Former-Houston quarterback Case Keenum saw quite a bit of success in his final year at UH, though the year was marred by a single loss in the conference championship game. | File photo/The Cougar
The UH athletics program is one of the most storied in the country, boasting a long, rich history of signature moments, players and achievements. Over the course of the semester, The Cougar has been taking a look back at some of the marque seasons that made the program into what it is today. Now, we look back at the 2011 Cougar football team.
Following one of the most memorable seasons in the program’s history in 2009, the team was poised to build on its success in 2010.
The Cougars started strong, with back-to-back blowout wins at home, but the season quickly fell apart after that.
In their week three matchup against the University of California-Los Angeles, the Cougars lost record-breaking quarterback Case Keenum to an ACL tear early in the game and primary backup, Cotton Turner, suffered a fractured clavicle soon after.
Neither player returned that season and UH stumbled to a 5-7 finish.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin’s fourth season with the Cougars began with the chance for revenge, when the UCLA Bruins came to Robertson Stadium for the opening game.
Keenum, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility due to injuries, returned to the field in spectacular fashion, throwing for 310 yards and two scores while leading his team to a 38-34 win.
From there, the Cougars picked up where they left off to end 2009. Behind their high-powered offense, UH easily rolled through the season, finishing with a school-record 12 wins.
After defeating the University of Tulsa 48-16 in the final game of the regular season, UH was ranked seventh in the AP polls and earned the right to play No. 24 University of Southern Mississippi at home in the Conference USA Championship game the next week.
The stage was set for the Cougars. It was Keenum’s last home game and a final chance to make his case for Heisman Trophy bids.
The Cougars were also poised to impress a national-television audience and representatives from the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls.
In the weeks before the game however, speculation began to swell that Sumlin would soon leave the program to replace recently-fired Mike Sherman as head coach for nearby Texas A&M University, where he served as an offensive assistant from 2001-2002.
Sumlin denied the rumors and the players and staff insisted that it was business as usual in Houston, but when the Golden Eagles came to town, it was clear that the Cougars were off-kilter.
The Cougars came out flat to start the C-USA Championship and quickly found themselves in a 14-point deficit.
Keenum and the offense rebounded with two scoring drives to tie the game, but Southern Miss answered with a 69-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead, 21-14, heading into halftime.
After the break, the Cougars didn’t fare any better, giving up 21 points in the third quarter, and Southern Miss held on for the 49-28 victory.
There would be no BCS bowl game for the Cougars, just the familiar taste of a late-season letdown.
Making matters worse, Sumlin officially accepted the A&M job the following week.
The program was left in the hands of assistant head coach Tony Levine for the team’s match-up with Penn State University in the TicketCity Bowl.
After the disappointing loss, the Cougars closed out the 2011 season in domineering fashion with one of the best performances of Keenum’s career – a 532-yard, three touchdown sendoff.
The team came out on fire, jumping out to a 17-0 lead by the second quarter and coasted to a 30-14 win over the Nittany Lions.
Though things fell apart in the end, the Cougars did finish with a school best 13-1 record and a host of other accolades.
In his final year with UH, Sumlin received the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year award and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury earned National Offensive Coordinator of the Year honors.
Keenum broke several NCAA records with his final season’s performance, including career passing yardage (18,312), total offense (19,217), touchdown passes (150), total touchdowns (173), completions (1,460) and 300-yard games (37).
Although the 2011 season was one of the best in school history, it will always be remembered more for the one win the team didn’t get and a bitter taste of disappointment.
Your Keenum Stats are not correct good sir he had more total yards and 178 TDs…Mater of fact your story has a lot of holes and mistruths…Sumlin let the team know before the game and the announcers talked about him leaving before the game! If you actually watched the game you’d know…Please fact check before you do another story sir…I’d rip this story apart further but it’s not worth my time…