SMU receiver Cole Beasley gets tackled by Houston defensive back Loyce Means, left, and linebacker Phillip Steward during last year’s game against Houston at Ford Stadium. (Michael Danser/The Daily Campus)

After a tough loss last weekend to Navy, the SMU football team is headed to Houston to take on No. 11 ranked team, the UH Cougars.

During their last meeting for SMU’s 2010 Homecoming game, the Mustangs were unable to hold back the Cougars.

Despite the Mustangs outgaining Houston with 445 yards as opposed to UH’s 397 yards, SMU suffered a 45-20 loss.

The teams met with an identical 3-1 record in the conference on Gerald R. Ford Stadium and left in a tied position for the top spot of the C-USA Western Division.

Zach Line finished the game with a total of 106 rushing yards while then starting quarterback Kyle Padron threw 318 yards and two touchdowns for SMU.

However, the Mustangs effort wasn’t enough to overcome the Cougars.

In the third quarter, SMU came the closest they would get to Houston, after Padron completed a 29-yard scoring pass to Cole Beasley to narrow the score 24-17.

Killing SMU’s momentum, Houston receiver Tyrone Carrier returned the next kick off for a 91-yard touchdown to restore the Cougars lead to two touchdowns.

SMU will go into the 2011 match with a 6-4 overall record and 4-2 in Conference USA, while Houston is undefeated for the season with a clean 10-0 record. With an average of 54.7 points a game, the Cougar offense is sure to provide a challenge for SMU’s defensive players. Houston has scored 73 points in two games as well as over 40 points in all but three games.

However, the season shows that it could be either teams game as UH has played many teams in the bottom of C-USA and SMU has faced off with top C-USA contenders such as Southern Miss and previous conference champions UCF and Navy.

ESPN College Gameday will be joining SMU and Houston at Robertson Stadium on Saturday at 9 a.m. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m and will air on Fox Sports Network.