For the first 26 minutes, the Houston Cougars football team appeared to be hitting on all cylinders against No. 24 Oklahoma State.
It was honestly surprising. Who were these Cougars? The defense scored its first points of the season courtesy of a pick-six from defensive back Isaiah Hamilton to open the game. Donovan Smith found freshman Jonah Wilson for a 60-yard touchdown.
the daily #114 | 11/22/2023 | Archives
At that point, Oklahoma State didn’t know whether it was on foot or on horseback (I had to use this Kelvinism for the Cowboys).
Houston was forcing punts, blocking PATs, scoring safeties, and even had Joseph Manjack throwing touchdowns to Smith, all of which helped build a 23-9 lead. And then it all fell apart – just like the gif of the train across the Buyout Footage Bridge:
It collapsed.
The issues started with an egregious penalty by linebacker Jamal Morris. After UH stopped Oklahoma State on third-and-19, Morris stood over the ballcarrier and wagged his finger, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a first down for OSU. The Cowboys turned that second chance into a touchdown.
Undisciplined.
Then Oklahoma State scored again, and again, and again. 27 unanswered points. Just like that, Houston saw its 14-point lead become a 13-point deficit. Head coach Dana Holgorsen said Oklahoma State wore out Houston. A 31-yard gallop by Donovan Smith ended the run and gave Houston a chance. But honestly, the confidence in the Cougars pulling off a stop was minimal. Sure enough, it did not come.
The 43-30 loss drops Houston to 4-7, ensuring a losing season in their first year in the Big 12. Saturday once again highlighted the bad of the Cougars that has been showcased all year.
It’s the little things. The athletics director at my school always tells me the little things win the big things, and the Cougars don’t do the little things well often enough. It goes beyond the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that ignited the Cowboys’ run.
It’s needing to call a timeout on the first drive of the game because you have 10 men on the field. It is getting flagged for 12 men on the field, twice, including on another crucial third down that would have been a stop for Houston.
The weekly holding penalties. The punt on the first drive of the second half. The 60-yard plays given up on defense. The inability to stop the Cowboys after you finally stop their unanswered points run. It was only fitting the game’s final offensive play for Houston was an interception.
It is postgame when the head coach calls out assistant coaches for critical mistakes. It is postgame when a team captain says ‘no comment’ when asked if he has seen improvement from the defense this season. It is having the 101st high school recruiting class in 2024. All of it. It all adds up.
Based off Tilman Fertitta’s comments in the Houston Chronicle this week, it seems like Dana Holgorsen will still be here at least for one more season. I don’t want to keep kicking on a dead horse, but fans feel like something needs to give.
If Houston loses to UCF this week, it will finish the season 4-8. That is the same record the Cougars had in Holgorsen’s inaugural year with the program back in 2019. Since then, 3-5, 12-2, 8-5, and 5-7 or 4-8. The trend is not a good one for UH.
UCF will be bowl-eligible if Houston loses, while Cincinnati and UH are not. Regardless of the outcome, the new goal is to be competitive, Holgorsen says.
Fans say it is not good enough. The UH administration says otherwise. I say it’s basketball season!
