Winning on first down will be vital for UH in the WVU game. A win on first down is considered four yards or more for the offense and holding to three yards or fewer on defense. So a loss would be three or fewer yards on offense and four or more yards on defense.
the daily #73 | 10/12/2023 | Archives
The UH offense was 14-14 on first down in the UTSA game, and the defense was 14-15. What you got is a pretty even game. Against Rice, UH had 16 wins on first down vs. 12 losses (Coogs were 12-4 in the second half and 7-2 in the three TD drives in the 4th quarter). For this story, we did not count overtime games or ‘and goal’ situations.
Against TCU, UH had just five wins on first down in the game (2 of the five came in the last 3 minutes of the game) while having 18 losses. Conversely, the TCU offense was 27-16.
For context on UH’s offensive woes vs. TCU: in 2014, against UTSA in the inaugural game at TDECU, the UH offense was 5-21 on first down until Billy Cosh replaced John O’Korn.
In the first half of the Tech game, the UH offense won 12 times on first down and lost on seven. The Coogs averaged 7.8 yards on their first-down wins and 1.7 on their losses. Tech was just 9-15 on first down on offense in the game, but that doesn’t tell their story. Two special teams touchdowns and ridiculous second-down results.
On second down against UH, Tech ran 20 plays for 228 yards (11.4 ypp) and two TDs. Only four plays went for three yards or less.
For the season, UH is 72-70 on first down.
In WVU’s last game, on the road at TCU, they held the Frog offense to 12-19 on first down. That’s 15 fewer first-down wins than TCU picked up against UH. Meanwhile, the WVU offense was 13-12 vs. TCU on first down – considerably better than UH’s 5-18.
In two Big 12 games, UH is 25-31 on offense and 31-36 on defense on first down, while WVU is 29-25 on offense and 31-26 on defense. In Big 12 play, the Mountaineers have been outgained 754-599, yet they are 2-0. Their strength is their rush game, yet they are 69th nationally in yards per carry (4.26). Their Big 12 average is 4.21. They just grind you down. Dana’s fear of being worn out in the second half is WVU’s exact recipe.
For UH, it’s how often the WVU offense wins on first down in the second half. Getting to 2nd and six or better allows the Eers to vary their play calling. Winning on offensive first down sets up the rest of the series and helps UH avoid predictability.
