On October 6, 1984, Houston won its Southwest Conference opener at Baylor, 27-17. It was the first of six conference wins en route to a conference title and the Cotton Bowl.
1984 was one of the craziest seasons in college football history. The Coogs won every road game in the SWC that season but lost back-to-back games at home. After starting the season 1-2 in out-of-conference games, the Cougars went to Waco to face the Bears.
Waco experienced a significant storm before the game, and the tunnel that the Cougars used to enter and exit the stadium was flooded. So the UH team had to go up to the concourse and descend through the fans at Floyd Casey Stadium.
Baylor took a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter, largely thanks to three UH fumbles. But UH rallied and took a 13-10 lead into the half. Baylor scored in the 3rd quarter to make it 17-10, but QB Gerald Landry and tight end Carl Hilton went to work.
Hilton caught passes of 16 and 39 yards – the latter for a touchdown – to retake the lead for good. Hilton ended the game with five catches for 116 yards.
“The big plays to the tight end just killed us,” Grant Teaff said after the game.
The UH defense caused six Baylor turnovers in the monsoon, including two interceptions by Baylor QB Cody Carlson. Carlson was sacked three times, the last of which forced him from the game.
In nine seasons in the SWC, Houston was now 7-1-1 in SWC openers.
Before Mike Wharton passed away in 2023, the former UH offensive lineman shared some memories of the Baylor game with GoCoogs:
