Nov 27, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (1) attempts a pass during the fourth quarter against the Navy Midshipmen at TDECU Stadium. The Cougars defeated the Midshipmen 52-31. Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
All coachspeak aside, few expected Houston to be challenged by Texas State last week, and they were not. The Cougars had few problems with the Bobcats en route to a 64-3 victory.
This week? That’s another story. Though Connecticut is struggling early and is coming off a disappointing home loss to Syracuse, the Cougars are well aware of what the Huskies can do. Last season’s 20-17 UConn victory kept Houston from finishing the year unbeaten.
“We don’t have much to talk about, but I do believe that our returning players on our team are better than they were last season,” coach Tom Herman said. “We don’t see this game as a chance for redemption. This program has lost one football game since the beginning of December 2014, and we have had a lot of big games in that two-year time span. The only game we lost was to Connecticut, but we don’t focus on it. There is a bit of internal sense of liability, of atonement, to right some of the wrongs that occurred.”
That loss a year ago is the lone defeat Tom Herman has suffered at Houston.
“I don’t think about it much personally. I wasn’t going to go undefeated in my entire career,” Herman said. “It’s going to happen, and we learn from it.”
Every loss is a learning experience. For Herman, the defeat a year ago may help avoid a similar fate that could otherwise derail what looks to be a special season for the Cougars.
“I learned that we were very stubborn offensively in terms of our approach and trying to lean on the inside run game while knowing that was the strength of their defense,” Herman said. “I learned that teams get tired. That game came on the heels of a three game stretch of Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Memphis. Cincinnati and Memphis were hard fought down-to-the-wire games that took a lot out of our football team. UConn was coming off a bye week, and they were at home. I learned we have to be very mindful of the state of the team week to week in terms of their mental and physical exhaustion levels and take every step necessary to make sure they’re in peak mental and physical condition when the foot hits the ball on gameday.”
His players seem to have taken the message to heart.
“We’ve talked about how as an offense they outprepared us [last year],” senior tight end Tyler McCloskey said. “You can say what you want, we had guys hurt, but they outprepared and outplayed us. This week has been about how that will not happen again, and that we know how important every single rep is.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Greg Ward Jr. looked effective against Texas State before being pulled early to rest up for this week. The Huskies will look to attack Ward in the pocket and when he takes off as a runner, so avoiding hits is paramount. If he can stay on his feet, the Cougars should be able to move the ball.
–The legend of freshman wide receiver D’Eriq King continues to grow. He had a touchdown pass, a touchdown reception, and a 99-return kickoff return for a score against Texas State a week ago. King came to Houston as a quarterback and expected to redshirt; needless to say that’s not happening now.
–DL Ed Oliver is a big difference between last year’s squad and this one, which may be even more apparent on Thursday. Oliver has the talent to have his way with an inconsistent UConn line, and if he can wreak havoc it’s hard to see how the Huskies will be able to generate offense.
–RB Duke Catalon takes on extra importance this week with backup Mulbah Car on the sidelines. The Cougars still have backfield depth, but with Catalon himself battling injuries this season, he may be challenged by the increased workload this week.
