The Cougars debuted Sunday night with a thud. While their play in the second half was more encouraging, plenty of questions remain about all three components of this team. Here are some thoughts on the game.
Left it all: This was a bad game for the Coogs, no doubt. But despite being down big for much of the game, Houston never quit. That shows how the coaches have convinced the players to buy in and should give Coog fans some hope going forward.
It Hurts: Letting a “game-manager” look like a Heisman candidate. In the first half alone, OU quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 174 yards and 2 TDs. He had as many touchdowns as he did incompletions. Hurts finished 20-of-23 for 332 yards and three touchdowns and added 176 yards on 16 rush attempts and three more touchdowns on the ground. That’s over 14 yards per pass attempt and 11 yards per run. Unacceptable for a UH defense trying to change the narrative.
More of a truck than a Car: Running back Kyle Porter started the game for the Cougars and had 14 carries for just 40 yards, just 2.9 ypc. Eventually, Holgorsen turned to Car who ran well. Car had nine rushes that resulted in 76 yards and a touchdown, helping to revitalize a stagnant offense.
5 Alive: Marquez Stevenson remains electric. The returning wide receiver caught seven passes for 80 yards and a score. Houston fans were excited to see Stevenson working with King again, and Stevenson held up his end of the deal by outshining CeeDee Lamb on the opposite sideline.
Protection of the King: Last season, King hit nearly 64% of his passes at 13.6 yards per completion. Against Oklahoma, he was having to scramble for his life nearly every time he wanted to attempt a pass. In the first quarter alone, the Sooners collected three sacks and had 4 tackles for loss. That pressure was reflected in the box score with King completing less than 60% of his passes and had less than six yards per attempt.
GoCoogs loves differing viewpoints and a diversity of thought. With that said, all opinions are those of the writer and not GoCoogs.com.
No one has broken more UH stories in the last year than GoCoogs.com. Our subscribers get breaking information first and always get the extra info you won’t see anywhere else.
Join GoCoogs
Football Season Is Here!
GoCoogs takes Cougar fans beyond the game recap with premium content and exclusive stories you can’t find anywhere else.
The biggest inside scoops – no one breaks more UH football news than GoCoogs;
20+ pieces of content each game week – more than every other outlet combined;
NEW! Talkin’ Bout Them Cougars! – our new twice-weekly Cougar football podcast;
Film Room: analyzing the plays that turn the game;
NEW! Game breakdowns from former players;
Beyond the Box Score: our popular feature on the analytics of a game;
NEW! On This Day stories that take our social media series even further;
Profiles of current and former players and UH commits;
Our popular series: UH Glory Days;
Exclusive Q&As with players, coaches, and administrators;
Our subscriber-only message board, The Veer;
And more!
No one produces more quality HOUSTON COUGARS content than GoCoogs. This season, 75% of our content will be exclusively for our subscribers.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd0000″ class=”” size=”20″] Did you know? GoCoogs is the only UH subscription website with special pricing for UH students & staff. [/perfectpullquote]
Become a subscriber now:
Or you can subscribe month-to-month:
Once you subscribe to GoCoogs.com, you receive full access to our premium content. You also have access to the Veer, our private, subscriber-only message board.
The Veer forum is where we first post our insider scoops, news, and stats. GoCoogs subscribers have built a fun, drama-free community that allows for great, civil conversation among passionate Cougar fans. By having a completely private forum, we’ve eliminated trolling, outsiders, politics, and over-the-top profanity.
Subscribers also have access to awesome UH emojis, exclusively on the Veer, like these:
Get all of this for just $89.99! There’s no better deal for Cougar fans!
A great deal for UH students and staff
GoCoogs offers discounted subscription options for UH students & staff: either a monthly ($3.99/month) or annual ($29.99) subscription. These plans are only valid only when subscribing with a @uh.edu e-mail address.[footnote]We reserve the right to verify if students and staff are currently enrolled or employed at UH.[/footnote]
Students & Staff Monthly – $3.99 | Students & Staff Annually – $29.99
GoCoogs.com is the only UH subscription website with special pricing for UH students & staff.
*Please note: the promotional subscription deals above are valid for until August 31, 2019, and cannot be guaranteed after that. These are our most up-to-date subscription specials.
*By clicking Place Your Order, you agree to our Payment Terms. After year one, your subscription renews at the regular rate available at the time of renewal. Fall 2019 renewals will be for $89.99.
