1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

The 1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football bowl game that featured the Houston Cougars and the Auburn Tigers.

1969 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
Auburn Tigers Houston Cougars (8–2) (8–2) 7 36 Head coach:  Ralph Jordan Head coach:  Bill Yeoman AP Coaches 12 15 AP Coaches 17 16
1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 7 0 0 7 Houston 7 9 6 14 36
Date	December 31, 1969
Season	1969
Stadium	Astrodome
Location	Houston, Texas
MVP	HB Jim Strong (Houston)
Referee	Percy Penn (SWC; split crew: SWC, SEC)
Attendance	55,203
United States TV coverage
Network	HTN

Background

After two losses to Florida and Oklahoma State, the Cougars won eight straight games, including a perfect 5–0 record in the Astrodome, in their first bowl game since 1962. The Tigers finished third in the Southeastern Conference, after losses to #17 Tennessee and #9 LSU. This was their second straight bowl game.

Game summary

Auburn's Terry Beasley fumbled the opening kickoff and Houston safety Nick Holm recovered to set up a Houston opportunity three minutes into the game. Quarterback Gary Mullins scored on a touchdown plunge to make it 7–0. After Auburn punted the ball, Houston drove 70 yards in 14 plays, culminating with a Carlos Lopez 27-yard field goal to make it 10–0 in the beginning of the second quarter. After another Auburn punt, the Cougars scored again, highlighted by a 74-yard run by Jim Strong on first-and-10 at Houston's 16 to the Auburn 10. He scored on a touchdown plunge soon after. Auburn’s Mickey Zofko completed a 36-yard halfback option pass to Connie Frederick to make it 16–7 with 3:36 in the half. An 8- play, 71-yard drive was culminated by a Ted Heiskell touchdown run to make it 22–7 in the third quarter. With 11:48 remaining in the game, Houston scored again on a 12 yard touchdown run by Strong. With :35 seconds left, Rusty Clark threw a touchdown pass to Tommy Mozisek to make the final score 36–7. Jim Strong rushed for 184 yards on 32 carries.

Aftermath

Houston finished with a #12 ranking in the final AP Poll. The Cougars returned to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl two years later. The next bowl game for Auburn was the 1971 Gator Bowl, following the 1970 season.

Statistics

Statistics	Houston	Auburn
First downs	25	14
Rushing yards	376	25
Passing yards	140	188
Interceptions thrown	2	2
Total offense	516	189
Fumbles–lost	2–1	1–1
Penalties–yards	6–63	4–26
Punts–average	2–42.5	6–39.8