2011 UH Cougar Watch-High Stakes Bayou Bucket Battle

For only the third time in the football playing history of the University of Houston we've gotten off to a 7-0 start after last weekend's C-USA blowout of the Marshall Thundering Herd 63-28.

But now we play a C-USA West Division game against our crosstown rivals the Rice Owls for bragging rights and the Bayou Bucket trophy. .

Despite the fact the football series only started in 1971 when UH joined the Southwest Conference, it has some history.  Cougar fans haven't forgotten that Rice beat us 14-13 in Bill Yeoman's last game as UH's head coach in 1986.  Andre Ware's 1989 team lit up Rice 64-0 before he picked up the Heisman Trophy the next week . The last SWC football game was played between Rice and UH in 1995 which we won 18-17.   

Despite the fact that UH has a 25-10 record against the Owls in this Bayou Bucket series, Rice has a maddening habit of ruining our best laid football plans.  In addition to them beating us last year 34-31 at Rice Stadium to reclaim the Bucket after the Cougars barbecued them 73-14 enroute to the 2009 C-USA championship game, there was a more upsetting 52-45 loss in 2008 that cost us the C-USA West Division title and a chance to go to the C-USA title game that year.

The Bayou Bucket game is moving to a neutral site at Reliant Stadium for the next two years, so my fave college football team is going to go into this game knowing that the Owls will fight, scrap, claw and try to do everything it can over that 60 minutes to walk out of Robertson Stadium with the Bayou Bucket still in their possession.

If they can knock us out of the unbeaten ranks and ruin a potentially special season for us, so much the better for their ability to rub our noses in it. 

The Coogs will do everything possible to protect the Rob, their rankings in the BCS, AP and coaches polls, bring that trophy back to Cullen Blvd where it belongs and get to 8-0 and 4-0 in the C-USA West Division.

Should be fun to watch.