It’s Dec. 2, 1990, and the Cougars are in Tokyo to take on the Arizona State University Sun Devils in the Coca-Cola Classic.
Cougar quarterback David Klingler is coming off a performance against Eastern Washington University in which he set an NCAA record by throwing for 11 touchdowns in a 84-21 blowout.
Thousands of miles from Houston, Klingler made another huge showing to cap off his already-stellar season.
“I don’t like close games,” Klingler said after the matchup. “I’d like to just go out there and get it over with quickly, but they forced us to keep scoring.”
Needing to keep pace with ASU, he threw 716 passing yards, an NCAA record that is the highest yardage mark for a game until 2014 when Washington State University quarterback Connor Halliday narrowly breaks it.
Klingler completed 41 of his 70 passes and iced the game with a 95-yard touchdown pass to Cougar receiver Emmanuel Hazard.
In addition to the passing-yards record, Klinger’s seven touchdown passes gave him an NCAA record of 54 for the 1990 season.
The 62-45 win finished the Cougars’ season at 10-1 as they weren’t bowl-eligible due to NCAA violations. Klingler went on to place fifth in Heisman Trophy voting that year.
Klingler finished his career in Houston with 9,430 yards passing, with 91 touchdowns to just 38 interceptions. The Cincinnati Bengals selected him as their sixth pick in the 1992 NFL draft.
The record-setting quarterback had his No. 7 jersey retired during the football team’s game against the University of Louisville on Nov. 17.
