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2009 Houston

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Kevin Sumlin.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2009, game by game: won vs. Northwestern State 55–7; won at No. 5 Oklahoma State 45–35; won vs. Texas Tech 29–28; lost at UTEP 41–58; won at Mississippi State 31–24; won at Tulane 44–16; won vs. SMU 38–15; won vs. Southern Miss 50–43; won at Tulsa 46–45; lost at UCF 32–37; won vs. Memphis 55–14; won vs. Rice 73–14; lost at East Carolina 32–38; lost vs. Air Force 20–47+59−27Won 55–7 vs. Northwestern State+48Northwestern St…Won 45–35 at No. 5 Oklahoma State+10No. 5 Oklahoma StateWon 29–28 vs. Texas Tech+1Texas TechLost 41–58 at UTEP-17UTEPWon 31–24 at Mississippi State+7Mississippi Sta…Won 44–16 at Tulane+28TulaneWon 38–15 vs. SMU+23SMUWon 50–43 vs. Southern Miss+7Southern MissWon 46–45 at Tulsa+1TulsaLost 32–37 at UCF-5UCFWon 55–14 vs. Memphis+41MemphisWon 73–14 vs. Rice+59RiceLost 32–38 at East Carolina-6East CarolinaLost 20–47 vs. Air Force-27Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsNorthwestern StateW 55–⁠787%
Sep 12at5Oklahoma StateW 45–⁠3534%
Sep 26vsTexas TechW 29–⁠2850%
Oct 3atUTEPL 41–⁠5866%
Oct 10atMississippi StateW 31–⁠2455%
Oct 17atTulaneW 44–⁠1676%
Oct 24vsSMUW 38–⁠1584%
Oct 31vsSouthern MissW 50–⁠4368%
Nov 7atTulsaW 46–⁠4553%
Nov 14atUCFL 32–⁠3762%
Nov 21vsMemphisW 55–⁠1487%
Nov 28vsRiceW 73–⁠1486%
Dec 5atEast CarolinaConference USA Championship GameL 32–⁠3846%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceArmed Forces BowlL 20–⁠4755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Air Force 47–⁠20 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 21
  2. Wk 4: 17
  3. Wk 5: 12
  4. Wk 7: 23
  5. Wk 8: 17
  6. Wk 9: 15
  7. Wk 10: 13
  8. Wk 11: 13
  9. Wk 12: 24
  10. Wk 13: 25
  11. Wk 14: 18

C-USA West champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with SMU

Led the nationCase Keenum: passing yards (5,671 yds), passing touchdowns (44 TD), total offense (5,829 yds), total offense per game (416.4)

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
591–⁠421
Coach
Kevin Sumlin
Elo
1561 +11 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 53 of 120; offense No. 9, defense No. 99, special teams No. 58
SRS
3.7 No. 49 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 68
Offensive coordinator
Dana Holgorsen
Defensive coordinator
John Skladany
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 120
  • Defense109th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted124th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1753%0.842nd of 120
Defense0.1346%0.93109th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.11 def		51% off
45% def		—1st off
124th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 302% allowed
Defense-0.1own 282% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsCase Keenum QB5,671 yds
Passing touchdownsCase Keenum QB44 TD
Rushing yardsCharles Sims RB698 yds
Rushing touchdownsCharles Sims RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJames Cleveland WR1,214 yds
Receiving touchdownsJames Cleveland WR14 TD
InterceptionsJamal Robinson DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Radermon Scypion SDE★★★No. 1019
Charles Sims RB★★★No. 1026
Drew Hollingshead PRO★★★No. 1195
DeAnthony Sims DT★★★No. 1229
Keenan Flax OG★★★No. 1237

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.840
Running backs22.50.797
Offensive line33.00.824
Defensive line42.80.805
Linebackers42.30.799
Defensive backs13.00.834
Athletes and specialists23.00.815
Whole class172.70.811

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 6Fendi Onobun TESt. Louis Rams

Roster 97

The 2009 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
East Carolina7–⁠19–⁠5
Houston6–⁠210–⁠4
SMU6–⁠28–⁠5
UCF6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

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