The open week is finally over; we can all say it was a victorious weekend for UH. Now the Coogs have a tough stretch until the second off week. But before we get to that, let’s look at where UH is through the first half of the season.
UH is 2-4 and is not in last place in the conference. It is a small victory, but after the way things started, it looks a lot better than many expected at the halfway point.
UH finds itself in last place in the league in offense. There is no way to sugarcoat it: the offense has been really bad, and UH is 120th nationally (or worse) in
- third-down conversions (129)
- first-down offense (125)
- passing offense (125)
- yards per completion (129)
- red zone offense (126)
- scoring offense (133)
- TFL allowed (130)
- total offense (121)
There are 133 teams in FBS. So yeah, the offense has been really bad, except…
For the TCU game. Even with that 30-point outburst, the Cougars are last nationally in scoring (13.7 ppg). UH averages 12 points less per game than the Big 12’s second-worst offense (Arizona), although that margin drops to only seven ppg in conference-only games.
Thankfully, UH improved drastically in the run game. Against UNLV and Oklahoma, the Cougars were awful: running for 91 yards total and averaging 1.57 ypc. UH has turned it on in the last four games, rushing for 761 yards and averaging 5.07 ypc. With any improvement in the passing game, there is a chance to get a few more wins.
The reason that there is still hope is that the defense has been very good. They are fifth in points allowed overall in the Big 12 and #39 nationally. Shiel Wood’s defense is third in yards allowed in the Big 12 and #19 in the country. A year ago, UH was #105 in scoring defense and #112 in yards allowed. It is only halfway through the season, but this defense has been wildly successful.
Another reason for hope is that the schedule looks different today than when it was announced. In the preseason, I circled these next four games against Kansas, Utah, Kansas State, and Arizona as a potential death trap for the season. That danger is still there, but it doesn’t look like the guaranteed blood bath as it did before.
The reason is that pre-season looked like this:
Today’s reality is this:
I would argue that it might make them even more dangerous because desperation brings out the most in people. We all saw what desperation did for UH when they played against TCU. From here on out, anything is possible.