The Coogs climbed up the college football ranking ladders this week in the wake of their 73-14 demolition of the Rice Owls.
They moved up to Number 18 in both the AP and USA Today College Football polls. They jumped two spots on the AP one and seven spots on the USA Today poll.
They also gained ground in the BCS poll, moving up two spots from Number 23 to Number 21.
And best of all, the Bayou Bucket is back where it belongs.
The Coogs play for the C-USA Championship Saturday against the C-USA East Division Champion East Carolina Pirates. Should be a fun game with Case Keenum only needing 50 yards to pass the 5000 yard barrier for the season.
My number 20 ranked fave college football team walked into the game with our crosstown rivals at the Rob with a lot at stake.
Win and they not only gained revenge for last year's 52-45 loss to Rice and reclaim the Bayou Bucket, they clinch a share of the C-USA West title with a 6-2 record and play in next week's C-USA title game.
Tyron Carrier got the game off to a rousing start by taking the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown as the Cougars raced to a 59-0 halftime lead enroute to a 73-14 victory over the Owls.
Case Keenum was 25 of 31 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He added a first half rushing touchdown as the dark horse Heisman candidate led the 10-2 Cougars to their first 10 win season since 2006.
The Coogs will travel to Greenville, NC to play for their first C-USA championship since 2006 when they take on the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The Number 24 AP ranked University of Houston Cougars shook off their upset loss to Central Florida last week by beating down Memphis at the Rob 55-14.
It's only the second time since the 1991 season that my fave college football team has won nine games in a season, and they have a chance to hit ten wins next week when they play our crosstown rivals Rice.
Case Keenum made sure it was going to happen today. UH scored on eight of its first nine possessions as he went 29 for 39 for 405 yards and five touchdowns in the rout and broke David Klingler's school record for career touchdowns.
Keenum now has 94 TD's with only the game against our crosstown rival Rice remaining on their C-USA schedule
The Coogs also received some good news in addition to improving their season record to 5-2 in the C-USA West Division. Marshall knocked off the C-USA West Division leading SMU Mustangs 34-31 to drop them into a tie for the West Division lead with SMU.
The Cougars already have the tiebreaker over SMU thanks to the earlier 28-15 homecoming beatdown.
I'm not getting too happy yet. They have to take care of business next week against Rice before I can exhale and get happy about the prospects of my boys playing for the C-ISA title.
If they do that, they win the C-USA West Division Championship and they host the C-USA title game at the Rob.
All these close last second victories for the Cardiac Cougars finally caught up with them this week against the University of Central Florida Knights. Case Keenum couldn't work his last minute magic and the Cougars fell 37-32 to an unranked UCF Knights squad.
This second loss of the season could be potentially fatal to their C-USA title hopes as the Coogs fell to 8-2 on the year and out of a tie for the C-USA West Division lead with SMU. The Mustangs now lead the C-USA West Division with a 5-1 record with two games to play against Marshall and Tulane.
The 4-2 Coogs have the tiebreaker over SMU, but must win their final two games at the Rob with Memphis and our crosstown rivals Rice and hope for an SMU loss in order to make it to and host the C-USA Championship game.
It was also painful to their national rankings. The Cougars fell to Number 24 from their previous ranking of Number 13 in the AP poll and probably killed any outside chance they had of making a BCS bowl.
My fave college football team has an outside chance at winning the C-USA title and allowing me the chance to see my boys in Memphis for the Liberty Bowl
The Number 13 ranked Houston Cougars scored 9 points in the final 21 seconds, including a 51 yard field goal from walk on freshman kicker Matt Hogan to escape with a 46-45 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
After scoring a touchdown to narrow the deficit to 45-43, Keenum was sacked on the two point conversion play to preserve the Tulsa lead. UH recovered the ensuing onside kick and the stage for the Cardiac Cougar heroics was set.
Case Keenum connected on 40 of 60 passes for 522 years, but the biggest was hitting a 13 yard pass to a wide open Tyron Carrier to get them into field goal range.
hogan had never kicked a field goal beyond 34 yards prior to this game winning heroics, but nailed this one to move the Cougars to 8-1 and stay tied with SMU atop the C-USA West Division standings.
Next up is the University of Central Florida Knights in Orlando.
And fellas, can we wrap up the game before halftime for a change? The last second wins are fun to watch but stress inducing as well.
My favorite college football team will take on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 6:30 PM EST later tonight.
The 7-1 (3-1 C-USA West) and Number 13 ranked Coogs stroll into Tulsa with a one game lead over their C-USA West Division rivals. A victory puts them one step closer the the division title and a berth in the C-USA championship game.
My favorite college football team has had an interesting season so far. They started 3-0 and knocked off Big 12 schools Oklahoma State and Texas Tech on national TV to get to and eventually climb to a No 12 ranking in the college football polls for the first time in a decade.
Then came the disastrous trip to El Paso for their C-USA opener. The Coogs played matador defense as the UTEP Miners ran over, around and through them while springing a 58-41 upset that made the Sun Bowl homecoming crowd very happy, knocked us completely out of the college football rankings and may have cost us a shot at a possible BCS bowl bid.
Saturday we got to play on the road against a tough SEC team for their homecoming. This time the Coogs played rude guests as Case Keenum passed for 434 yard and four touchdowns in their 31-24 win against a Mississippi State Bulldogs team in Starkville that came an inches short goal line play of knocking off LSU.
Not bad. 2-0 against the Big 12 and 1-0 against the SEC. If they won't let you join 'em, just beat them.
That victory put the Coogs back in the AP and USA Today Coaches poll rankings at Number 23 on both polls.
Now just handle your C-USA business so we can stay there for the rest of the season this time.
And will somebody at UH please sign Kevin Sumlin to a long term contract?
I enjoyed the stress inducing 29-28 win over Texas Tech last night just like everybody else in Cougar Nation.
It pad off with another rise in the AP rankings
The University of Houston jumped from Number 17 to Number 12 in the latest AP Poll and moved to Number 15 on the USA Today College coaches poll.
The Coogs take their football act on the road during the month of October. The play their C-USA opener in El Paso October 3 versus UTEP. They follow that up with an October 10 game in Starkville, MS against Mississippi State from the SEC, and another C-USA road game in the Superdome against Tulane.
They end the month at the Rob playing SMU for homecoming on October 24 and Southern Mississippi on Halloween.
It's going to be the most important month for UH football in decades, and the stakes get higher with every win. But if they can get through it, a possible C-USA title and BCS bowl berth may be in sight.
Eat 'em up!
And by the way, can y'all sign Coach Sumlin to a long term contract ASAP?
I'm approaching six years of living in Kentucky. Moving here was the first time I'd lived more than 50 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico or in a city not on I-10. Even though Louisville and Kentucky has its charms and things I like about it, there are a lot of things I miss about home besides my family.
Fortunately one of the things I missed, Blue Bell ice cream is now sold up here and I have happily gotten reaquainted with it.
So without further ado, the twenty-five things I miss about Houston.
1A-The drive to New Orleans Before Katrina, New Orleans was THE getaway spot for many Houstonians. It was only a five hour drive or one hour plane ride away. I lived on the West Bank in Marrero for two years as a toddler and my godsister still lives there so it was doubly special to me. I loved driving that scenic stretch of I-10 that cuts through the Atchafalaya Swamp between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.
1-Major league sports Astros baseball, Texans football, Rockets and Comets basketball. I can drive to Cincinnati, Chicago or St Louis to see the 'Stros, Indianapolis or Chicago to see the Rockets or Comets and Indy to see the Texans. (I refuse to drive to Nashville to go see them while Bud Adams still owns the Tennessee Traitors) While it's fun to cheer my home teams to victory in hostile arenas it's not the same seeing my teams in their road uniforms. While Bats games are enjoyable and the price is right, there's a huge difference between a Triple A game and a MLB one.
2-TSU and the Ocean of Soul Marching Band Grew up watching a lot of TSU games in the Astrodome. Spent a lot of time on TSU's campus for various reasons. Listening to the high stepping Ocean of Soul as they did musical battle with the other outstanding bands in the SWAC such as Grambling, Jackson State, Southern and Prairie View was the bomb as well.
3-Texas high school football Arguably the best in the country. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights there's high quality games going on at stadium complexes all over the area from Class 2A to Class 5A. Houston area teams are usually in the mix for state championships. TV stations in the area have 30 minute shows devoted just to covering it and there's a syndicated show that covers Texas high school football on a weekly basis. One of the sure signs that fall was coming for me is when the latest issue of Dave Campbell's Texas Football hits the stands.
4-Frenchy's chicken The Scott Street legend located between the TSU and UH campuses that's grown to five locations. Had many nights I rolled by Frenchy's at 3 AM to grab a three piece and those creole seasoned Frenchy fries or chow down on one of their po boys.
5-Katz's deli Katz's is an Austin institution that opened up a store in Montrose. I went to the Austin location after the 1999 lobby day and fell in love with their sandwiches and the caramel cheesecake. I did the happy dance when they opened up their Houston location in 2000.
6-The nighttime pride parade Because Houston can get rather toasty in late June, the pride parade became a nighttime event. Attendance and popularity skyrocketed as a result.
7-Hermann Park The Houston equvalent to Central Park in NYC. The Zoo, the Burke Baker Planetarium, the statue of Houston's namesake Sam Houston, Miller Outdoor Theater and Hippie Hill, the reflecting pool and a mini railroad train that circles a portion of it are all there on its 445 acres. The Museum District and Montrose are nearby, Rice University borders it on the west and the Texas Medical Center to the south.
8-Montrose Houston's eclectic gayborhood that also has St Thomas University, La Colombe d'Or hotel, the Chinese consulate, the Menil Collection and various bed and breakfast places in the area along with some of my fave restaraunts and shops.
9-The Galleria So many childhood and transition memories there. It's one of my fave malls because of the ice rink, the high end designer shops and its international fame. Did a lot of walking, shopping, eating and window shopping there. My high school prom was at one of the hotels there. I also miss the Harwin Drive discount shopping strip as well.
10-Galveston and fresh seafood It represented the beach in my youth and my transition in adulthood. My gender clinic is located there. Whether I got my seafood in Galveston, one of the restaurants like Gaido's, Pappas or at one of the local mom and pop seafood joints, it was plentiful and the bomb.
11-The amenities of large city living It aggravates me when I have to drive to Cincy or Indianapolis to see my favorite acts or have to wait for traveling plays, movies or shows to come here after they do limited engagements in larger cities elsewhere.
12-Marrrrrrrrrvin Zindler, Eyyyyyyeewitness news Rent the Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Melvin P. Thorpe is modeled on Marvin Zindler, KTRK-TV's longtime pioneering crusading consumer affairs reporter who unfortunately died Sunday. Marvin's had more plastic surgery than many of the girls who dance at Rick's. The Friday Rat and Roach report of restaurants that failed city health inspections is punctuated by his 'sliiiiiiiiiiime in the ice machine' line.
13-Mattress Mack's Gallery Furniture commercials Another Houston institution. Mattress Mack ends his commericals by jumping up and down, holding a dollar bill and reciting his tagline 'Gallery Furniture will save you money.'
14-The Ensemble Theater and Black culture Houston's award winning Black theater company. Houston is also the epicenter of Black history and culture in Texas. If there was a African-American trailblazer in Texas, nine times out of ten they had a Houston address.
15-The downtown Houston skyline No matter what angle I looked at it, whether it was from the stands at Minute Maid park, from IAH, my south side 'hood or the southwest side, I got to watch our world famous modernistic skyline grow as the city did.
16-Texas barbecue Whether it was chowing down at Harlon's, Drexler's, Pappas, a street vendor in the parking lot of a nightclub or a neighborhood hole in the wall, it's all good no matter what 'hood I was eating it in.
17-UH Eat 'em up, eat 'em up, rah rah rah! I miss walking around campus, checking out Cougar basketball, football and baseball games and reliving some memories from the time I was there.
18-Houston Splash The Black gay pride weekend that includes a beach party in Galveston and events in Houston that usually happens the first weekend in May.
19-Majic 102 Houston's first R&B FM station that started broadcasting in 1977. Over my teen and young adult years our radios eventually were tuned to it. It's now owned by Cathy Hughes' Radio One.
20-Astroworld Houston's amusement park that was opened by Judge Roy Hofheinz in 1968 and later bought by Six Flags. I was horrified to find out Six Flags not only closed it, but tore it down in early 2006. Another place that has fond memories for me.
21-Shipley's Donuts Krispy Kreme only opened its first Houston location in 2000 and still got their butts kicked by Shipley's. It's a local doughnut chain that also offers stuffed kolaches and fresh coffee. Some of the locations, especially in the 'hood are 24 hour ones.
22-Charlie's Restaurant When I wasn't feeling Denny's or was crossdressed, I used to roll up in this gay owned gay friendly 24 hour Montrose hangout, enjoy the food and the eclectic crowd that gathered there to boot.
23-Niko Niko's A Greek place in Montrose that also serves dynamite seafood and burgers.
24-Driving to Austin and Dallas The state capital was only a two hour drive away and I enjoyed rolling up state highway 71 and seeing the bluebonnets blooming along the highway. Most of my Texas relatives live in Dallas and we used make that four hour drive up I-45 nearly every summer to see them.
25-The Unity Banquet One of the major events of the Houston transgender community. One of my first community award nominations was for the Dee McKellar in 2001 for what else, the most outspoken person in the community. Lost that one to Kat Rose. ;)
UCLA released their 2007-2008 basketball schedule and I was disappointed to learn that UH was not on it.
There has been a major push from UH and some UCLA alums to have the schools play each other on the 40th anniversary of the game that changed college basketball forever either at the Dome or Reliant Stadium, which will be the site of the 2011 Final Four.
Before January 20, 1968 you didn't have college basketball games, be they regular or postseason, televised nationally or played in domed stadiums. The NCAA Tournament in those days only invited 24 teams not 65. And we don't have a dynasty in our era that even comes close to the John Wooden-era UCLA Bruins.
At the time they played my alma mater in the Astrodome they were 18-0, the defending national champions, just beginning a streak of seven straight national championships, were ranked number one in the nation, were on a 47 game winning streak and had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) occupying the middle of a devastating team that included Lynn Shackelford and Mike Warren (of Hill Street Blues fame.)
My Coogs weren't kitty litter either. They were 13-0 and ranked number two in the nation. We countered the UCLA juggernaut with legendary coach Guy V. Lewis, future NBA Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney and 1968 Olympian Ken Spain at center. The Coogs also had a 48 game home winning streak of their own to protect in addition to wanting to avenge the 1967 NCAA tournament semifinal beatdown they took at UCLA's hands.
In front of a then record basketball crowd of 52,693 and a nationally televised audience Elvin Hayes scored 39 points to help the Cougars upset mighty UCLA 71-69. That win cemented the University of Houston's status as a basketball powerhouse and elevated Guy Lewis stature as well. It's still a mystery to me why Guy V. Lewis, a man with 592 career wins, who coached in 5 Final Fours (with two of them being title games in 1983-1984) and who integrated college basketball in Texas and the South as well ISN'T in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.
What many Cougar alums were hoping was to see a replay of that game at the Dome on the 40th anniversary of what's come to be known as 'The Game of the Century'. We wanted it to happen while many of the key participants such as coach Wooden, coach Lewis and many of the players were still alive to be a part of it. Tom Penders and the folks at UH are willing and eager to play the game. The resistance is allegedly coming from UCLA's coach Ben Howland.
It's sad because this would definitely be a great way to mark a historical milestone in men's college basketball. Without this game, you don't have national TV contracts, March Madness, domed-sized crowds at NCAA tournament games, et cetera. It's an irritant to UH alums that UCLA is playing Texas as part of the Big 12-Pac 10 Challenge, and UT doesn't come close to having the basketball history and tradition that we have. Texas just happen to be on a cycle where they've built up a good program right now (with Houston area talent) and UH is coming out of the post-legendary coach funk that UCLA experienced after John Wooden retired. UH has signed some great recruits, has starters coming back from the team that fell to Memphis in the C-USA tournament championship game and has a three year starter in Lamar Smith coming back.
Maybe Ben Howland is 'scurred' of another Cougar upset of UCLA ;)
Here's hoping that Coach Howland changes his mind and adds that game to his UCLA Bruin schedule.
Cougars fight for dear old U of H For our Alma Mater cheer. Fight for Houston University For victory is near.
When the going gets so rough and tough We never worry cause we got the stuff. So fight, fight, fight for red and white And we'll go on to victory.
Congratulations to the University of Houston Cougars football team for winning the C-USA title for the first time in 10 years last night. They beat their longtime conference nemesis Southern Mississippi 34-20 in front of a record crowd of 31,000 at Robertson Stadium to take the crown. They have earned a trip to Memphis and the Liberty Bowl to take on Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks December 29.
When I was attending UH we were an elite level football powerhouse. We were in the mix for the Southwest Conference Championship every year. When I arrived on campus in the fall of 1980 the Coogs were just coming off our fourth trip in five years to the Cotton Bowl.
I took it real hard along with other Cougar alums when we shockimgly weren't invited to join the Big 12 Conference in 1996. I suspected (along with many other Cougar alums) that the University of Texas had a hand in that decision. A football juggernaut in Houston impacts their recruiting ability in one of the best regions in Texas for high school football talent. Their refusal to play any UH athletic teams on a regular basis only fossilizes that impression for Cougar Nation.
There's a long history of Hateraid between us and UT. During Beat Texas Week we have a giant barbecue at the student center featuring Bevo burgers (the name of UT's longhorn mascot). The Cougar paw hand sign had its origins in an incident that occurred during the first UH-Texas game in 1953.
Our cougar mascot Shasta I caught her front paw in the car door transporting her and one toe had to be cut off. During the game which UT won 28-7, UT players discovered what had happened to Shasta I and began taunting UH players by holding up their hands with the ring finger bent, saying UH's mascot was an invalid and so were our players.
Upset UH students began using the sign as notice that they would never let UT forget the incident and later adopted the Cougar Paw as an official symbol of school pride. In fact one of the sarcastic comments on it that I heard while I was there in the early 80's was that the middle finger is a half a peace sign to the Longhorns.
During the second meeting in 1968, armed with African-American players and Bill Yeoman's newfangled Veer offense we fought Texas to a 20-20 tie.
We've also never let them forget our debut game as a member of the Southwest Conference in 1976. In front of the then-largest crowd in DKR-Memorial Stadium history of 77,809 fans, we spanked them 30-0 on the way to our first SWC championship and Cotton Bowl appearance.
But enough about Bevo conspiracy theories and the fun we and Texas A&M have making Longhorn fans as miserable as they make us. This is about the Coogs. I'm looking forward to making the trip to Memphis and watching Kevin Kolb, Jackie 'The Battleship' Battle, Anthony 'Quick' Aldridge and the current crop of Cougar footballers kick butt.
Eat 'em up, eat 'em up, rah rah rah!
It's almost like old times. The Cougars football program on the rise. The baseball team is preparing to make another run at a College World Series appearance. The UH basketball program under Tom Penders is clawing its way back to the Phi Slama Jama level and national B-ball prominence. I'm looking forward to the game next month in Lexington against UK.
While I'm on that subject, it's past time to induct Guy V. Lewis into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The man went to five Final Fours, was one half of the historic 1968 UH-UCLA game in the Dome that paved the way for college basketball to be televised on TV and coached NBA Hall of Famers. Let him in while he's still around to enjoy the moment.
Yeah, thimgs are definitely looking good on Cullen Boulevard these days.
The Coogs climbed up the college football ranking ladders this week in the wake of their 73-14 demolition of the Rice Owls.
