1951 Houston Cougars football team

The 1951 Houston Cougars football team was an American football team that represented the University of Houston in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1951 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach Clyde Lee, the team compiled a 6–5 record, finished fourth in the MVC, and defeated Dayton in the 1952 Salad Bowl. Gene Shannon, John O'Hara, and Buck Miller were the team captains.^[1] The team was ranked at No. 63 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.^[2]

1951 Houston Cougars football
Salad Bowl champion
Salad Bowl, W 26–21 vs. Dayton
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	6–5 (2–2 MVC)
Head coach	Clyde Lee (4th season)
Captains	Gene Shannon John O'Hara Buck Miller
Home stadium	Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1950 1952 →

1951 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tulsa $	4	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Drake	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Oklahoma A&M	3	–	2	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Houston	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Detroit	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wichita	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Bradley	0	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	No. 13 Baylor*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 0–19	55,000–60,000	[3]
September 28	at Detroit	University of Detroit Stadium Detroit, MI	W 33–7	13,521	[4]
October 6	Texas Tech*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	W 6–0	15,000–24,000	[5]
October 13	at Tulsa	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 27–46	14,651–15,000	[6][7]
October 20	Hardin–Simmons*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 35–27	15,000	[8]
October 27	Villanova*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 27–33	15,000	[9]
November 3	at Wichita	Veterans Field Wichita, KS	L 14–19	5,676	[10]
November 10	at Louisville*	duPont Manual Stadium Louisville, KY	L 28–35	2,500–3,000	[11][12]
November 24	Oklahoma A&M	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 31–7	12,500	[13]
November 30	at North Texas State*	Eagle Field Denton, TX	W 20–14		[14]
January 1, 1952	vs. Dayton*	Montgomery Stadium Phoenix, AZ (Salad Bowl)	W 26–21	17,000	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game