2018 Houston Cougars football team

2018 Houston Cougars football
AAC West Division co-champion
Armed Forces Bowl, L 14–70 vs. Army
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record8–5 (5–3 American)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKendal Briles (1st season)
Offensive schemeHurry-up, no-huddle spread
Defensive coordinatorMark D'Onofrio (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumTDECU Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 11 UCF x$   8 0     12 1  
Temple   7 1     8 5  
No. 24 Cincinnati   6 2     11 2  
South Florida   3 5     7 6  
East Carolina   1 7     3 9  
UConn   0 8     1 11  
West Division
Memphis xy   5 3     8 6  
Houston x   5 3     8 5  
Tulane x   5 3     7 6  
SMU   4 4     5 7  
Navy   2 6     3 10  
Tulsa   2 6     3 9  
Championship: UCF 56, Memphis 41
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars played their home games at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Major Applewhite. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in AAC play to finish in a three-way tie for the West Division championship. After tiebreakers, they did not represent the West Division in the AAC Championship Game. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Army by a score of 14–70, in the process tying records for the most points given up (70) and the largest margin-of-loss (56) in NCAA bowl game history.[1]

On December 30, Houston fired Applewhite after 2 seasons.[2]

  1. ^ "Army West Point dominates en route to 70-14 victory". Armed Forces Bowl. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Sallee, Barrett. "Houston fires coach Major Applewhite after just two seasons with the Cougars". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.