Houston vs. Memphis
Houston and Memphis first met in 1963 and have played 31 times; Houston leads the series 17–14. Over the last 10 meetings it’s even at 5–5, and Houston has won the last 2. Share
- Houston wins
- 17
- Memphis wins
- 14
- Ties
- 0
- First meeting
- 1963
- Longest streak
- 6 Houston
- Current streak
- 2 Houston
- Last 10 meetings
- even at 5–5
- Most recent
- 2022
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2–2 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 3–2 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 2–1 | ||||||||||
| 2000s | 4–4 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 4–4 | ||||||||||
| 2020s | 2–1 |
- Both ranked
- 1 meeting: Houston 1, Memphis 0
- Average margin
- 14.6 points; 12 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Houston
- 8–6 Houston’s record at home
- At Memphis
- 8–9 Memphis’s record at home
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- Houston’s biggest win2009: Houston 55, Memphis 14by 41 points
- Memphis’s biggest win2003: Memphis 45, Houston 14by 31 points
- Upset2003: Memphis 45, Houston 14Memphis had a 27% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset2000: Houston 33, Memphis 30Houston had a 32% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset1966: Memphis 14, Houston 13Memphis had a 35% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Ranked showdown2015: Houston 35, Memphis 34No. 25 Memphis at No. 16 Houston
Coach against coach
| Years | Houston | Series | Memphis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963–1971 | Bill Yeoman | 3–2 | Billy Murphy |
| 1996–1998 | Kim Helton | 2–1 | Rip Scherer |
| 2003–2006 | Art Briles | 1–3 | Tommy West |
| 2020–2022 | Dana Holgorsen | 2–1 | Ryan Silverfield |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Houston’s side (Yeoman 3–2 against Murphy). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Biggest days
| Greg Ward Jr. Houston | 47 of 67, 487 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT | 2016 Passing | |
| Case Keenum Houston | 29 of 39, 405 yards, 5 TD | 2009 Passing | |
| Riley Ferguson Memphis | 33 of 53, 471 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 2017 Passing | |
| DeAngelo Williams Memphis | 33 carries, 262 yards, 4 TD | 2004 Rushing | |
| Linell Bonner Houston | 17 catches, 235 yards, 1 TD | 2016 Receiving |
Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).
Every game
Every game is listed as played on the field.