On this day in the year 2000, in the most Dana Dimel game of all time, UH ran up 558 yards of offense but had to hang on to beat Army, 31-30. The game was delayed for 24 minutes in the 2nd quarter when the lights on the east side of Robertson Stadium went out.
Houston trailed by 12 midway through the 4th quarter before a score moved the Coogs within five points. After a defensive stop, Jason McKinley threw a 9-yard touchdown on 4th and goal to put UH ahead with 1:17 left. After the two-point conversion failed, Army drove to the UH 15 to set up a 32-yard game-winning kick.
But safety Emile White got a piece of the kick to preserve the win. The Cougars won despite four turnovers, two of which were returned for scores. It was the first of 8 wins at UH for Dimel in his three seasons (the last coming after he was fired). Half of his wins came against Army and Memphis.
Against Army, McKinley was 29/47 for 336 yards while Brian Robinson caught 13 balls for 151 yards, including the game-winner. Joffrey Reynolds ran for 201 yards and scored 3 TDs.
UH records suggest it was just the third time in school history that a QB threw for 300 yards, a running back ran for 200, and a receiver had 100 yards. The other two times both involved Andre Ware and Chuck Weatherspoon in memorable wins: the 1988 Route 66 game with Texas and the 1989 95-21 win over SMU.
To have a 300/200/100 game and barely escape? That’s a Dana Dimel game. Case Keenum, Charles Sims, and Patrick Edwards would also do it against Tulane in 2011.
“The offensive line did a great job for me tonight,” Reynolds said beating Army. “We did a good job of mixing the run and the pass to keep the defense off-balance.
“This was a real confidence builder for us tonight.”
UH lost the next week to Texas, 48-0, and would only win two more games in the next 24 months.
Defensive end Lee Ingersoll missed the Army game after being bitten by a brown recluse. He spent seven days in the hospital with the injury.
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