1988 Houston Cougars football team

The 1988 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by second-year head coach Jack Pardee and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing in third. Just two seasons after finishing 1–10 (0–7 SWC), the Cougars finished the season with a 9–3 record and ranked 18th in the final AP Poll. They were invited to the 1988 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lost to Washington State.

1988 Houston Cougars football
Aloha Bowl, L 22–24 vs. Washington State
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 18
Record	9–3 (5–2 SWC)
Head coach	Jack Pardee (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	John Jenkins (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Eddy (2nd season)
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 12 Arkansas $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Texas A&M*	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 18 Houston	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Texas Tech	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Baylor	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Texas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rice	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion *- Ineligible for conference championship and postseason bowl games due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at Louisiana Tech*		Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA		W 60–0	18,222	[1]
September 17	at Missouri*		Faurot Field Columbia, MO		W 31–7	36,287
October 1	at Baylor		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	Raycom	W 27–24	34,719
October 8	Texas A&M		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		L 16–30	42,361
October 15	Tulsa*		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 82–28	14,068
October 22	No. 13 Arkansas		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	Raycom	L 21–26	21,775
October 29	TCU		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 40–12	15,582
November 5	at Texas		Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	Raycom	W 66–15	69,600
November 12	No. 10 Wyoming*		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	ESPN	W 34–10	28,947
November 19	at Texas Tech	No. 17	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)		W 30–29	27,204
November 26	Rice	No. 14	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	Raycom	W 45–14	16,923
December 25	vs. No. 18 Washington State*	No. 14	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (Aloha Bowl)	ABC	L 22–24	35,132
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Roster

1988 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL   Joey Banes Jr WR 22 James Dixon Sr WR 20 Manny Hazard So QB 7 David Klingler Fr WR 20 Jason Phillips Sr QB 11 Andre Ware So RB 28 Chuck Weatherspoon So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 86 Reggie Burnette So DB   Chris Ellison Jr CB   Johnnie Jackson Sr LB 46 Lamar Lathon Jr SS 29 Alton Montgomery Jr DT 56 Glenn Montgomery Sr DT 96 Alfred Oglesby Jr DB   Cornelius Price DT 63 Craig Veasey Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 14 Roman Anderson Fr	Head coach Jack Pardee Coordinators/assistant coaches John Jenkins – Offensive Coordinator Jim Eddy – Defensive Coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

At Texas

See also: 1988 Texas Longhorns football team

Wyoming

See also: 1988 Wyoming Cowboys football team

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Team players in the NFL

Main article: 1989 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Johnnie Jackson	Cornerback	5	122	San Francisco 49ers
Glenn Montgomery	Defensive tackle	5	131	Houston Oilers
Jason Phillips	Wide receiver	10	253	Detroit Lions

References

1. "Houston destroys Louisiana Tech 60–0". Austin American-Statesman. September 11, 1988. Retrieved July 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "1988 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
3. "The Houston Cougars may have bagged themselves their first bowl invitation since 1984". UPI. November 13, 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2019.