Cotton Bowl

1977

Houston 30

Maryland 21

Houston Fight Song

With the 1976 season, Houston accomplished what few teams in the nation could ever hope for- join a major conference and in its first season, grab a share of the championship and play in a major bowl game. The 1977 Classic was the Cougars’ first New Year’s Day bowl game since 1952, and they made the most of it. Houston attacked the undefeated Terrapins relentlessly. By the time the first quarter had come to an end, the Cougars held a commanding 21-0 lead. No other team in Cotton Bowl history had rung up as many points in the opening period as had Houston. Yet, here were the Cougars, relative newcomers to all the festivities that go along with a major bowl appearance, and enjoying every minute of it, or at least the first 48.

Maryland was the 10th team in the Classic’s 41-year existence to appear in Dallas undefeated. The Terps were 11-0-0, and naturally, were eyeing a possible national championship as well as boosting the football image of the Atlantic Coast Conference. All the ingredients were there for a classic battle. With the exception of the first three quarters, that’s exactly what it turned out to be. The Cougars had trouble hanging onto the football all season long, and on their first possession, added yet another turnover to its list, as quarterback Danny Davis fumbled at his 36-yard line. This was the break the Terps had been hoping for, but things didn’t go as expected for them either. Moving to the UH 10, the Terps could go no further, called on Ed Loncar for the field goal, but the kick was wide. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Cougars quickly went to work, putting together drives of 80, 38, and 24 yards en route to their 21 first quarter points. Dyral Thomas got the first touchdown, rushing for 11 yards. Alois Blackwell then blazed 33 yards for the second score, set up by a blocked punt, and then came back two minutes later with a one-yard run to all but douse Maryland’s national championship plans.

By the time the contest had reached the start of the fourth quarter, the Cougars were in front, 27-14. Suddenly, momentum swung to the Terps, adding a bit of drama to what once looked like a Houston runaway. Aided by another UH fumble and quarterback Mark Manges’ pin-point passing, Maryland soon was back on the scoreboard, cutting the deficit to a mere six points, 27-21. It wasn’t a promising position for the Cougars, and two possessions later, things looked even worse. Houston was backed up deep at its own 11, faced with a must first down situation. Davis dropped back to pass and quickly was surrounded by a fierce Terp pass rush. But, he got the pass off and flanker Robert Lavergne made the most important catch of the season for the Cougars at the 24. It was a miracle pass and bailed Houston out of a very deep hole. From that point, the Coogs drove to their final score, a 28-yard Lennard Coplin field goal with only 18 seconds left to play.

 Maryland's Mark Manges.

Danny Davis led the way for the Cougars.

Mark Mohr (39) blocks Mike Sochko's punt to set up Coug's second score.

Yoeman was shocked when Manges grabbed him.  But, it was only to say, "Nice Game, Coach".

Blackwell got stopped a few times.

It was bitterly cold.

Attendance- 58,500

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
UH- Thomas 11 run (Coplin kick)
UH- Blackwell 33 run (Coplin kick)
UH- Blackwell 1 run (Coplin kick)

Second Quarter
UM- Manges 6 run (Loncar kick)
UH- Bass 33 pass from Davis (Coplin kick fail)

Third Quarter
UM- Sievers 11 pass from Manges (Sochko kick)

Fourth Quarter:
UM- Wilson 1 run (Sochko kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing
UM-  Scott 11-47, Manges 14-32, Wilson 9-28

UH- Blackwell 22-149,Thomas 14-104, Davis 21-51

Passing
UM- Manges 17-32-179
UH- Davis 5-8-108

Receiving
UM- Kinney 5-72, Wilson 5-26, Richards 3-39, Seivers 2-28, Scott 1-11
UH- Foster 3-62, Bass 1-33, Lavergne 1-13
 

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