2020 Houston
3–5 (3–3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Dana Holgorsen. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat South Florida 56–21Nov 14
By 35 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Tulane 49–31Oct 8
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8 | vs Tulane | W 49–31 | 47% |
| Oct 16 | vs 15BYU | L 26–43 | 41% |
| Oct 24 | at Navy | W 37–21 | 34% |
| Oct 31 | vs UCF | L 21–44 | 40% |
| Nov 7 | at 6Cincinnati | L 10–38 | 18% |
| Nov 14 | vs South Florida | W 56–21 | 75% |
| Dec 12 | at Memphis | L 27–30 | 28% |
| Dec 24Bowls & playoff | vs Hawai’iNew Mexico Bowl | L 14–28 | 50% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 28–14 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).
Led the nationMarcus Jones: punt return average (19.8)
- Record
- 3–5
- Conference
- 3–3 6th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 240–256
- Coach
- Dana Holgorsen
- Elo
- 1479 −5 this season
- SP+ rating
- 3.3 No. 51 of 130; offense No. 40, defense No. 71
- Returning
- 78% of last season’s EPA, No. 33 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 82 roster talent No. 53 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Shannon Dawson and Brandon Jones
- Defensive coordinators
- Joe Cauthen and Doug Belk
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.11 | 43% | 1.25 | 65th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.18 | 40% | 1.47 | 90th of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.12 off 0.14 def | 43% off 40% def | — | 61st off 86th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.5 | own 29 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 3.6 | own 28 | 18% caused |
CORE rating 2.7, 58th of 127 (offense 1.1, defense -1.7).
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 yards | Clayton Tune QB | 2,048 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Clayton Tune QB | 15 TD |
| Rushing yards | Kyle Porter RB | 424 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Clayton Tune QB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Nathaniel Dell WR | 428 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Marquez Stevenson WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Grant Stuard LB | 61 tkl |
| Sacks | Payton Turner DL | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Hasaan Hypolite LB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Chidozie Nwankwo DT | ★★★ | No. 855 |
| Derek Bowman OG | ★★★ | No. 922 |
| Sofian Massoud ATH | ★★★ | No. 949 |
| Stacy Sneed RB | ★★★ | No. 995 |
| Dylan Robinson WR | ★★★ | No. 1167 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.844 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.7 | 0.829 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.835 |
| Whole class | 13 | 2.9 | 0.839 |
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 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 1 | Payton Turner DE | New Orleans Saints |
| Rd 6 | Marquez Stevenson WR | Buffalo Bills |
| Rd 7 | Grant Stuard OLB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Roster 119
The 2020 roster119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster
2020 American Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 6–0 | 9–1 | 8 |
 Tulsa | 6–0 | 6–3 | |
| Memphis | 5–3 | 8–3 | |
| UCF | 5–3 | 6–4 | |
 SMU | 4–3 | 7–3 | |
 Houston | 3–3 | 3–5 | |
| Navy | 3–4 | 3–7 | |
| Tulane | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
 East Carolina | 3–5 | 3–6 | |
 Temple | 1–6 | 1–6 | |
| South Florida | 0–7 | 1–8 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.