Cougars brace for Navy’s declining offense
For the second year in a row, the University of Houston won’t have to wait long to face Navy’s tripleoption.
The Midshipmen will visit TDECU Stadium on Saturday for both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener.
“Navy is a unique opponent, to say the least,” UH coach Dana Holgorsen said.
But it’s hardly the same Navy offense that has confounded teams in past seasons. The Midshipmen have scored only one touchdown, and they dropped their first two games to Marshall and Air Force by a combined score of 72-10.
Navy, among the nation’s annual rushing leaders, managed only 36 yards on the ground against Air Force. The Midshipmen are averaging 186.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks 50th in the FBS.
Last year, Navy ranked among the nation’s worst in scoring offense and total offense during a 3-7 season.
There’s also been off-the-field drama. Athletic director Chet Gladchuk decided to fire longtime offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper after the Air Force game. Two days later, coach Ken Niumatalolo spoke with Gladchuk, and Jasper was reinstated. Jasper will remain quarterbacks coach while Niumatalolo calls plays.
“There’s going to be some guesswork involved in this,” Holgorsen said of potential changes with Niumatalolo taking over play-calling duties and Navy coming off an open date.
As has become customary, UH worked on game-planning for Navy some during preseason camp and the first few Sundays of this season.
“It’s hard to duplicate in a week,” Holgorsen said. “Our scout team … this is the biggest week of the year for them because there is a lot of stuff they do defensively and a lot of stuff they do unconventionally offensively.”
Holgorsen is hopeful for some carryover from last year’s meeting, a 37-21 win in the third game of the season. Navy was held to 165 yards on the ground.
“I think the preparation that we’ve had and the success we had against them last year will go a long way this year,” Holgorsen said.
Decision on QB Tune will be made later
Holgorsen said he will wait until later in the week to make decision whether quarterback Clayton Tune is healthy enough to play against Navy.
Tune left Saturday’s 45-0 win over Grambling State in the first quarter after aggravating a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2 against Rice.
Tune went through a light workout Sunday night.
“We’ll see how he practices,” Holgorsen said. “He’s got to practice, period.”
Tune did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday in the days leading up to the Grambling State game. Holgorsen accepted the blame for the decision to play Tune when he was not ready.
“My fault — I own that,” Holgorsen said. “It’s my responsibility to get those guys ready.”
Backup Ike Ogbogu played the remainder of the game until being replaced by third-string quarterback Holman Edwards on UH’s final drive. Ogbogu finished 14-of-22 for 196 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Cougars on five scoring drives.
A decision was made Wednesday that Ogbogu would play if Tune struggled with the hamstring, Holgorsen said. Edwards, a transfer from East Central (Miss.) Community College, still has a redshirt season available.
Healthy injury report through first 3 weeks
Defensive lineman Sedrick Williams, who underwent surgery for an ankle injury suffered in Week 2 against Rice, could rejoin the team late in the season.
Recovery time for the injury is expected to be eight weeks, Holgorsen said, which means Williams could return sometime in early-tomid November.
“I’m anticipating him back this year,” Holgorsen said.
Through three weeks, UH has avoided any serious injuries. Seventy-six players were listed on the participation chart for Saturday’s game against Grambling State, which Holgorsen called an “all-time high,” and 85 dressed out for the game.
“We’ve never played that many,” Holgorsen said. “That’s a lot. That’s going to make that travel squad here next week going to Tulsa a little challenging, which is what we are after. That’s competition. Who dresses out this Saturday is going to depend on how they practice this week.”
Defense flexes muscles against Grambling St.
UH’s defense held Grambling State to 0-for-14 on third-down attempts and forced 12 punts.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Holgorsen said. “We tackled well. We flew to the ball. They knew they were outmatched, which is why they ran the ball most of the time on third down so they wouldn’t just take sacks. We better not get used to that. That’s not real life.”