Most UH fans are focused on how bad the offense has been. I get it because it’s natural to dwell on the historic run of futility on that side of the ball. This has been going on for ten games, going back to Donovan’s injury in the Baylor game. Take out the Rice game, and UH has scored 9 touchdowns with Donovan at QB in nine games. It is what it is.
Instead of discussing that mess, I would rather focus on what I believe is the play of the year: Zy Strong in the end zone breaking up a pass. How about that? The play of the year is in the end zone:
The result is obviously fantastic, but what got me excited was how the play got to the result. Zy Strong had one job on that 3rd down, sticking with the backside TE, and he did exactly that. Too many times in that situation, players try to do too much and lose track of their responsibility. Strong was so locked onto his man he didn’t even look at the play fake. In doing that, he stayed on the tight end’s hip pocket and got his 6’6″, 265 lb body out to knock down the pass, which forced a field goal attempt.
But wait! There’s more!
That was just the part of the play that gets on the highlight reel. None of that happens without Brandon Mack locking down the TE on the front side of the play with Kendre Gant providing help:
And Latreveon McCutchin beating his man on the inside to put pressure on the QB:
And Hershey McLaurin fighting off the right tackle and stay in the face of the QB:
It is a pretty simple concept that is hard to execute: Just do your job. Nothing less, nothing more. In a rough season with many dark clouds and disappointment, these are the small rays of light that get me excited. The defense has shown that it can be turned around and contribute winning plays.