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Houston–SMU rivalry

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Houston–SMU rivalry
Locations of Houston and SMU

The Houston–SMU rivalry is a college rivalry between the University of Houston Cougars and Southern Methodist University Mustangs.[1][2][3][4] When Houston joined the Southwest Conference in 1972, the two schools were conference mates until the conference dissolved in 1996. After a brief hiatus, SMU would join Conference USA in 2005 and the rivalry would continue when both schools moved to the American Athletic Conference in 2013 during the midst of 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment, where it intesified as they were they only two schools from Texas in the conference. Later, with Houston's move to the Big 12 Conference as a result of 2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment, the future of the rivalry was put in doubt.[5]

Football

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Houston–SMU football rivalry
SportFootball
Teams
First meetingSeptember 27, 1975
SMU 27, Houston 16
Latest meetingNovember 5, 2022
SMU 77, Houston 63
Next meetingTBD
Statistics
Meetings total37
All-time seriesHouston leads, 22–14–1
Largest victoryHouston, 95–21 (1989)
Longest win streakHouston, 6 (2006–2011)
Current win streakSMU, 1 (2022–present)
Football Comparison
Houston SMU
First Season 1946 1915
National Championships 0 3
Bowl Appearances 30 21
Bowl Wins 13 7
Conference Championships 11 12
Consensus All-Americans 10 16
Heisman Winners 1 1

Series history

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The first game took place on September 27, 1975, in Houston, Texas, and the two schools played each other with few interruptions until Houston departed for the Big 12 in 2023. As of the end of the 2023 season, Houston leads the series 22–14–1.[6]

Notable games

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November 26, 1983: The Mirage Bowl (in Tokyo, Japan) was the longest road trip for both teams in their history. A crowd of 70,000 watched as Lance McIlhenny led the Mustangs with two touchdown passes and along with the mistakes of the Cougars, helped SMU take a 34–12 victory.[7][8]

October 20, 1984: No. 6 SMU entered the game undefeated at 4–0 and looking for an easy win against the 3–2 Cougars. However, Houston would pull off the upset, handing the Mustangs an unlikely 29–20 loss and denying them a spot in the Cotton Bowl.[9]

October 21, 1989: SMU was playing in its first season back from the death penalty while Houston was coming off of a strong 9–3 campaign in 1988. However, Houston was hit with a two year bowl ban starting in 1989 for recruiting violations, so the Cougars were out for blood during the regular season. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware would throw for 517 yards, only playing in the first half. The Cougars would break a number of NCAA records, embarrassing the sanction-weakened Mustangs 95–21.[10]

November 19, 2011: In Houston's last home conference game of the season, they were selected to host College GameDay by ESPN in what would be the first ever appearance on the program for both schools.[11] Houston entered the week 10–0 and ranked No. 10/11 in the AP Poll and BCS while SMU were 6–4, having lost the week prior at home to Navy. During the broadcast, Olympic gold medalist and former Houston track & field star Carl Lewis was the guest picker and Lee Corso put on Shasta's headgear to indicate he predicted Houston to win the game.[12] Led by star quarterback Case Keenum, Houston would cruise to a 37–7 victory.[13]

October 22, 2016: The 2016 Houston team was picked by many experts to obtain the Group of Five's New Year's Six bowl bid, having only one close loss to Navy earlier in the season. However, the No. 11-ranked Cougars were upset by SMU 38–16, dropping them out of the AP Poll the following week. It was the Mustangs' first win over a ranked team since 2011.[14]

October 30, 2021: The 2021 match-up between the two schools would prove to be season changing. SMU entered the game ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll and undefeated at 7–0, while Houston had a 6–1 record, with their only loss coming in their first game of the season against Texas Tech. In the first quarter, Houston would take a 17–0 lead, fueled by two Clayton Tune touchdown passes to Nathaniel Dell. In the second and third quarters, SMU fought back and took a 34–30 lead. Houston reclaimed the lead early in the 4th quarter when Tune threw a short touchdown pass to KeSean Carter. The Mustangs tied the game 37–37 with 30 seconds remaining after a 46-yard field goal from Blake Mazza, but during the ensuing kickoff, Marcus Jones returned the ball 100 yards to win the game and pull off the upset.[15][4] The Cougars would go on to make the conference championship game (their only other loss that season) and finish with a 12–2 record and ranked No. 17 on the AP Poll, while SMU lost three of their remaining four games to end the season at 8–4.

November 5, 2022: In what would prove to be their last match-up as members of The American, Houston entered the season as favorites to win the conference, but had slumped to a 5–3 record while SMU were 4–4 under new coach Rhett Lashlee. The game would prove to be a high-scoring affair with a scoreline more common in basketball as SMU won 77–63. The combined 140 points broke the record for most points scored between two teams in an FBS football game in regulation, set six years earlier when Pittsburgh beat Syracuse 76–61.[16] Every point scored between both teams was a touchdown followed by an extra point, with SMU scoring on each of their first nine drives.[17]

Game results

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Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

Houston victoriesSMU victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 September 27, 1975 Houston, TX SMU 27 Houston 16
2 October 16, 1976 Dallas, TX #19 Houston 29 SMU 6
3 October 15, 1977 Houston, TX SMU 37 #19 Houston 23
4 October 21, 1978 Dallas, TX #11 Houston 42 SMU 28
5 October 20, 1979 Houston, TX #5 Houston 37 SMU 10
6 October 18, 1980 Irving, TX Houston 13 SMU 11
7 October 17, 1981 Houston, TX #10 SMU 38 Houston 22
8 October 16, 1982 Irving, TX #5 SMU 20 Houston 14
9 November 26, 1983A Tokyo, Japan #6 SMU 34 Houston 12
10 October 20, 1984 Irving, TX Houston 29 #6 SMU 20
11 October 19, 1985 Houston, TX SMU 37 Houston 13
12 October 18, 1986 Irving, TX #20 SMU 10 Houston 3
13 October 21, 1989 Houston, TX #16 Houston 95 SMU 21
14 October 20, 1990 University Park, TX #9 Houston 44 SMU 17
15 October 19, 1991 Houston, TX Houston 49 SMU 20
16 November 7, 1992 University Park, TX SMU 41 Houston 16
17 October 16, 1993 Houston, TX Tie28Tie28
18 October 15, 1994 University Park, TX Houston 39 SMU 33
19 October 21, 1995 Houston, TX Houston 38 SMU 15
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
20 September 30, 2000 Houston, TX Houston 17 SMU 15
21 November 19, 2005 Houston, TX SMU 29 Houston 24
22 November 11, 2006 University Park, TX Houston 37 SMU 27
23 November 4, 2007 Houston, TX Houston 38 SMU 28
24 October 18, 2008 University Park, TX Houston 44 SMU 38
25 October 24, 2009 Houston, TX #17 Houston 38 SMU 15
26 October 23, 2010 University Park, TX Houston 45 SMU 20
27 November 19, 2011 Houston, TX #11 Houston 37 SMU 7
28 October 18, 2012 University Park, TX SMU 72 Houston 42
29 November 29, 2013 Houston, TX Houston 34 SMU 0
30 November 28, 2014 University Park, TX Houston 35 SMU 9
31 October 8, 2015 Houston, TX Houston 49 SMU 28
32 October 22, 2016 University Park, TX SMU 38 #11 Houston 16
33 October 7, 2017 Houston, TX Houston 35 SMU 22
34 November 3, 2018 University Park, TX SMU 45 #17 Houston 31
35 October 24, 2019 Houston, TX #16 SMU 34 Houston 31
36 October 30, 2021 Houston, TX Houston 44 #19 SMU 37
37 November 5, 2022B University Park, TX SMU 77 Houston 63
Series: Houston leads 22–14–1[6]

Notes

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A 1983 Mirage Bowl
B 2022 Houston vs. SMU football game

Men's basketball

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Houston–SMU men's basketball rivalry
SportBasketball
Teams
First meetingMarch 16, 1956
SMU 89 – Houston 74
Latest meetingFebruary 16, 2023
Houston 80 – SMU 65
Next meetingTBD
Statistics
Meetings total92
All-time seriesHouston leads, 58–34
Largest victoryHouston, 95–55 (February 13, 1978)
Longest win streakHouston, 9 (February 11, 2006–February 13, 2010)
Current win streakHouston, 3 (February 27, 2022–present)

Series history

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Men's Basketball Comparison
Houston SMU
First Season 1945–46 1916–17
NCAA Final Fours 6 1
NCAA Tournament Appearances 25 12
Conference Championships 12 16
Conference Tournament Championships 8 3
Consensus All-Americans 7 2
Conference Player of the Year 7 11

Houston and SMU would meet three times in the NCAA Tournament before playing in a regular season game, first in 1972. Throughout their shared time in the Southwest Conference, the Cougars and Mustangs would meet seven times in the Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament, with SMU leading 4–3 in their meetings then. The teams have also been conference mates in Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference, meeting once each in the tournaments for each conference. As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Houston led the all-time series 58–34.

Notable games

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March 16, 1956: In the teams' first ever meeting, they first played at Allen Fieldhouse in the 1956 NCAA Sweet Sixteen. All-American Jim Krebs would score 27 points to lead the No. 7 Mustangs to victory 89–74 and an eventual Final Four.[18]

March 13, 1965: In the teams' second meeting, Houston and SMU met to play in the 1965 NCAA Regional third place Game. Behind 27 points from Carroll Hooser, the Mustangs would again pull out a win against the Cougars, 89–87.[19]

March 18, 1967: In their third meeting in the NCAA Tournament, a Final Four was on the line as the teams met in the 1967 NCAA Elite Eight. This time, fortune would favor the Cougars. Led by 31 points from Elvin Hayes, Houston would gain their first series win by a score of 83–75.[20]

January 16, 1982: In the first year of Phi Slama Jama, SMU visited No. 10 Houston and upset the Cougars 67–66. Houston would go onto the 1982 Final Four, while SMU finished with a 6–21 record on the season.

March 12, 1983: After beating the Mustangs twice in the regular season, Houston would meet SMU once again in the 1983 Southwest Conference tournament semifinals. Houston would maintain their winning streak against SMU, prevailing 75–59. Houston would go on to win the conference tournament and make an NCAA run before finally losing to NC State in the 1983 NCAA Finals.

March 3, 1985: With the days of Phi Slama Jama behind them, the tables turned in favor of SMU with the Mustangs beating No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 5 North Carolina during the 1984–85 season. The No. 13 Mustangs headed to Houston for their final regular season game, only to be handed a 79–76 upset loss.

February 1, 2016: No. 12 SMU seemed to be heading in the right direction under the leadership of coach Larry Brown, visiting the Cougars with a 19–1 record on the season and having already beaten them earlier in the year. Coach Kelvin Sampson would earn his first win against SMU, when the Cougars pulled the upset to win 71–68. It was the Cougars' biggest victory since January 1996, when they defeated No. 3 Memphis.[21]

Game results

[edit]

Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

Houston victoriesSMU victories
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 March 16, 1956A Lawrence, KS #7 SMU 89–74
2 March 13, 1965B Manhattan, KS SMU 89–87
3 March 18, 1967C Lawrence, KS #7 Houston 83–75
4 December 29, 1972 El Paso, TX #13 Houston 115–102
5 January 26, 1976 University Park, TX SMU 87–75
6 February 24, 1976 Houston, TX Houston 100–98
7 January 29, 1977 University Park, TX Houston 103–102
8 February 10, 1977 Houston, TX Houston 115–83
9 January 23, 1978 University Park, TX SMU 76–75
10 February 13, 1978 Houston, TX Houston 95–55
11 January 22, 1979 Houston, TX Houston 82–78
12 February 12, 1979 University Park, TX Houston 101–94
13 February 24, 1979D Houston, TX Houston 74–67
14 January 12, 1980 Houston, TX Houston 96–81
15 February 2, 1980 University Park, TX Houston 71–70
16 January 13, 1981 University Park, TX SMU 72–70 3OT
17 February 3, 1981 Houston, TX Houston 79–64
18 January 16, 1982 Houston, TX SMU 67–66
19 February 6, 1982 University Park, TX Houston 73–71 OT
20 January 8, 1983 Houston, TX #19 Houston 105–71
21 February 9, 1983 University Park, TX #6 Houston 85–68
22 March 12, 1983E Dallas, TX #1 Houston 75–59
23 January 4, 1984 University Park, TX #7 Houston 60–59
24 February 4, 1984 Houston, TX #6 Houston 76–57
25 January 30, 1985 University Park, TX #4 SMU 85–78
26 March 3, 1985 Houston, TX Houston 79–76
27 March 8, 1985F Dallas, TX #20 SMU 84–72
28 January 25, 1986 Houston, TX Houston 71–66
29 February 26, 1986 University Park, TX SMU 78–71
30 January 21, 1987 University Park, TX Houston 75–65
31 February 22, 1987 Houston, TX SMU 79–73
32 January 19, 1988 Houston, TX SMU 69–65
33 February 20, 1988 University Park, TX SMU 87–84
34 March 12, 1988G Dallas, TX SMU 98–76
35 January 21, 1989 University Park, TX Houston 84–83 OT
36 February 22, 1989 Houston, TX SMU 88–85
37 January 24, 1990 Houston, TX Houston 64–47
38 February 24, 1990 University Park, TX Houston 71–63
39 January 26, 1991 University Park, TX SMU 81–75
40 February 27, 1991 Houston, TX Houston 85–58
41 March 8, 1991H Dallas, TX SMU 65–62
42 February 5, 1992 Houston, TX Houston 67–50
43 March 7, 1992 University Park, TX Houston 69–62
44 March 13, 1992I Dallas, TX Houston 73–62
45 January 23, 1993 Houston, TX Houston 85–75
46 January 30, 1993 University Park, TX SMU 70–60
47 January 26, 1994 University Park, TX SMU 70–64
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
48 February 24, 1994 Houston, TX Houston 89–80
49 January 28, 1995 University Park, TX Houston 73–71
50 March 4, 1995 Houston, TX SMU 79–74
51 January 8, 1996 Houston, TX Houston 63–62
52 February 28, 1996 University Park, TX Houston 62–59
53 March 7, 1996J Dallas, TX SMU 62–57
54 November 27, 1999 Houston, TX SMU 94–80
55 December 17, 2000 University Park, TX SMU 94–69
56 February 11, 2006 Houston, TX Houston 69–57
57 January 13, 2007 Houston, TX Houston 82–67
58 February 7, 2007 University Park, TX Houston 64–49
59 January 16, 2008 University Park, TX Houston 99–71
60 February 16, 2008 Houston, TX Houston 69–47
61 February 11, 2009 University Park, TX Houston 69–56
62 March 7, 2009 Houston, TX Houston 89–77
63 March 11, 2009K Memphis, TN Houston 85–76
64 February 13, 2010 Houston, TX Houston 66–60
65 February 27, 2010 University Park, TX SMU 94–83
66 January 15, 2011 University Park, TX Houston 70–68
67 February 16, 2011 Houston, TX SMU 65–51
68 January 18, 2012 University Park, TX SMU 70–54
69 February 25, 2012 Houston, TX Houston 62–59
70 January 9, 2013 Houston, TX Houston 78–67
71 February 2, 2013 University Park, TX Houston 84–80 OT
72 January 26, 2014 Houston, TX SMU 75–68
73 February 19, 2014 University Park, TX SMU 68–64
74 March 13, 2014L Memphis, TN Houston 68–64
75 January 24, 2015 University Park, TX SMU 80–59
76 February 12, 2015 Houston, TX #25 SMU 75–69
77 January 19, 2016 University Park, TX #8 SMU 77–73
78 February 1, 2016 Houston, TX Houston 71–68
79 January 21, 2017 University Park, TX SMU 85–64
80 February 18, 2017 Houston, TX #19 SMU 76–66
81 February 8, 2018 Houston, TX Houston 67–58
82 February 28, 2018 University Park, TX #25 Houston 69–56
83 January 16, 2019 University Park, TX #21 Houston 69–58
84 March 7, 2019 Houston, TX #12 Houston 90–79
85 January 15, 2020 Houston, TX Houston 71–62
86 February 15, 2020 University Park, TX SMU 73–72 OT
87 January 3, 2021 University Park, TX #5 Houston 74–60
88 January 31, 2021 Houston, TX #6 Houston 70–48
89 February 9, 2022 University Park, TX SMU 85–83
90 February 27, 2022 Houston, TX #14 Houston 75–61
91 January 5, 2023 Houston, TX #2 Houston 87–53
92 February 16, 2023 University Park, TX #2 Houston 80–65
Series: Houston leads 58–34

[22]

Notes

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A 1956 NCAA basketball tournament
B 1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
C 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
D 1979 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
E 1983 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
F 1985 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
G 1988 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
H 1991 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
I 1992 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
J 1996 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
K 2009 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
L 2014 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Duarte, Joseph (October 26, 2017). "Rivalry confirmed: SMU places billboard a mile from UH campus". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Duarte, Joseph (October 23, 2019). "A new chapter in UH-SMU rivalry set for Thursday". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "UH rivalries you should know about". The Daily Cougar. August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Coleman, Scott (October 31, 2021). "Houston wins I-45 rivalry game with 44–37 upset of No. 19 SMU". Hill Country News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Rudolph, Justin (July 16, 2023). "Dana Holgorsen addresses possibility of Houston–SMU rivalry returning". On3. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b "Winsipedia - Houston Cougars vs. SMU Mustangs football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "S.M.U. Turns Back Houston in Tokyo". New York Times. November 28, 1983.
  8. ^ "Pony Express goes to Japan in 1983". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Houston Tops Rice, Gains Cotton Bowl". New York Times. December 2, 1984.
  10. ^ Andrew Nostvick (October 6, 2017). "Remember When: Houston Dropped 95 on SMU in the Astrodome". The Open Man.
  11. ^ Godfrey, Steven (November 18, 2011). "Houston Vs. SMU: ESPN Gameday Makes Their First-Ever Visit To UH". SB Nation. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ O'Gara, Connor (February 17, 2022). "Chris Fowler tells the backstory of when Lee Corso dropped an F-bomb on College GameDay". Saturday Down South. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Houston 37–7 SMU". ESPN. November 19, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Kirshner, Alex (Oct 22, 2016). "Tom Herman made fun of SMU. Months later, SMU shocked Houston by 22 points". SB Nation.
  15. ^ Selbe, Nick (October 30, 2021). "SMU Suffers First Loss on Last-Minute Kick Return TD by Houston". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Record-Setting Night for Mordecai, SMU as Mustangs Win 77-63 Shootout With Houston". The American. November 5, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Duarte, Joseph (November 7, 2022). "Dana Holgorsen on Houston's defensive debacle vs. SMU: 'I don't think that's who we are'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Southern Methodist vs. Houston Box Score, March 16, 1956". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  19. ^ "Southern Methodist vs. Houston Box Score, March 13, 1965". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "Southern Methodist vs. Houston Box Score, March 18, 1967". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  21. ^ Bill Nichols. "Nichols: Raucous crowd wills Houston to overcome 11-point deficit, upset No. 12 SMU". Dallas News. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "Matchup Finder". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2019-12-28.