2012 Houston Cougars football team

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.

2012 Houston Cougars football
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
2012 record5–7 (4–4 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTravis Bush
Mike Nesbitt (Resigned after game 1)
Offensive schemeAir raid
Defensive coordinatorJamie Bryant
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumRobertson Stadium
(Capacity: 32,000)
2012 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
UCF xy  7 –1     10 –4  
East Carolina x  7 –1     8 –5  
Marshall  4 –4     5 –7  
Memphis  4 –4     4 –8  
UAB  2 –6     3 –9  
Southern Miss  0 –8     0 –12  
West Division
Tulsa xy$  7 –1     11 –3  
SMU  5 –3     7 –6  
Rice  4 –4     7 –6  
Houston  4 –4     5 –7  
UTEP  2 –6     3 –9  
Tulane  2 –6     2 –10  
Championship: Tulsa 33, UCF 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

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

Recruits

Awards & award watch lists

Jacolby Ashworth

D. J. Hayden

Richie Leone

Charles Sims

Schedule

[9][10][11]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:00 pmTexas State*
CSSL 13–3032,207
September 87:00 pmLouisiana Tech*
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
CBSSNL 49–5629,142
September 159:30 pmat No. 22 UCLA*
Pac-12 NetworkL 6–3753,723
September 292:30 pmvs. Rice
FSNW 35–1432,718
October 66:00 pmNorth Texas*
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
CSS/CSNHW 44–2125,476
October 1311:00 amUAB
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
FSNW 39–1725,242
October 187:00 pmat SMU
FSNL 42–7216,459
October 273:30 pmUTEP
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
CSS/CSNHW 45–3527,433
November 311:00 amat East Carolina
FSNL 28–4845,455
November 104:00 pmTulsa
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
CBSSNL 7–4125,827
November 1711:00 amat Marshall
CSS/CSNHL 41–4418,831
November 242:30 pmTulane
  • Robertson Stadium
  • Houston, TX
FSNW 40–1725,402
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Coaching staff
Head coach Tony Levine began his first full season in that position for 2012
NamePositionAlma mater (Year)
Tony LevineHead coachMinnesota (1995)
Travis BushOffensive Coordinator/QuarterbacksTexas State (2000)
Jamie BryantDefensive coordinatorOhio Wesleyan (1993)
Jamie ChristianSpecial teams coordinator/Inside receiversCentral Washington (1999)
Lee HaysOffensive lineTexas A&M–Kingsville (1996)
Ricky LogoDefensive lineNorth Carolina State (1992)
Carlton HallDefensive lineVanderbilt (1998)
Ken McClintockRunning backsMinnesota (1993)
Brandon MiddletonOutside receiversHouston (2004)
Zac SpavitalCornerbacksMurray State (2004)

Game summaries

Texas State
1 2 3 4 Total
Bobcats 14 13 0 3 30
Cougars 10 0 3 0 13
See also: 2012 Texas State Bobcats football team

Louisiana Tech
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 14 7 21 14 56
Cougars 6 14 7 22 49
See also: 2012 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

@ UCLA
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 0 0 6 6
#22 Bruins 14 3 13 7 37
See also: 2012 UCLA Bruins football team

1st quarter scoring: UCLA – Eric Kendricks 23-yard fumble recovery (K. Fairbairn kick); UCLA – Datone Jones 7-yard pass from Brett Hundley (Fairbairn kick)

2nd quarter scoring: UCLA – Fairbairn 35-yard field goal

3rd quarter scoring: UCLA – Jordon James 12-yard pass from Hundley (Fairbairn kick); UCLA – Fairbairn 23-yard field goal; UCLA – Fairbairn 33-yard field goal

4th quarter scoring: HOU – David Piland 86-yard run (Kenneth Farrow rush failed); UCLA – Steven Manfro 14-yard run (Fairbairn kick)

vs Rice
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 7 7 14 7 35
Owls 0 0 7 7 14
See also: 2012 Rice Owls football team and Bayou Bucket Classic

North Texas
1 2 3 4 Total
Mean Green 0 14 7 0 21
Cougars 17 14 10 3 44
See also: 2012 North Texas Mean Green football team

UAB
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 7 3 0 7 17
Cougars 10 6 20 3 39
See also: 2012 UAB Blazers football team

@ SMU
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 7 7 14 14 42
Mustangs 14 14 31 13 72
See also: 2012 SMU Mustangs football team

UTEP
1 2 3 4 Total
Miners 0 7 7 21 35
Cougars 14 21 10 0 45
See also: 2012 UTEP Miners football team

@ East Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 7 7 14 28
Pirates 14 14 3 17 48
See also: 2012 East Carolina Pirates football team

Tulsa
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Hurricane 3 14 7 17 41
Cougars 0 0 0 7 7
See also: 2012 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

@ Marshall
1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 10 14 17 41
Thundering Herd 10 21 7 6 44
See also: 2012 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Tulane
1 2 3 4 Total
Green Wave 0 7 10 0 17
Cougars 17 3 7 13 40
See also: 2012 Tulane Green Wave football team

Poll rankings
See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP RV  
Coaches RV  
Harris Not released Not released 
BCS Not released Not released

References
  1. Khan, Jr., Sam (December 9, 2011). "Amid Big East Celebration, UH Officials Talk New Football Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  2. Khan, Jr., Sam (February 2, 2012). "UH Students Vote for Fee Increase to Help Athletics". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  3. Duarte, Joseph (December 19, 2011). "Rice Casts Doubt on Bayou Bucket Game's Future". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  4. Houston, Rice Extend Bayou Bucket Series Through 2013, UH Athletics, Retrieved April 28, 2012
  5. Duarte, Joseph (July 16, 2012). "UH Offensive Lineman Ashworth on Lombardi Award Watch List". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  6. Hayden Named to Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List. Houston Cougars, July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  7. Duarte, Joseph (July 9, 2012). "UH Punter Leone Named to Ray Guy Watch List". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  8. Duarte, Joseph (July 11, 2012). "Cougars' Charles Sims Named to Maxwell Award Watch List". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  9. 2012 Houston Cougars football schedule, FBSchedules.com, Retrieved February 3, 2012
  10. Conference USA 2012 TV Schedule Archived July 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Matt Sarz Sports, Retrieved March 2, 2012
  11. Houston Sets Highly-Anticipated 2012 Football Schedule, University of Houston Athletics, Retrieved April 27, 2012
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