CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Houston

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Art Briles, then Chris Thurmond (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Houston in 2007, game by game: lost at Oregon 27–48; won at Tulane 34–10; won vs. Colorado State 38–27; lost vs. East Carolina 35–37; lost at Alabama 24–30; won vs. Rice 56–48; won at UAB 49–10; won at UTEP 34–31; won vs. SMU 38–28; lost at Tulsa 7–56; won vs. Marshall 35–28; won vs. Texas Southern 59–6; lost vs. TCU 13–20+53−49Lost 27–48 at Oregon-21OregonWon 34–10 at Tulane+24TulaneWon 38–27 vs. Colorado State+11Colorado StateLost 35–37 vs. East Carolina-2East CarolinaLost 24–30 at Alabama-6AlabamaWon 56–48 vs. Rice+8RiceWon 49–10 at UAB+39UABWon 34–31 at UTEP+3UTEPWon 38–28 vs. SMU+10SMULost 7–56 at Tulsa-49TulsaWon 35–28 vs. Marshall+7MarshallWon 59–6 vs. Texas Southern+53Texas SouthernLost 13–20 vs. TCU-7TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atOregonL 27–⁠4845%
Sep 15atTulaneW 34–⁠1066%
Sep 22vsColorado StateW 38–⁠2776%
Sep 29vsEast CarolinaL 35–⁠3770%
Oct 6atAlabamaL 24–⁠3044%
Oct 13vsRiceW 56–⁠4874%
Oct 20atUABW 49–⁠1065%
Oct 27atUTEPW 34–⁠3160%
Nov 4vsSMUW 38–⁠2883%
Nov 10atTulsaL 7–⁠5647%
Nov 17vsMarshallW 35–⁠2876%
Nov 24vsTexas SouthernW 59–⁠695%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsTCUTexas BowlL 13–⁠2041%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to TCU 20–⁠13 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

C-USA West champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
449–⁠379
Coach
Art Briles, then Chris Thurmond (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1539 −17 this season
SP+ rating
-4.7 No. 76 of 120; offense No. 47, defense No. 86, special teams No. 104
SRS
−2.7 No. 72 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 66
Offensive coordinators
Randy Clements and Philip Montgomery
Defensive coordinator
Alan Weddell
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 119
  • Defense100th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0942%1.1420th of 119
Defense0.1041%1.00100th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 293% allowed
Defense0.0own 322% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2007 class

Chris Tate CB★★★No. 768
Demetrius Woods DUAL★★★No. 802
Justin Johnson ATH★★★No. 1056
Ryan Tennison S★★★No. 1078
Michael Ray WDE★★★No. 1144

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.842
Receivers23.00.811
Offensive line42.30.797
Defensive line22.50.769
Linebackers12.00.794
Defensive backs82.50.795
Athletes and specialists22.50.797
Whole class202.50.797

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 2Donnie Avery WRSt. Louis Rams

2007 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF7–⁠110–⁠4
Tulsa6–⁠210–⁠4
East Carolina6–⁠28–⁠5
Houston6–⁠28–⁠5
Memphis6–⁠27–⁠6
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Tulane3–⁠54–⁠8
Marshall3–⁠53–⁠9
Rice3–⁠53–⁠9
UTEP2–⁠64–⁠8
UAB1–⁠72–⁠10
SMU0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.