Houston ranked as the No. 22 team in college football prior to Saturday’s game against West Virginia. The crowd was practically nonexistent.
Absolutely nobody showed up to watch the Cougars play despite their ranking.
To be fair, it’s not like the University of Houston is the most prominent brand in college football. That still does not excuse the lack fans in the stands.
Houston is ranked in the top 25!
The Cougars entered the weekend with a real shot to make the Big 12 Championship and the College Football Playoff at 7-1. Their only loss of the season was to the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, who are expected to compete for a national title.
However, Houston essentially needed to win out to have a chance.
That started with a win against West Virginia at home on Saturday. From there, the Cougars travel to Orland to face UCF, host TCU and finish out the season at Baylor.
You can’t go 4-0 without going 1-0. And the home field advantage certainly helps.
There was only one problem…
The crowd was nonexistent.
TDECU Stadium holds a maximum capacity of 42,822 fans, a record set on Nov. 17, 2016. Houston announced a total fan attendance of 25,049 on Saturday.
The real number was likely less than half. Maybe 15,000. Maybe.
Here was how it looked during the national anthem:
The student section just… didn’t show up.
I know the University of Houston is a commuter school. I know it was an 11:00 a.m. kickoff.
That does not excuse the lack of fan attendance for a conference game. That certainly does not excuse the lack of fan attendance for the No. 22-ranked team in college football.
Maybe a larger crowd would’ve willing the Cougs to victory.