2012 Houston Cougars football team explained

The 2012 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 67th year of season play for Houston. The season marked the last for the Cougars as a member of Conference USA as they moved to the American Athletic Conference in 2013. In addition, it was the final season for the team to host its home games at Robertson Stadium as the university announced plans to begin construction on TDECU Stadium in December 2012—following the conclusion of the season.^{[1] [2]} The 2012 season was the first full season under head coach Tony Levine as he took over for Kevin Sumlin after his departure following the 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game.

At one time it was believed that the 2012 season would be the last for the foreseeable future with a Bayou Bucket Classic matchup against the Rice Owls. Both teams had relied on the game being on their respective conference schedules. However, with the American Athletic Conference move in 2013 for the Cougars, the matchup would have had to have been scheduled as a non-conference game. At the time of the Big East Conference announcement, Rice had its non-conference schedule completely booked for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.^[3] In April 2012, the two schools announced that they had come to an agreement to extend the series through the 2013 season. The 2012 and 2013 Bayou Bucket Classics were hosted at Reliant Stadium.^[4]

Pre-season

Awards & award watch lists

Jacolby Ashworth

• Lombardi Award watch list^[5]

D. J. Hayden

• Jim Thorpe Award watch list^[6]

Richie Leone

• Ray Guy Award watch list^[7]

Charles Sims

• Maxwell Award watch list^[8]

Schedule

^{[9] [10] [11]}

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Alma mater (Year)
		Minnesota (1995)
	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks	Texas State (2000)
		Ohio Wesleyan (1993)
Jamie Christian	Special teams coordinator/Inside receivers	Central Washington (1999)
Lee Hays		Texas A&M–Kingsville (1996)
Ricky Logo		North Carolina State (1992)
		Vanderbilt (1998)
Ken McClintock	Running backs	Minnesota (1993)
	Outside receivers	Houston (2004)
Zac Spavital		Murray State (2004)
	Co-director of sports performance	Southeastern Oklahoma State (2004)

Game summaries

Texas State

See also: 2012 Texas State Bobcats football team.

Statistics	TXST	HOU
First downs	23	15
Total yards	444	326
Rushing yards	248	115
Passing yards	196	211
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	43:09	16:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas State	Passing	Shaun Rutherford	19/25, 196 yards, TD
Rushing	Marcus Curry	14 rushes, 131 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Isaiah Battle	5 receptions, 75 yards
Houston	Passing	David Piland	17/44, 211 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Charles Sims	13 rushes, 77 yards
Receiving	Larry McDuffey	2 receptions, 73 yards, TD

Louisiana Tech

See also: 2012 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team.

Statistics	LT	HOU
First downs	38	40
Total yards	598	693
Rushing yards	245	113
Passing yards	353	580
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	28:07	31:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana Tech	Passing		34/52, 353 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Tevin King	13 rushes, 112 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 74 yards
Houston	Passing	David Piland	53/77, 580 yards, 4 TD
Rushing	Charles Sims	21 rushes, 65 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Daniel Spencer	7 receptions, 157 yards, TD

At No. 22 UCLA

See also: 2012 UCLA Bruins football team.

Statistics	HOU	UCLA
First downs	14	29
Total yards	388	567
Rushing yards	139	247
Passing yards	249	320
Turnovers	6	5
Time of possession	18:40	41:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	David Piland	28/60, 249 yards, 5 INT
Rushing	Kenneth Farrow	13 rushes, 74 yards
Receiving	DeWayne Peace	10 receptions, 103 yards
UCLA	Passing		27/42, 320 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing		25 rushes, 110 yards
Receiving	Steven Manfro	7 receptions, 78 yards

Vs. Rice

See also: 2012 Rice Owls football team.

Statistics	HOU	RICE
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Rice	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

North Texas

See also: 2012 North Texas Mean Green football team.

Statistics	UNT	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Texas	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

UAB

See also: 2012 UAB Blazers football team.

Statistics	UAB	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At SMU

See also: 2012 SMU Mustangs football team.

Statistics	HOU	SMU
First downs	30	20
Total yards	560	384
Rushing yards	115	119
Passing yards	445	265
Turnovers	9	2
Time of possession	41:18	31:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Crawford Jones	17/33, 252 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Charles Sims	17 rushes, 54 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Charles Sims	7 receptions, 114 yards, 2 TD
SMU	Passing		23/38, 265 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing		22 rushes, 113 yards, 2 TD
Receiving		9 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD

UTEP

See also: 2012 UTEP Miners football team.

Statistics	UTEP	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At East Carolina

See also: 2012 East Carolina Pirates football team.

Statistics	HOU	ECU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
East Carolina	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Tulsa

See also: 2012 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team.

Statistics	TLSA	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulsa	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At Marshall

See also: 2012 Marshall Thundering Herd football team.

Statistics	HOU	MRSH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Marshall	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Tulane

See also: 2012 Tulane Green Wave football team.

Statistics	TULN	HOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulane	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Notes and References

1. News: Amid Big East Celebration, UH Officials Talk New Football Stadium. Sam. Khan, Jr.. Houston Chronicle. December 9, 2011. February 3, 2012.
2. News: UH Students Vote for Fee Increase to Help Athletics. Sam. Khan, Jr.. Houston Chronicle. February 2, 2012. February 3, 2012.
3. News: Rice Casts Doubt on Bayou Bucket Game's Future. Joseph. Duarte. Houston Chronicle. December 19, 2011. February 3, 2012.
4. http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042012aaf.html Houston, Rice Extend Bayou Bucket Series Through 2013
5. News: UH Offensive Lineman Ashworth on Lombardi Award Watch List. Joseph. Duarte. Houston Chronicle. July 16, 2012. July 16, 2012.
6. http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071312aaa.html Hayden Named to Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List
7. News: UH Punter Leone Named to Ray Guy Watch List. Joseph. Duarte. Houston Chronicle. July 9, 2012. July 16, 2012.
8. News: Cougars’ Charles Sims Named to Maxwell Award Watch List. Joseph. Duarte. Houston Chronicle. July 11, 2012. July 16, 2012.
9. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/conf-usa/2012-houston-cougars-football-schedule.php 2012 Houston Cougars football schedule
10. http://mattsarzsports.com/Football2012/CUSA Conference USA 2012 TV Schedule
11. http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042712aaa.html Houston Sets Highly-Anticipated 2012 Football Schedule