Cougars open Big 12 play praying for a quick start
A holding penalty on the University of Houston’s first offensive snap foreshadowed what was to come for the next three quarters Saturday.
If the Cougars weren’t going backward, they certainly did not have much success moving the ball forward, either. By the time UH crossed midfield for the first time midway through the second quarter, Rice led 28-0.
Why the Cougars are prone to slow starts is something “we’ve been trying to figure out why forever,” coach Dana Holgorsen said.
UH finally woke up from a deep snooze, scoring 35 straight points to tie the game with 15 seconds left in regulation and force two overtimes in an eventual 4341 loss to the Owls in the Bayou Bucket rivalry game.
“You’re going to have some lulls,” Holgorsen said in advance of Saturday’s Big 12 opener against TCU. “You’ve got to withstand the lulls. We overcame the lulls and bounced back to get to a seven-point lead and couldn’t figure out a way to pull it out.”
That’s been a major theme through two games, as the Cougars have struggled early — and often — to get the offense revved up. In 11 first-half drives, the Cougars have scored 17 points and averaged 151 yards.
UH nearly pulled off the biggest comeback in school history, accounting for five touchdowns and 351 yards in the fourth quarter and two overtime periods against Rice. Overall, six of the team’s eight touchdowns this season have come after halftime.
Before the fourth-quarter offensive explosion, the Cougars were plagued by untimely penalties, dropped passes and two fourth-down stops. UH controlled the clock for nearly 10 minutes in the third quarter but came away with no points. A 15-play, 77yard drive stalled at the Rice 8. Holgorsen said he considered attempting a field goal, but with the Cougars down 28-7 and Rice known for ball-control, opted to go for it. Donovan Smith threw an incomplete pass to Matthew Golden.
“We need to do a better job of starting fast,” Holgorsen said. “That’s two games in a row that we didn’t start fast. It was my emphasis last week and I’m going to emphasize it again this week.”
Holgorsen said he was encouraged by the Cougars’ fight late in the second quarter, scoring on a 10-yard catch by Golden with less than three minutes left and Isaiah Hamilton’s interception in the end zone to stall a Rice drive.
“I’m glad we snapped out of it,” Holgorsen said, adding “that gave us a little bit of momentum to talk about (in the locker room at halftime) and go play good in the second half. That’s how we can play.”
Smith, a transfer from Texas Tech, was a catalyst for the Cougars’ offensive turnaround in the second half with three short touchdown runs, including a 1yard run to tie the game at the end of regulation and 2-yard keeper in the second OT. Getting Smith involved more in the run game early is a another point of emphasis, Holgorsen said.
“The (second half ) just shows what we are capable of,” Smith said. “We’ve got to put an emphasis on starting fast and being locked in from the start. We’ve got to get everything cleaned up.”
Holgorsen said he’s been pleased with Smith’s poise and ability to lead the team through two games. Wide receiver Samuel Brown, the Big 12’s leader with 244 receiving yards, has been “lights out” and “the best player on the field.”
Wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV “took a step back and didn’t play very good” in the Rice game, Holgorsen said Tuesday during his weekly radio appearance on ESPN 97.5, and Golden has “bigplay potential,” but had just five catches in 13 targets.
“I’ve challenged those two guys to be better,” Holgorsen said.
At his Monday news conference, Holgorsen said that the same challenge has been issued to every corner of the team, from coaches to players.
How the Cougars respond Saturday against TCU in the Big 12 opener will be paramount. The Horned Frogs are averaging nearly 42 points in two games.
“Just being calm going into the first snaps, first series, is going to be a major key,” Smith said. “Just trying to calm ourselves down. Be where our feet are, know our assignments and know what our job is.”