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2019 Houston

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 American Athletic Conference), coached by Dana Holgorsen.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2019, game by game: lost at No. 4 Oklahoma 31–49; won vs. Prairie View A&M 37–17; lost vs. No. 20 Washington State 24–31; lost at Tulane 31–38; won at North Texas 46–25; lost vs. No. 25 Cincinnati 23–38; won at UConn 24–17; lost vs. No. 16 SMU 31–34; lost at UCF 29–44; lost vs. No. 18 Memphis 27–45; won at Tulsa 24–14; lost vs. No. 24 Navy 41–56+21−18Lost 31–49 at No. 4 Oklahoma-18No. 4 OklahomaWon 37–17 vs. Prairie View A&M+20Prairie View A&MLost 24–31 vs. No. 20 Washington State-7No. 20 Washington StateLost 31–38 at Tulane-7TulaneWon 46–25 at North Texas+21North TexasLost 23–38 vs. No. 25 Cincinnati-15No. 25 CincinnatiWon 24–17 at UConn+7UConnLost 31–34 vs. No. 16 SMU-3No. 16 SMULost 29–44 at UCF-15UCFLost 27–45 vs. No. 18 Memphis-18No. 18 MemphisWon 24–14 at Tulsa+10TulsaLost 41–56 vs. No. 24 Navy-15No. 24 Navy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1at4OklahomaL 31–⁠4921%
Sep 7vsPrairie View A&MW 37–⁠1780%
Sep 13vs20Washington StateL 24–⁠3135%
Sep 19atTulaneL 31–⁠3838%
Sep 28atNorth TexasW 46–⁠2541%
Oct 12vs25CincinnatiL 23–⁠3844%
Oct 19atUConnW 24–⁠1776%
Oct 24vs16SMUL 31–⁠3444%
Nov 2atUCFL 29–⁠4417%
Nov 16vs18MemphisL 27–⁠4534%
Nov 23atTulsaW 24–⁠1454%
Nov 30vs24NavyL 41–⁠5647%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Navy 56–⁠41; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 53rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
368–⁠408
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1476 −50 this season
SP+ rating
-4.3 No. 82 of 130; offense No. 56, defense No. 110, special teams No. 22
SRS
−1.3 No. 67 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 6 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 72 roster talent No. 55 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Marquel Blackwell and Brandon Jones
Defensive coordinators
Joe Cauthen and Doug Belk
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense61st of 130
  • Defense116th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted51st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted98th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1142%1.2861st of 130
Defense0.2246%1.35116th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.15 def		43% off
44% def		—51st off
98th 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
Offense3.4own 3023% allowed
Defense4.0own 2720% caused

CORE rating -4.8, 86th of 130 (offense 1.4, defense 6.2).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsClayton Tune QB1,533 yds
Passing touchdownsClayton Tune QB11 TD
Rushing yardsKyle Porter RB616 yds
Rushing touchdownsD’Eriq King QB6 TD
Receiving yardsMarquez Stevenson WR907 yds
Receiving touchdownsMarquez Stevenson WR9 TD
TacklesGrant Stuard LB97 tkl
SacksDavid Anenih DL5 sacks
InterceptionsDamarion Williams CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Nelson Ceaser WDE★★★No. 463
Ke’Andre Street WR★★★No. 1194
Rodquice Chaney OT★★★No. 1284
Cam’Ron Johnson OT★★★No. 1284
Mannie Nunnery OLB★★★No. 1321

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.814
Running backs13.00.831
Receivers13.00.850
Offensive line43.00.836
Defensive line13.00.888
Linebackers13.00.846
Defensive backs13.00.843
Athletes and specialists12.00.787
Whole class112.90.836

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 3Josh Jones OTArizona Cardinals

Roster 113

The 2019 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Memphis7–⁠112–⁠217
Navy7–⁠111–⁠220
Cincinnati7–⁠111–⁠321
UCF6–⁠210–⁠324
SMU6–⁠210–⁠3
Temple5–⁠38–⁠5
Tulane3–⁠57–⁠6
Houston2–⁠64–⁠8
South Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
UConn0–⁠82–⁠10

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