The Houston Cougars beat Texas Technological College 7-0 in 1955 thanks to a fourth-quarter goal-line stand by the Cougar defense.
UH scored in the first quarter on a short Jim Dickey pass to Ken Stegall. Stegall caught the ball in the flat, broke a tackle, and scored.
Just before halftime, Dickey pitched to Tommy Hall, who Tech defenders swarmed. Hall wisely pitched it back to Dickey, and he skittered down the sideline for 40 yards to the Tech 18. The Houston Chronicle reported that Dickey was knocked unconscious on the play and did not return to the game. UH was not able to score before the first half ended.
In the third quarter, UH drove down to the Tech two-yard line before fumbling a handoff. Tech then went 18 plays and 97 yards before the Coogs stopped them on the one. Late in the game, Tech put another drive together, moving to the Houston 27 with 38 seconds left, but Raider quarterback Jack Kirkpatrick threw four-straight incompletions.
Houston ended the season 6-4 in Bill Meek’s first year as head coach. Meek also beat Tech in Lubbock in 1956 and won the Missouri Valley Conference before leaving for SMU. UH went 5-3 vs. Tech in the 1950s.
1955 was Tech’s most recent outright conference title.
