The 1979 Houston Cougars won the SWC and were hoping to defend their title in 1980. The 1980 SMU Mustangs were in the clear midst of Ron Meyer’s epic rebuild. The two teams met October 18, 1980, and a “trick play” saved the Cougars on the road.
Tied at three in the third quarter Houston Terald Clark fumbled the ball at the SMU 20 the ball bounced until Houston receiver Eric Herring tried to recover it but instead knocked it to the three-yard line. Fellow Cougar Lonell Phea made his first attempt at a recovery, only to knock the ball into the end zone. Phea finally fell on the ball for the Cougars only touchdown, and a two-point win. Houston’s defense picked off SMU’s Mike Ford four times to preserve the outcome.
Slander! This article mentions the UH/SMU 95-21 game in 1989. He mentions my pushups in the first half, but goes on to claim I gave up in the second. For shame! I will be contacting
my legal representative post haste!
"Houston also set seven SWC records, including most push-ups by a team mascot. At each game, after each Houston touchdown, Cougar-suited Jason Lee flops down on the sideline and does the same number of pushups as points on the scoreboard.
Saturday, Lee did 682 pushups. Naturally, that also broke the record of 567, which was set last year by his predecessor, Mike Pede, in an 82-28 victory over Tulsa."
If you would have stopped after the 1st half, you would have only done 279 push-ups for the day. UH scored 59 points in the 1st half.