The Houston Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter to score the final 10 points to beat No. 20 Texas A&M, 36-31, on October 13, 1990. Chuck Weatherspoon scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out with 20 seconds to play, the end of a 15-play, 95-yard drive.
The Aggies took a 17-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game as the Coogs went three-and-out on their first two drives. No. 12 Houston got on the board late in the first with a 14-yard pass from David Klingler to Manny Hazard.
After the Aggies scored early in the second quarter to make it 24-7, the Cougars went to work. A shovel pass to Spoon for 15, followed by a throw to the flat to Tracy Good for 14. Later in the drive, Weatherspoon ran for 14, then Klingler found Hazard for 12 to set up first and goal. Two Spoon runs and an INC set up fourth and goal at the one, which Spoon took and dove over the right side for a score. 24-14 Aggies.
Three of the next four drives end in turnovers before UH goes 44 yards for a FG and gets within a touchdown going to the break. A&M ran for 208 yards in the first half.
UH took the opening kick of the second half and marched down the field in 11 plays, before Klingler dove over the pile on 4th down to tie the game at 24.
A&M RB Robert Wilson fumbled on the next drive, Klinger threw an INT two plays later, and then Wilson fumbled again two plays after that. Good caught a 29-yard pass to set the Coogs up inside the Aggie 10, but UH had to settle for a field goal. Houston led for the first time, 27-24.
The Aggies scored on the second play of the 4th quarter to go up 31-27. On UH’s first play following the A&M touchdown, Klingler hit John Brown III for 51 yards. Brown was one of two John Browns on the 1990 team (in 1991, UH had three players named John Brown). Klingler then took a 13-yard sack, and UH kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 31-30.
The next five drives can only be described as bad football: UH jumped offsides on 3rd and 1 to give A&M an automatic first down, but Bucky Richardson threw an interception on the next play. After driving to A&M’s 35, UH has to burn a timeout, then Klingler fumbled untouched. After an Aggie punt, Houston took a delay of game on 3rd and 10 before Klingler fumbled again (UH recovered). The Coogs punted, and five plays later, Richardson threw his 3rd INT.
“We knew it would be a wild football game,” R.C. Slocum said afterward.
Pinned back at their own five-yard line, UH had just over five minutes to score. Before the first snap, the Coogs were called for illegal procedure, then Spoon ran for nine yards. Then another illegal procedure, and the Coogs are backed up to the six. Weatherspoon took the ensuing handoff and galloped for 30. After two incompletions, Klingler threw to Marcus Grant for 12 before finding Verleon Brown on the sideline for 21. After picking up a first down on a Klingler sneak, Spoon lost yardage on both first and second down. On 3rd and 15, Klingler was blitzed and threw a sidearm pass under the defender’s arm to Patrick Cooper, who took it 22 yards to the three.
“The ball was supposed to go to the other side, but David had to get the ball away,” Cooper said after the game.
On first and goal, Weatherspoon tried the left side on first down and picked up two yards. He was stopped for no gain on second down, before diving over the middle to get in on 3rd.
The UH bench exploded after UH went up 36-31, and the Coogs took a delay of game before going for two. The attempt failed. Houston went 95 yards in 15 plays in 4:52.
The Aggies got the ball back at their own 20, and Bucky Richardson hit a two-yard pass to the sideline. On second down, John W. Brown picked him off to seal it for the Coogs.
The teams combined for 11 turnovers, including eight by the Aggies. UH’s Kenny Perry picked off Richardson twice. Houston moved to 5-0 and vaulted into the top-10 after the win, its ninth in a row.
