1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
The 1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Houston Cougars and the Auburn Tigers.
Background
After two losses to Florida and Oklahoma State, the Cougars won 8 straight games, including a perfect 5-0 record in the Astrodome, in their first bowl game since 1962. As for the Tigers, they finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference, after losses to #17 Tennessee and #9 LSU. This was their 2nd straight bowl game.
Game summary
Auburn’s Terry Beasly fumbled the opening kickoff and Houston safety Nick Holm recovered to set up a Houston opportunity three minutes into the game. Quarterback Gary Mullins scored on a touchdown plunge to make it 7-0. After Auburn punted the ball, Houston drove 70 yards in 14 plays, culminating with a Carlos Lopez 27-yard field goal to make it 10-0 in the beginning of the 2nd quarter. After another Auburn punt, the Cougars scored again, highlighted by a 74 yard run by Jim Strong on first-and-10 at Houston's 16 to the Auburn 10. He scored on a touchdown plunge soon after. Auburn’s Mickey Zofko completed a 36-yard halfback option pass to Connie Frederick to make it 16–7 with 3:36 in the half. An 8 play, 71 yard drive was culminated by a Ted Heiskell touchdown run to make it 22–7 in the 3rd quarter. With 11:48 remaining in the game, Houston scored again on a 12 yard touchdown run by Strong. With :35 seconds left, Rusty Clark threw a touchdown pass to Tommy Mozisek to make the final score 36-7. Jim Strong rushed for 184 yards on 32 carries. [1]
Aftermath
Houston finished with a #12 ranking in the final AP Poll. The Cougars returned to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl two years later. Incidentally, the next bowl game for Auburn was also two years later, in the Gator Bowl.
Statistics
| Statistics | Houston | Auburn |
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| First Downs | 25 | 14 |
| Rushing Yards | 376 | 25 |
| Passing Yards | 140 | 188 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 2 | 2 |
| Total Offense | 516 | 189 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-63 | 4-26 |
| Punts-Average | 2-42.5 | 6-39.8 |
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References
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Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.
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