David Klingler sets an NCAA record with 6 TDs in a quarter

Klingler breaks another NCAA record

In the first-ever August game in school history, the 12th-ranked Houston Cougars destroyed Louisiana Tech 73-3 in the 1991 season opener. David Klingler threw for 510 yards and nine touchdowns, including an NCAA-record six TD passes in a single quarter.

After LaTech took an early 3-0 lead, Houston scored 73 unanswered points, including 42 in the second quarter. How crazy was his day? Klingler had 109 yards just on touchdown passes thrown in the second quarter, while Tech had 110 yards passing in the game.

“It was a lot of fun out there today,” Klingler said after the game. “We struggled early, but after a while, it was just a matter of them getting rundown with their pass rush and coverage.”

Six TDs in the 2nd quarter // The Sacramento Bee

Klingler’s record-setting day included three TDs each to John Brown III and Tracy Good, two to Freddie Gilbert, and a 6-yarder to Verlond Brown. Klingler ended the day 36 of 57 passing.

“You’ve never seen anything else like that,” LaTech safety Doug Evans said after the game. “People are all over the place, and when the quarterback has time to throw, you don’t know where he’s going to throw it.”

Linebacker Myron Baker agreed. “If he has the time, you don’t stand a chance. I don’t care who you are.”

The Cougars tied an NCAA record for the most TD passes against a Division I-A opponent with another TD pass from backup Donald Douglas. They tied the one Klingler and Andre Ware set against SMU in 1989.

It was the fourth-straight opener in which UH did not give up a touchdown, outscoring opponents 239-12. The 73 points were the most ever allowed by a Louisiana Tech team.

6 touchdowns in 25 plays

UH finished the game with 702 yards (Tech had 130) and did not have a scoring drive that lasted longer than 2 minutes, 49 seconds. The Cougars were now 15-1 in their last 16 games, winning by an average of 31 ppg.

But the end of the ride was coming. After a week off, UH traveled to Miami for a Thursday night game that sent the program into a tailspin.

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