4 –4     5 –7  
UAB  3 –5     4 –8  
Memphis  0 –8     1 –11  
West Division
SMU xy  6 –2     7 –7  
No. 24 Tulsa x  6 –2     10 –3  
Houston  4 –4     5 –7  
UTEP  3 –5     6 –7  
Rice  3 –5     4 –8  
Tulane  2 –6     4 –8  
Championship: UCF 17, SMU 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 11, 2011; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The 2009 Houston Cougars team defeated the nationally ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in their first match-up. Following the victory, the Cougars were ranked by the AP Poll for the first time in more than twenty years. The Cougars played the Texas Tech Red Raiders in front of a record-breaking 32,114 sold-out crowd at Robertson Stadium.

Pre-season

Recruits

Houston's 2010 recruiting class was highly rated relative to its previous seasons. Rated as the No. 45 best recruiting class in the nation ahead of TCU and behind Oregon State by Rivals.com, the 2010 class was Houston's highest-ever ranking by the site. Scout.com ranked Houston as #54, which was the highest Houston had been ranked since 2003, and the 3rd-highest-ever ranking by the site.

This was also the highest-rated recruiting class in Conference USA by both sites for the season.[1][2] In terms of position, Houston ranked No. 13 in the nation by Scout.com for best average ratings of quarterbacks recruited.[3] This reinforced the team's depth in the position, as senior Case Keenum was scheduled to compete in his last season in 2010.

Coaching staff
Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin
NamePositionAlma mater (Year)
Kevin SumlinHead coachPurdue (1986)
Jason PhillipsOffensive coordinatorHouston (1988)
Brian StewartDefensive coordinatorNorthern Arizona (1992)
Tony LevineSpecial teamsMinnesota (1996)
Kliff KingsburyCo-offensive coordinatorTexas Tech (2002)
Leon BurtnettLinebackersSouthwestern College (1965)
Jim JeffcoatDefensive lineArizona State (1982)
B.J. AndersonOffensive lineStephen F. Austin (1997)
Clarence McKinneyRunning backsMary (1994)
Charles McMillianDefensive backsUtah State (1995)
Zac SpavitalCornerbacksMurray State (2004)

Top 25 rankings

During the pre-season, Houston was ranked in several notable top 25 polls. Sports Illustrated placed Houston at No. 21 in its power rankings list.[4] Lindy's Sports ranked Houston as #23, and Phil Steele ranked the team as #24.[5][6] Just outside the top 25, Sporting News ranked Houston as #26,[7] and in the Coaches' Poll as #27.[8]

Awards & award watch lists

Case Keenum

Jamal Robinson

James Cleveland

Marcus McGraw

Patrick Edwards

Tyron Carrier

Roster
2010 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 7 Case Keenum  Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 47:00 PMTexas State*
W 68–2832,119[18]A
September 109:15 PMUTEP
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston
ESPNW 54–2432,119[19]B
September 189:30 PMat UCLA*No. 23
FSNL 13–3154,407[20]
September 252:30 PMTulane
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston
CBSCSW 42–2332,007[21]
October 97:00 PMMississippi State*
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston
CBSCSL 24–4732,067[22]
October 162:30 PMat Rice
CSSL 31–3426,342[23]
October 232:30 PMat SMU
CBSCSW 45–2020,741[24]
October 306:00 PMat Memphis
CSSW 56–1719,731[25]
November 57:00 PMUCF
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston
ESPN2L 33–4032,008[26]
November 137:00 PMTulsa
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston
CBSCSL 25–2830,046[27]
November 206:00 PMat Southern Miss
L 41–5932,606[28]
November 277:00 PMat Texas Tech*
FSNL 20–3553,461[29]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
  • ^A Denotes the largest crowd to have watched a football game at Robertson Stadium in its current capacity, and the largest Houston had ever hosted on-campus. This broke the record set during last season versus Texas Tech.
  • ^B Denotes a tie for largest crowd to have watched a football game at Robertson Stadium in its current capacity, and a tie for the largest Houston had ever hosted on-campus. This matched the attendance of the previous week.

Game summaries

Texas State
Houston versus Texas State at a sold-out Robertson Stadium
1 2 3 4 Total
Texas State 7 0 7 14 28
Houston 20 34 14 0 68

As a season opener, Houston met with Texas State of the Southland Conference (a Division I FCS conference) for the fourth time in history. However, the two teams had not competed against each other in over six decades, with the last game being in 1948.[30] Texas State had been undefeated against Houston, and were led by fourth-year head coach Brad Wright.

Attendance was at an all-time high for Robertson Stadium, as 32,119 fans watched the game. The record-setting crowd at the stadium surpassed the previous season record against Texas Tech. This marked the largest home-opening crowd to watch the Cougars play since 37,652 fans watched Houston face California at the Astrodome on September 6, 1997. Quarterback Case Keenum set school records for both career passing yards and career pass attempts, surpassing then-current Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Kevin Kolb.

UTEP
Houston's offense gets ready to start a drive from their end zone against UTEP
See also: 2010 UTEP Miners football team
1 2 3 4 Total
UTEP 7 3 7 7 24
Houston 14 17 6 17 54

Conference USA foe UTEP traveled to Robertson Stadium to face-off against Houston for the eighth time in history. Prior to UTEP's defeat, Houston's record against the team stood at 3–4.[31] During the previous season, UTEP defeated No. 12 Houston to knock the team out of the national rankings for a period of time. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Mike Price who had previously served as head coach for Washington State with Kevin Sumlin as a graduate assistant. Attendance for the game was again at an all-time high, as the 32,119 fans in attendance tied the previous record from the game prior. The matchup was nationally televised on ESPN.

The Cougars' offensive strategy appeared to be more focused on rushing rather than the passing game Houston was known for. It was the first time the team had achieved 300 rushing yards in a game since compiling 377 yards against Texas Southern on November 24, 2007.[31] After an interception thrown by senior Case Keenum to UTEP's Trauvan Nixon in the third quarter of the game, the quarterback attempted to tackle the opposing player. Keenum suffered a blow to the head, and was removed from the game. Back-up quarterback Cotton Turner took his place to carry on the win. It was later reported that Keenum was exhibiting symptoms of a mild concussion, but was showing dramatic improvement two days after the game. His condition was listed as being "day-to-day".[32]

Following the game, Houston became nationally ranked for the first time since the previous season, as the Cougars entered both the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll as #23.[33] Junior running back Bryce Beall was named the Conference USA offensive player of the week. Houston's record at 2–0, made it the only team in its conference division to remain undefeated overall, and allowed the team to take the number one spot in the standings.

UCLA
1 2 3 4 Total
#23 Houston 3 0 0 10 13
UCLA 7 14 10 0 31
See also: 2010 UCLA Bruins football team

Matt Hogan kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Cougars the first quarter lead. Johnathan Franklin answered with an 11-yard run for a Bruins 7–3 lead. The Bruins scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Kevin Prince ran for a 2-yard touchdown and Franklin added a 1-yard run touchdown.

In the third quarter, UCLA had a 42-yard field goal by Kai Forbath, the 2009 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award winner, and a touchdown again by Franklin (12 yards). Houston scored twice in the fourth quarter, on James Cleveland's 10-yard pass from Terrance Broadway and on Matt Hogan's 31-yard field goal.

Two Houston quarterbacks, Case Keenum and Cotton Turner, were injured in the game and are out for the season.

UCLA's Patrick Larimore, who had a career-high and team-high 11 tackles (10 solos), including three for loss, forced a fumble and broke up a pass in the game was named Pac-10 Conference defensive player of the week. He was also named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

Tulane
1 2 3 4 Total
Tulane 0 14 3 6 23
Houston 7 21 0 14 42
See also: 2010 Tulane Green Wave football team

First quarter scoring: Houston – Bryce Beall (3-yard run).

Second quarter scoring: Tulane – Cody Sparks (13-yard pass from Kevin Moore), Devin Figaro (36-yard pass from Moore); Houston – Beall (1-yard run, 1-yard run), Michael Hayes (1-yard run).

Third quarter scoring: Tulane – Cairo Santos (29-yard field goal).

Fourth quarter scoring: Tulane – Payten Jason (9-yard run); Houston – Beall (25-yard run), Loyce Means (42-yard interception return).

Poll rankings
See also: 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Week-to-Week Rankings
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=receiving votes.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Final
AP RV RV 23 RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Coaches RV RV 23 RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Harris Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

References
  1. "Conference Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  2. "2010 Team Rankings". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  3. "Quarterback Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  4. Staples, Andy (May 4, 2010). "'Bama exits spring as No. 1 team". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  5. "Lindy's announces its 2010 preseason Top 25 and All-America teams". Lindy's Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  6. Steele, Phil. "Phil Steele's College Football Preview". Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  7. "UH football ranked No. 26 in "The Sporting News" preseason Poll". KHOU. June 3, 2010. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  8. "2010 NCAA Football Rankings - Preseason". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  9. "Keenum Named to O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. July 14, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  10. "Keenum Named to Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. July 4, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  11. "Manning Award Adds Case Keenum to Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. July 23, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  12. "Keenum Named to Two More National Watch Lists". Houston Cougars athletics. August 9, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  13. "Five Cougars Named to Football Preseason All-Conference USA Team". Houston Cougars athletics. July 21, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  14. "Three Cougar Receivers Named to Biletnikoff Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  15. "Linebacker Marcus McGraw Named to Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. June 21, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  16. "McGraw Named to Lombardi Award Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. April 29, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  17. "Carrier Named to Hornung Award Watch List". Houston Cougars athletics. August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  18. "Texas State vs. Houston: Final Stats". Houston Cougars athletics. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  19. "=UTEP vs. Houston: Final Stats". Houston Cougars athletics. September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  20. "Houston Cougars vs. UCLA Bruins Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  21. "Tulane Green Wave vs. Houston Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  22. "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Houston Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  23. "Houston Cougars vs. Rice Owls Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  24. "Houston Cougars vs. Southern Methodist Mustangs Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  25. "Houston Cougars vs. Memphis Tigers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  26. "UCF Knights vs. Houston Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  27. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Houston Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  28. "Houston Cougars vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  29. "Houston Cougars vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  30. "Football Postgame Notes vs. Texas State". Houston Cougars athletics. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  31. "Football Postgame Notes vs. UTEP". Houston Cougars athletics. September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  32. "Case Keenum listed as day to day". ESPN.com. September 12, 2010. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  33. Campbell, Steve (September 13, 2010). "UH's Beall rushes to C-USA player of week honor". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
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