Also from 1997
Our dark era started way before 97. This was just a dark era with new friends
2 Likes
An argument can be made the dark era began 9/12/1991 with a 10-40 drubbing by Miami on national TV. They were ranked one more week after that, then un-ranked for many years to come. Jenkins followed that year with a 4-7 and then stepped down. Kim Helton took over and most of us know how that went.
8 Likes
This was my first intro to UofH football when in middle school. I switched full-time to the Oilers, I was so ticked off at the drubbing. Oilers redeemed the city with a nice win at Miami a month later 
I like this sideline clip of Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell (who I had no idea was also a UofH alum) - “UH will be a national power in a couple years”. I love that line.
That 4-7 record is misleading, mainly the result of the dark lord’s of the SWC and their literal stranglehold on the refs especially when it came to giving UH their just due for the national attention they were getting. Watch replays of the A&M and UT games from that year and you’ll see the most perverse application of objective reffing ever put forth on the gridiron. The UT game, at UT, featured Whorn receivers going obviously way out of bounds only to somehow make long touchdowns and completions while doing it. The Gaggie game had some type of obvious right in front of the refs flagrant penalty involving a field goal attempt that “somehow” went against UH, it may have been having to settle for a FG down st the goal line instead of the touchdown UH deserved. The video if you can find it doesn’t lie.
I was at that game.
It was AWFUL!!!
USC coach Clay Helton had a good long ball.
Ignacio Sauceda MVP
1 Like