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History on UH’s side for UCF matchup on Halloween

The spirit of Halloween was seen around TDECU Stadium as Shasta, Sasha and the Spirit of Houston band were all dressed in costumes during UH's game against Vanderbilt during the 2015 season. | File Photo

The spirit of Halloween was seen around TDECU Stadium as Shasta, Sasha and the Spirit of Houston band were all dressed in costumes during UH’s game against Vanderbilt during the 2015 season. | File Photo

UH will take on the Knights in a key game at TDECU Stadium on Halloween, and while Houston will have its hands full containing the strong, top-ranked UCF offense, history will be on the Cougars’ side.

For UH opponents, playing on Halloween has been a nightmare most of the time as the Cougars are 8-1 all-time on the spookiest date of the year.

A look at UH’s Halloween history

The first game that Houston played on Halloween was back in 1959. The Cougars were members of the Missouri Valley Conference and were only in their 13th season as a Division I football program.

UH defeated Tulsa 22-13 in this contest, which was in Oklahoma. While the Cougars finished 3-7 that season, they went 3-1 against conference opponents. Houston played against the Golden Hurricane on Halloween again in 1970. That was a 21-9 win for UH.

Houston played against TCU three times on Halloween all within a span of 11 years. The Horned Frogs are the only opponent to ever defeat the Cougars on this day, which came back in 1987.

TCU won the game 35-7 in front of over 25,000 people.

The final game on Halloween between the Cougars and Horned Frogs in 1992 was a 49-46 win for Houston, in what remains the highest-scoring game for UH on Oct. 31. The two teams combined for 95 points.

The last time that Houston played on Halloween was in 2015 when it beat Vanderbilt in a 34-0 shutout. The Cougars were the 18th team in the nation in the AP Poll entering the contest.

UH quarterback Greg Ward Jr. threw for 221 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for an additional 33 yards and another touchdown.

Houston has also played against East Carolina, South Florida and Southern Miss on Halloween.

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