In Houston’s first year in the Southwest Conference, the Cougars hammered Texas 30-0 at Memorial Stadium in Austin. Known as the Dad’s Day Massacre, the blowout ended the Longhorns’ 42-game home winning streak. It was the last time Texas was shut out in Austin, a streak currently standing at 288 games.
Houston’s first score came thanks to a 17-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. The Cougars converted two fourth downs and took nearly seven minutes off the clock before quarterback Danny Davis found Alois Blackwell on what the play-by-play calls a “late pitch to Davis’ wide right, perfect timing as he goes 4 for HOUSTON TOUCHDOWN.”
A late field goal made it 10-0 at the half.
Out of the break, the Cougars thoroughly dominated the final 30 minutes, scoring on four of their first five drives (with a missed FG attempt).
Texas fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and UH recovered. The Cougars got to the one-yard line before settling for a field goal. After a Longhorn punt, the Cougars went 14 plays but again had to kick. Another quick UT punt and the Coogs then went 11 plays for a touchdown. Wilson Whitley caught a fumble in mid-air on the next Texas possession, but the Cougars missed a field goal. UT went three-and-out again. Starting from their own 20, Houston started ripping off big chunks. On third-and-six, QB Danny Davis went left, broke into the open field, and scored from 28 yards away. The kick made it 30-0.
The Cougars ran for 194 yards in the second half while controlling the clock for 24 of the final 30 minutes.
Texas finished the game with just 24 yards rushing and 121 total yards. Defensive linemen Vincent Greenwood, Guy Brown, Ross Echols, Melvin Jones, Robert Oglesby, and Wilson Whitley formed an iron wall that blew up UT’s wishbone.
“We felt we could beat them this badly,” Wilson Whitley said. “Their winning streak didn’t scare us. We wanted to be the ones to break it.”
The Austin media couldn’t believe a great player like Whitley didn’t choose UT. Pressed about it further, Whitley patiently explained his reasoning.
“I never even considered coming to Texas. I made a wise decision to go to Houston, and I’ve waited to show these people at Texas that I’m as good as any defensive tackle in this league,” Whitley said. “My only year to get to play in the Southwest Conference, and I’m glad to be part of a great team like we have.”
The crowd of 77,809 (the largest crowd at Memorial Stadium at the time) never saw UT enter the red zone. The Mad Dog Defense forced four fumbles (three recovered) and intercepted two UT passes. Johnny ‘Lam’ Jones, who had won a gold medal in the ’76 Summer Olympics before entering UT as a freshman, ran for 22 yards on 14 carries.
“Houston whipped up on everybody that year. They came in and terrorized the conference,” Jones remembered. “Wilson Whitley won the Lombardi Trophy that year, but it wasn’t just him. Their whole team was really good. They were tough.”
Until a 24-0 loss at Iowa State in 2015, it was UT’s most recent shutout anywhere. The 42-game home winning streak stretched back nine seasons, but when asked about it, Coach Bill Yeoman was unfazed.
“We have played in most of the great mythical stadiums. We’ve been between the hedges in Georgia. We’ve been in Oxford, Mississippi, and East Lansing, Michigan. And our players realize that no bleacher, no wall, no grandstand seat is going to come out and make a tackle. When you have this level of understanding, you just go out and play a football game.”
In the other locker room, Darrell Royal was blunt. “We weren’t in the game today ever at any point, he said following the loss. “We were totally dominated. There is not much reason for us to play this poorly.
“We felt UH had a better team coming into the game, but we thought we had a shot at winning the game. I am embarrassed it was by that margin.”
Royal would retire at the end of the season, having gone 0-1-1 against Yeoman.
Photo Gallery: Houston 30, Texas 0
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