Any fan of the Houston Cougars should have their cardiologist’s phone number on speed dial. The Cougars aren’t for the faint of heart.
Their season so far has been captivating, tantalizing, and frustrating all in one.
Nationally ranked to begin the season, Houston was also a trendy pick by many to win the American Athletic Conference (although not by this reporter who felt this remains Cincinnati’s title until somebody takes it away).
The Cougars had everything in their favor – a top returning quarterback in Clayton Tune to go with a veteran contingent. Houston was coming off a 12-2 season in which it lost to Cincinnati, 35-20 in the AAC title game but rebounded for a 17-13 win over Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl. And this year there was a major break by not having to face Cincinnati during the AAC regular season.
It appeared that Houston dodged a major bullet with an opening 37-35 triple overtime win over future AAC member UTSA in San Antonio.
The Cougars showed some real fight, rallying from a 14-point second-half deficit.
Then all the momentum evaporated the next week in a 33-30 double-overtime loss at Texas Tech. Houston again started sluggishly, trailing 17-3 at the half. For the game, Houston committed 11 penalties for 121 yards, not the easiest obstacle to overcome.
That was followed by Houston’s only game decided by more than one touchdown – a 48-30 home loss against future Big 12 foe Kansas.
The Cougars didn’t help their cause by trailing 28-14 at halftime.
Notice a trend here in the first halves?
Houston showed some spunk in a 34-27 win at Rice. The Cougars trailed 27-24 early in the fourth quarter before scoring the game’s final 10 points against another future AAC team.
Houston then lost a 27-24 overtime home game to Tulane in their AAC opener. In that game Houston trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter, then led by seven, but saw the game go into overtime after Tulane scored on a 3-yard pass with 39 seconds left in regulation, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
Then the Cougars rebounded for a 33-32 win at Memphis in a crazy comeback. Memphis extended its lead to 32-19 lead on a field goal with just 3:42 remaining. Tune hit KeSean Carter on a 13-yard scoring pass to cut the lead to 32-26 with 1:17 left. The Cougars then recovered an onside kick and tied the score on Tune’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Carter with 18 seconds left and won it on Kyle Ramsey’s PAT.
That was a true gut-check win, and now it will be interesting to see if the momentum can carry over.
The Cougars had a bye last week and maybe coach Dana Holgorsen worked on getting his team out of the proverbial gate a little quicker. This year Houston has been outscored 97-48 in the first half.
What has saved the Cougars is their play in the fourth quarter (in most games) where they have outscored teams, 80-34.
With three losses already, Houston likely won’t be heading to a New Year’s Six Bowl game, but believe it or not, the Cougars remain in contention for the AAC title game, if not the title itself. At 1-1 in the AAC, Houston surely has its work cut out, especially since Tulane (3-0), Cincinnati (2-0), and UCF (2-0) are the three unbeaten teams.
This week’s trip at Navy (2-4, 2-2) comes against a team that is just as familiar with playing things close to the vest. Navy has lost two games by a touchdown (including one to FCS Delaware), won a 23-20 double overtime decision against East Carolina, and before losing 13-10 to Air Force the next week.
Dealing with Navy’s triple option is never a fun endeavor for any opposing defense. So it’s anybody’s guess which Houston team, or for that matter, which Navy squad will show up.
One thing is for sure – if the current pattern holds up, this one likely won’t be decided until late in the game, another potential cardiology alert special.
