UH may be great

If UH can add consistency and depth to the mix, a lot of victories loom on horizon

A couple of things were obvious in UH’s 45-18 victory over Arizona on Saturday.

The Cougars’ offense works. It’s quick, efficient and challenging for opposing defenses.

The defense can be smothering. It can make big stops consistently and keep offenses on their toes.

UH is good. In fact, the Cougars could be really good.

But for the second week in a row, UH’s strengths only really showed in one half.

Against Rice, the Cougars had a stellar second half to come back and beat their crosstown rival 45-27. Against Arizona, it was a strong first half that put them so far ahead that it didn’t matter much when they didn’t look nearly as sharp in the second.

If UH can put the first half from Saturday and the second half from the week before together moving forward, the Cougars are going to be a very tough team to beat.

Consistency and depth are needed, but should both become part of the Cougars’ repertoire, watch out for UH.

Those aren’t things Major Applewhite and his staff can work to produce. It takes time and experience. There’s plenty of time left this season and there’s no reason the Cougars can’t keep improving every week.

It’s good to be King

On Saturday, in front of its home crowd for the first time, UH came out swinging. Quarterback D’Eriq King is a star emerging before our very eyes.

The up-tempo offense is exciting. The game moves quickly and keeps spectators engaged, and King runs the offense to perfection.

UH led 21-0 before the first quarter ended. After all the running, scoring and celebrating, the Cougars looked peppy and ready for more.

Arizona looked lost, hot and tired.

There were two Heisman Trophy contenders in the game — Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate and UH defensive lineman Ed Oliver.

In the first half, Tate tweaked his ankle. As a result, he never quite looked like himself. On the flip side, Oliver made his presence known, anchoring a defense that was far removed from the one that showed up to play Rice last week.

From the star players to the coaching to the scoreboard, UH was better through and through.

By halftime, the Cougars led 31-0. The crowd started stepping out to escape the blazing sun since the outcome seemed inevitable.

UH added insult to injury to start the second half, scoring again as King hit Bryson Smith for 13 yards and the score. The Cougars led 38-0 and it seemed to be a wrap.

Applewhite trotted out his backups and some of their backups.

Then Arizona scored four times in row.

The Wildcats weren’t threatening to come back and win by any means, but the look of the Cougars changed way too much.

The lack of depth was obvious. And it’s something that could hurt UH down the road.

“It’s a jagged pill to swallow,” Applewhite said.

He’s aware of the problem and is also aware of how to fix it.

It seems simple enough. The second-and third-string players have to be better. The Cougars can’t take that much of a hit when the starters sit down.

“They have to play more,” Applewhite said. “And as coaches, we need to work them more.”

It’s tough to do in college football. Oliver’s Heisman campaign isn’t as strong when he’s on the bench. UH’s chances of getting votes in the polls go down when it wins by 20 points instead of 40.

Up next: Texas Tech

But the team improves overall when players get to see more action.

“We understand those guys are a sprained ankle or an injury away from having to step in and play,” Applewhite said.

On Saturday, they saw a lot of playing time. King was exceptional — throwing for four touchdowns and running for two more. His backup Quinten Dormady saw more than a quarter on the field. He mostly handed off the ball, but he did so smoothly and didn’t turn the ball over.

Eight Cougars carried the ball in the game and eight caught passes.

Backup defenders got a taste of a really good quarterback in Tate, who turned it up in the second half. He finished with 341 passing yards in the game.

UH overcame it’s late thirdquarter and early fourth-quarter lapse to make a sterling defensive stand down the stretch. The Cougars also put up one more touchdown, courtesy of King.

The Cougars will have more to look at this week before they head to Lubbock to play another Power 5 team in Texas Tech.

They can win that game. Then they’d be 3-0 with Texas Southern and conference opponents up on the schedule. UH is good enough to win them all. The offense is there. The defense is there. The things they need — consistency and depth — can only get better by playing more games.

And there are 11 of those left.