Former-Cougar Head Coach Jack Pardee piloted UH through the “Run and Shoot” offense, which helped the Coogs and quarterback Andre Ware break records and rack up wins in the historic 1989 season. | Courtesy of Houstonian, 1990
The University of Houston athletics program boasts a long, rich history of signature moments, players and achievements.
Over the next few weeks, the Cougar staff will be taking a look back at some of the marque seasons that made the program into what it is today.
The first season in the spotlight is the 1989 season for the Cougar football team, best known for the high-flying “Run and Shoot” offense that powered quarterback Andre Ware to a Heisman Trophy.
Under third-year head coach Jack Pardee, the 44th season of UH football turned out to be one of the most memorable in school history despite lackluster expectations entering the season.
The 1988 team finished with a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Aloha Bowl, but NCAA probation from the recruiting violations that marred the end of the Bill Yeoman era meant no television appearances for one year and no bowl games for two seasons.
It seemed as though the Coogs would not be a part of the national picture in 1989, but what they did offensively was impossible for the sports world to ignore.
Right out of the gate, the Cougars proved that they were something special, hammering the University of Nevada-Las Vegas 69-0 in the season opener.
From there, the offensive stats got ridiculous for Ware: 503 passing yards against Arizona State, seven touchdown passes and 413 yards against Temple, 514 yards and six TDs against Baylor and 517 yards and six touchdowns in a 95-21 demolition of a young Southern Methodist University squad.
The team was far from perfect, with losses to both Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas, but ended strong with four straight wins, including those over the University of Texas and rival Rive University.
Overall, the Cougars finished with a 9-2 record and were ranked 14th nationally in the AP poll.
Along the way, the team gained national attention while setting nearly 100 NCAA, Southwest Conference and school records.
Two of those records may never be broken: Ware’s 517 passing yards in just one half against SMU and their season average of 624.9 total yards per game, which is still No. 1 in FBS history.
They also became the first FBS team to have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season.
Receiver Manny Hazard set the NCAA record for most receptions in a season that year with 142, and running back Chuck Weatherspoon set the record for highest yards-per-carry in a season with a 9.6 average.
Much of the attention went to Ware however, who finished the season with 4,699 yards, 46 touchdowns and tied or broke 27 NCAA records of his own, while also becoming the first black quarterback to win the Heisman.
In the aftermath of their remarkable season, Pardee was hired as head coach of the Houston Oilers and seven players were taken in the 1990 draft, including Ware, taken seventh by the Detroit Lions in the draft.
The performance of the 1989 team elevated the football program to a new level of national recognition and helped usher in the explosion of passing offenses in college football.
