Six-Game Home Schedule Greets Briles in 2003
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 7, 2003
The Art Briles Era at the University of Houston officially begins on August 30, when the Cougars face Rice in the annual Administaff Bayou Bucket battle at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium, while 2002 Conference USA champion TCU, as well as bowl participant Southern Miss and the SEC's Mississippi State, also dot the home slate for the Cougars, as the 2003 schedule was released today.
Also, for the first time since 2001, the Cougars will have a nationally-televised contest, as Houston will share the ESPN spotlight with East Carolina in Greenville on either September 30 or October 1.
"I think our schedule is a good one for us," commented UH Director of Athletics Dave Maggard. "We are pleased to have at least one game on national television, and all-in-all we're pleased to have the Conference USA schedule complete at such an early date, which gives us an early start to plan our season ticket campaign.
"Having the schedule this early will aid us in selling season tickets, and more importantly, selling out the Rice game."
In addition to the home dates with TCU (October 25), Southern Miss (November 8) and Mississippi State (September 20), the Cougars also will play host to Memphis (October 18) and UAB (November 29) to round out there six-game home schedule. UH will make road trips this year to Michigan (September 6), Louisiana-Lafayette (September 13), Tulane (October 11), Army (November 15) and Louisville (November 22).
For the fifth straight season the Cougars will open the year with the crosstown clash against the Owls. Last season UH snapped a two-game losing streak in the series with a 24-10 victory at Rice Stadium. The Cougars also will look to extend winning streaks against Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Army and Louisville; teams defeated last season when Houston finished 5-7.
The first road game of the year takes the Cougars into the hostile confines of "The Big House," when Houston battles Michigan in Ann Arbor in front of 107,501 at Michigan Stadium. It will be the third meeting between the two schools and the first since 1993, when the Wolverines defeated the Cougars, 42-21. This is the first battle against a Big Ten foe for the Cougars since falling to Minnesota, 14-7, in 1998.
After a road trip to UL Lafayette--a team the Cougars have defeated five consecutive times--Houston renews an old rivalry when Mississippi State invades Robertson Stadium to close out the month of September. The series is knotted at 6-6, but the last time the two teams faced one another was in 1972, when the Bulldogs prevailed, 27-13, in Starkville. Between 1960 and 1972 the Cougars and Bulldogs faced one another 11 times.
The road to the Conference USA championship begins indeed on the road for the Cougars, as the nationally-televised contest with East Carolina kicks off eight consecutive league contests. After the ECU game, the Cougars must travel to Tulane, the 2002 winner of the Con-Agra Hawaii Bowl. Finally, UH returns home for two straight contests, playing host to Memphis and the league-champion Horned Frogs, who not only won the C-USA crown, but also dismantled Colorado State in the Liberty Bowl.
The final month of the year begins with an open date for UH, before embarking on a stretch of four games to conclude the year. After a one year hiatus, the Cougars will face Southern Miss again, this time taking on the Golden Eagles at home on November 8, followed by back-to-back road games against Army and Louisville greet the Cougars. The 2003 regular season ends with a home clash against UAB on November 29.
In the eight-game league schedule, the Cougars will not face either Cincinnati or South Florida, who officially joins C-USA this season.
Now that the 2003 schedule is complete, Cougar fans can expect to receive season ticket applications within the month.
2003 Houston Cougar Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | TIME |
| AUG. 30 | RICE | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 6 | Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | TBA |
| Sept. 13 | UL Lafayette | Lafayette, La. | TBA |
| SEPT. 20 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 27 | OPEN | ? | ? |
| Sept. 30/Oct. 1 | *East Carolina (ESPN) | Greenville, N.C. | TBA |
| Oct. 11 | *Tulane | New Orleans, La. | TBA |
| OCT. 18 | *MEMPHIS | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | TBA |
| OCT. 25 | *TCU | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | TBA |
| Nov. 1 | OPEN | ? | ? |
| NOV. 8 | *SOUTHERN MISS | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | TBA |
| Nov. 15 | *Army | West Point, N.Y. | TBA |
| Nov. 22 | *Louisville | Louisville, Ky. | TBA |
| NOV. 29 | *UAB | JOHN O'QUINN FIELD | TBA |
*--Indicates Conference USA game
BOLD CAPS indicates home contests played in John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium
All Times listed as CT.