The University of Houston Cougars who went 8-5 (5-3 in conference) last year in their first season in the American Athletic Conference have the potential to go undefeated this season and earn a trip to a big bowl game. Sounds ridiculous? Well maybe not if we look a little closer at their schedule and the talent they’ll have coming into this season.
The Coogs open their season against UTSA and Grambling State (two games they should win comfortably) and then play at BYU and UNLV. They then play against Central Florida at home, away against Memphis, home against Temple, at USF, home against Tulane and Tulsa, and finish the season away against SMU and Cincinnati. They aren’t exactly playing against SEC powerhouses. The Cougars toughest games arguably are September 11th at BYU, November 28th against in state rivals SMU (away game), and December 6th at Cincinnati (not counting the UCF game because Bortles isn’t there anymore and while it might still be a tough matchup, UH should be talented enough to beat UCF this year). Lets say the Cougars take care of business against BYU and are 10-0 heading into their game against SMU (entirely plausible given the weak schedule). Well is it crazy to think the Cougars can beat SMU in an away game? Of course not, and if they manage to do so they would be 11-0 heading into the final game against Cincinnati with all the confidence in the world. The Houston Cougars are talented enough to beat anyone in the AAC and their schedule is soft enough to very realistically expect a magical season from them and garner some national attention as well.
Now you may ask if you are not as familiar with this team (which I’m many people outside of Houston are not) what makes me so confident that they have a talented team? My answer to you would be plain and simple look at their stats from last year and go up and down that roster. The Coogs put up points in bunches last year (as is their tradition from the Bill Yeoman days to Andre Ware, to Kevin Kolb, and of course the Great Case Keenum) with their freshman QB John O’ Korn throwing for 2,889 yards and 26 TDs completing 239/399 pass attempts. More than anything O’Korn showed maturity and leadership that’s not common among freshman QB’s and by all accounts he seems ready to take the next big step in his development. They also have a stud group of wide receivers led by Deontay Greenberry who had 76 receptions for 1,106 yards and 10 TDs (you’ll be seeing him in the NFL pretty soon).
The biggest change perhaps though is not on the offensive side where the Cougars have always been known to put up big numbers. The improved defense is what has stood out the most under Head Coach Tony Levine’s tenure here in Houston. Coach Levine’s predecessor Kevin Sumlin (now at A&M) had a legendary offense when he was coaching at UH but his defense never quite seemed up to par. That is not the case anymore with defensive playmakers all over the field such as Derrick Mathews, Trevon Stewart, Adrian McDonald, and Efrem Oliphant. All of the Houston Cougars main players have returned from last year and have a year of experience and maturity under their belt. They have just opened up a beautiful new stadium (TDECU stadium) and are ready to give their fans a memorable season.
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