2020 Houston Cougars football team explained

Year:	2020
Team:	Houston Cougars
Sport:	football
Conference:	American Athletic Conference
Short Conf:	American
Record:	3–5
Conf Record:	3–3
Hc Year:	2nd
Cooff Coach1:	Brandon Jones
Cooc1 Year:	2nd
Off Coach:	Shannon Dawson
Oc Year:	1st, 2nd overall
Off Scheme:	Spread
Def Coach:	Joe Cauthen
Dc Year:	2nd
Codef Coach1:	Doug Belk
Codc1 Year:	2nd
Def Scheme:	4–2–5
Stadium:	TDECU Stadium
Bowl:	New Mexico Bowl
Bowl Result:	L 14–28 vs. Hawaii

The 2020 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars played their home games at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Dana Holgorsen.

Preseason

Recruiting class

References:^[1] |}

AAC preseason media poll

The preseason Poll was released September 1^[2]

Media poll
1	UCF	204 (10)
2	Cincinnati	201 (7)
3	Memphis	192 (2)
4	SMU	146
5	Navy	125 (1)
6	Tulane	118
7	Houston	114
8	Temple	88
9	Tulsa	49
10	East Carolina	42
11	South Florida	41

Schedule

The 2020 Houston schedule, as originally released, was to consist of six home and four away games in the regular season. The Cougars were to play host to conference foes Tulane, UCF, South Florida, and Tulsa, and to travel to conference opponents Memphis, Navy, Cincinnati, and SMU.

The Cougars were scheduled to host two non-conference games, against North Texas (C-USA) and BYU (an FBS Independent). The home game against Rice was postponed on August 10, after Rice announced it was delaying the start of the season until September 26.^[3]

Houston had a game scheduled against Washington State, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

On September 12 the American announced that the Houston/Memphis game scheduled for September 18 was postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases at Memphis,^[5] As a result of the Houston at Memphis game postponement, Houston was able to add a game at Baylor scheduled for September 19.^[6] On September 18, Baylor announced that the Houston versus Baylor game would be postponed due to Baylor not meeting the Big 12 Conference COVID-19 game cancellation thresholds.^[7]

After experiencing several COVID-19 cases through September 23, the North Texas Mean Green canceled the September 26 game against the Cougars.^[8]

Schedule Source:^[9]

Game summaries

Tulane

See also: 2020 Tulane Green Wave football team.

HOU −6.5

58^[10]

Statistics	Tulane	Houston
First downs	16	22
Total yards	211	476
Rushing yards	70	157
Passing yards	141	319
Turnovers	0	5
Time of possession	28:47	31:13

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulane	Passing		11/25, 141 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Cameron Carroll	18 carries, 34 yards
Receiving		2 receptions, 50 yards
Houston	Passing		20/33, 319 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing	Kyle Porter	11 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 118 yards, 1 TD

BYU

See also: 2020 BYU Cougars football team.

BYU −3.0

62

Statistics	BYU	Houston
First downs	23	28
Total yards	478	438
Rushing yards	78	128
Passing yards	400	310
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	25:48	34:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing		25/35, 400 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing	Zach Wilson	9 carries, 40 yards
Receiving		9 receptions, 184 yards, 3 TDs
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	21/31, 310 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing	Kyle Porter	20 carries, 94 yards
Receiving	Christian Trahan	3 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD

At Navy

See also: 2020 Navy Midshipmen football team.

HOU −15.5

56

Statistics	Houston	Navy
First downs	23	16
Total yards	420	372
Rushing yards	86	166
Passing yards	334	206
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	29:11	30:49

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	24/34, 316 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing	Kyle Porter	21 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Marquez Stevenson	9 receptions, 129 yards, 2 TDs
Navy	Passing	Dalen Morris	10/18, 206 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing	Nelson Smith	11 carries, 51 yards
Receiving	Ryan Mitchell	2 receptions, 94 yards, 1 TD

UCF

See also: 2020 UCF Knights football team.

UCF –3.0

82

Statistics	UCF	Houston
First downs	32	26
Total yards	681	434
Rushing yards	353	165
Passing yards	328	269
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	27:19	32:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCF	Passing		19/33, 328 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing		16 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Jaylon Robinson	5 receptions, 107 yards
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	21/41, 263 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing	Kyle Porter	13 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		6 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD

At Cincinnati

See also: 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team.

CIN –12.5

51.5^[11]

Statistics	Houston	Cincinnati
First downs	15	24
Total yards	282	510
Rushing yards	93	342
Passing yards	189	168
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	27:31	32:29

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	20/34, 189 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Kyle Porter	16 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Nathaniel Dell	3 receptions, 60 yards
Cincinnati	Passing		17/27, 162 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing		16 carries, 184 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		4 receptions, 47 yards

South Florida

See also: 2020 South Florida Bulls football team.

HOU −14.5

58.5^[12]

Statistics	South Florida	Houston
First downs	23	25
Total yards	359	505
Rushing yards	136	319
Passing yards	223	186
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	31:01	28:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Florida	Passing		14–29, 180 yards, 1TD
Rushing		13 carries, 86 yards
Receiving	Bryce Miller	5 receptions, 53 yards
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	14–25, 165 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing	Clayton Tune	10 carries, 120 yards, 2TDs
Receiving	Keith Corbin	4 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD

At Memphis

See also: 2020 Memphis Tigers football team.

HOU –6.0

65

Statistics	Houston	Memphis
First downs	26	20
Total yards	409	310
Rushing yards	139	64
Passing yards	270	246
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	33:29	26:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	30/49, 270 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing	Kyle Porter	15 carries, 70 yards
Receiving	Christian Trahan	5 receptions, 84 yards
Memphis	Passing		22/35, 246 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing	Asa Martin	11 carries, 27 yards
Receiving		7 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD

Vs. Hawaii (New Mexico Bowl)

See also: 2020 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team and 2020 New Mexico Bowl.

HOU –7.0

61

Statistics	Hawaii	Houston
First downs	11	20
Total yards	267	307
Rushing yards	131	58
Passing yards	136	249
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	26:56	33:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Hawaii	Passing		15/23, 136 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing	Dae Dae Hunter	12 carries, 44 yards
Receiving	Jared Smart	3 receptions, 33 yards
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	20/38, 216 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
Rushing	Mulbah Car	15 carries, 47 yards
Receiving	Nathaniel Dell	6 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft.

1	28		DE	New Orleans Saints
6	203		WR	Buffalo Bills
7	259		LB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 National Signing Day . University of Houston Athletics . 18 May 2020 . en.
2. Web site: UCF Chosen as Favorite in American Preseason Media Poll . theAmerican.org . 1 September 2020.
3. Web site: Rice Delays Start of 2020 Football Season . riceowls.com . 5 September 2020.
4. Web site: Bromberg . Nick . Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020 . Yahoo News . 10 July 2020.
5. Web site: American Announces Postponement of Houston-Memphis Football Game . theamerican.org . 13 September 2020.
6. Web site: Baylor Football to host Houston Sept. 19 . baylorbears.com . 13 September 2020.
7. Web site: Baylor-Houston Match-Up Postponed . baylorbears.com . 18 September 2020.
8. Web site: Houston–North Texas game canceled . uhcougars.com . 24 September 2020.
9. Web site: 2020 Houston Cougars Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . 22 May 2020.
10. Web site: Tulane Green Wave vs Houston Cougars . Odds Shark . 14 October 2020 . en.
11. Web site: Houston Cougars vs Cincinnati Bearcats. OddsShark.com. 7 November 2020.
12. Web site: USF Bulls vs Houston Cougars. 2020-11-16. Odds Shark. en.