2011 Houston Cougars football team

2011 Houston Cougars football
C-USA West Division champion
TicketCity Bowl champion
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 18
Record13–1 (8–0 C-USA)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorJason Phillips (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorKliff Kingsbury (2nd season)
Offensive schemeAir raid
Defensive coordinatorBrian Stewart (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumRobertson Stadium
Seasons
← 2010
2012 →
2011 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 20 Southern Miss x$   6 2     12 2  
Marshall   5 3     7 6  
East Carolina   4 4     5 7  
UAB   3 5     3 9  
UCF   3 5     5 7  
Memphis   1 7     2 10  
West Division
No. 18 Houston x   8 0     13 1  
Tulsa   7 1     8 5  
SMU   5 3     8 5  
Rice   3 5     4 8  
UTEP   2 6     5 7  
Tulane   1 7     2 11  
Championship: Southern Miss 49, Houston 28
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
As of January 10, 2012
Rankings from AP Poll

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.[1]

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.

  1. ^ "Case Keenum granted sixth year". ESPN. January 14, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2011.