2006 Houston Cougars Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Dec. 28
Liberty Bowl
South Carolina 44 ... Houston 36
The two teams combined for 1,039
yards of total offense and 715 yards of passing as South Carolina scored 17
straight points with two fourth quarter 43-yard touchdown catches from Kenny
McKinley to finally pull away. Houston got a late touchdown and two point
conversion, and had the ball with one final drive after the Gamecocks were
stuffed on a fourth down conversion, but came up just short on a fourth down
pass. The opening thirty minutes were wild from start to finish with Houston's
Vincent Marshall catching a 32-yard touchdown pass in the opening two minutes,
and took a crossing pass 77 yards for a score with 11 seconds to play. In
between, South Carolina got two of Blake Mitchell's four touchdown passes and
two short scoring runs from Cory Boyd, while the Cougars got a four-yard
touchdown catch from Mark Hafner and a 42-yard up-the-gut touchdown run from
Jackie Battle. Player of the game ... South Carolina QB Blake Mitchell
completed 19 of 29 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns with an
interception. He also ran for 22 yards. Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin
Kolb, 26-39, 386 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Jackie Battle, 11-85, 2 TD Receiving:
Vincent Marshall, 9-201, 2 TD South Carolina - Passing:
Blake Mitchell, 19-29, 323 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Cory Boyd, 18-94, 2 TD. Receiving: Sidney
Rice, 8-139, 1 TD Notes & Thoughts ... Houston got its licks in early on,
and then South Carolina started generating some consistent pressure and the
secondary started to make more tackles while getting in better overall position
to make plays. The Cougars had the athletes to stay with the Gamecocks, but they
didn't have the lines. ... Blake Mitchell kept his composure throughout the game
and didn't make the key mistakes to let Houston back in it in the second half.
He doesn't have to be spectacular for USC to win; he just has to be consistent.
... Can Kevin Kolb play at the next level? Absolutely. He proved against a good
defense that he can be creative on his throws and reads and can put the ball in
positions where his receivers can make plays. It's one thing to do that against
Conference USA teams, but it's another to do that against someone from the SEC.
... Jasper Brinkley's numbers 11 tackles and a sack, might not stack up against
some of the other linebackers this bowl season, but he was all over the place
and was a difference maker.
Dec. 1
Conference USA Championship
Houston 34 ... Southern Miss 20
Houston scored 14 points in the second half on a 46-yard Kevin
Kolb touchdown run and a 33-yard pass to Biren Ealy to pull away for good and
win the Conference USA title. Southern Miss couldn't get the offense moving in
the second half managing only a 31-yard Darren McCaleb field goal after rolling
in the first half. Jeremy Young threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Chris
Johnson and ran for an eight-yard score. Jackie Battle and Vincent Marshall each
ran for first half scores. Player of the
game ... Houston
QB Kevin Kolb completed 19 of 31 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns and ran
five times for 37 yards and a touchdown Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin Kolb, 19-31, 258 yds,
2 TD Rushing: Kevin Kolb, 5-37, 1 TD Receiving: Vincent Marshall,
8-100 Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 17-32, 186 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 15-90 Receiving: Ed Morgan, 4-49 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Kevin Kolb's career is complete. He has all the Houston passing records. He's
been the face of the program for four years. Now he's a champion. Against an
aggressive Southern Miss defense that's good at forcing mistakes, Kolb made all
the right decisions. With the running game held in check, he, Vincent Marshall,
and Biren Ealy all came through. Also give credit to the defense that bent but
didn't break in the second half allowing the offense to put it away. Ernest
Miller had a huge day both against the run and in pass coverage.
Nov. 18
Houston 23 ... Memphis 20 OT
Houston survived a Memphis comeback with a 17-yard Ben Bell
field goal in overtime after Matt Reagan missed a 40-yard attempt. Down
20-6 late in the fourth quarter, Memphis got a one-yard Joe Doss
touchdown run and a returned a blocked field goal 80 yards for a score
to tie it at 20. The Tigers got out to a 6-0 lead on two Matt Reagan
field goals, but Houston rolled for 20 straight points with two Kevin
Kolb touchdown passes and two Ben Bell field goals. Player of the
game ...
Houston QB Kevin Kolb threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-24
passing. Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin Kolb, 19-24,
166 yds, 2 TDs Rushing: Jackie Battle, 27-137 Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 8-51, 1 TD Memphis - Passing: Martin Hankins, 12-23, 100 yds,
1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 28-133, 1 TD Receiving: Joseph Doss,
4-31 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Houston’s win over Memphis might be just the wake up call the team
needed going into the Conference USA title game. It had the game easily
in hand, Memphis made a great comeback, but still pulled it out in the
end. Did the team let up too early? It appears that way, but Kevin Kolb
and the offense were still impressive enough to get the W and home field
advantage in the title game. To win, the penalties have to stop after
committing 13 for 105 against the Tigers.
Nov. 11
Houston 37 ... SMU 27
Houston got 504 yards of total offense as Anthony Alridge ran
for 225 of the teams 357 rushing yards, but it took a two-yard Kevin
Kolb touchdown run late in the fourth to take the lead for good and a
61-yard Jackie Battle dash to put it away. SMU got three Justin Willis
touchdown passes in the first half with two going to Emmanuel Sanders,
but the offense could only manage a 35-yard field goal in the second
half after Alridge tore off his second 77-yard scoring dash of the day
to tie it at 24.
Player of the game ...
Houston RB Anthony Alridge ran 13 times for 225 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: SMU - Passing: Justin Willis, 23-36, 299 yds,
3 TD Rushing: DeMyron Martin, 11-30 Receiving: Emmanuel Sanders,
9-151, 2 TD Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 12-21, 147 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 13-225, 2 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 5-59 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Thanks to Tulsa's double-overtime loss to Rice, Houston has won the West
and is off to the Conference USA title game. It hasn't been the passing
of Kevin Kolb that's gotten the job done over the current four-game
winning streak, it's been the home run hitting of Anthony Alridge, who's
averaging a whopping 14.44 yards per carry over the last two games. Now
the team needs to use the game against Memphis next week to sharpen up
after committing ten penalties and having problems in the secondary
early on.
Nov. 4
Houston 27 ... Tulsa 10
Houston overcame ten penalties and an early 10-7 deficit to
score 20 unanswered points on two Ben Bell field goals, a 14-yard
Vincent Marshall touchdown catch and a one-yard Jackie Battle run.
The Cougars started off the scoring with a three-yard Anthony
Alridge run, but a Roshawn Pope fumble deep in Cougar territory
allowed the Golden Hurricane to tie it on a nine-yard run from
Courtney Tennial. Tulsa's offense went nowhere over most of the game
gaining most of its yards in garbage time late.
Player of the game ...
Houston RB Anthony Alridge ran 12 times for 136 yards and a touchdown and
caught two passes for six yards Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith, 16-34, 136 yds,
1 INT Rushing: Courtney Tennial, 12-70, 1 TD Receiving: Tarrion
Adams, 5-9 Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 16-21, 244 yds,
1 TD Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 12-136, 1 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 4-54, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Houston didn't have to bomb away to beat Tulsa. It didn't need Kevin
Kolb to throw 45 times, it didn't need to do anything fancy, and it
didn't have to press. It just had to generate good offensive balance
with a strong ground game from Anthony Alridge and Jackie Battle and
limit the turnovers and penalties. The defense came up with one of
its best performances of the season to take the lead in the West
race and have a shot to win the Conference USA title. Now the team
can't clunk like it did against UL Lafayette a few weeks ago with
road trips to SMU and Memphis to close out the regular season.
Oct. 28
Houston 51 ... UCF 31
In a wild shootout with 1,046 yards of total offense, Houston
broke a 31-31 tie in the fourth quarter on two Jackie Battle
touchdown runs and an eight-yard Vincent Marshall touchdown catch.
UCF got three Kevin Smith touchdowns, but Houston always had an
answer with Battle also finishing with three scores and Kevin Kolb
bombing away for a 52-yard scoring pass to Biren Ealy and a 62-yard
play to Roshawn Pope. Four Golden Knight turnovers, including a
Willie Gaston fumble recovery off a long pass returning it 63 yards
to the four leading to a Battle score. Houston's Will Gulley made 17
tackles and forced two fumbles.
Player of the game ...
Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed 22 of 34 passes for 305 yards and three
touchdowns with an interception Stat Leaders: Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 22-34, 305 yds,
3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 9-131, 1 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 6-39, 1 TD UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 9-18, 207 yds, 1
TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kevin Smith, 31-163, 3 TD Receiving: Mike Walker,
6-119 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The defense is going to be a problem all season long, so
fortunately, the offense is rocking and rolling at just the right
time. Everyone knows Kevin Kolb can throw, but the running game is
producing with Anthony Aldridge and Jackie Battle providing great
balance and Kolb is being Kolb. Now comes the big showdown with
Tulsa with a chance to make a huge statement in the West race. It's
all coming together, but Tulsa has a way of making good teams look
average.
Oct. 21
Houston 34 ... UTEP 17
UTEP got up early with two first half Marcus Thomas touchdown
plunges, but Houston rallied back closing out with 24 unanswered points with two
Anthony Aldridge touchdown runs and a 37-yard scoring grab from Donnie Avery.
Kevin Kolb threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Roy Otis in the second quarter, and
Ben Bell connected on field goals from 35 and 42 yards out.
Player of the game ...
Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed 20 of 30 passes for 208 yards and two
touchdowns with an interception and ran nine times for 54 yards. Stat Leaders: Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 20-30, 208 yds,
2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 11-73, 2 TD Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 6-56 UTEP - Passing: Jordan Palmer, 19-30, 206 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 12-47, 2 TD Receiving: Johnnie Lee
Higgins, 6-122 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It wasn't Houston's prettiest performance of the year, but the win over UTEP was
a must to pull out of the three-game nosedive. Getting a bit of a running game
to help Kevin Kolb was a huge help. The Conference USA title is still a
possibility by winning out needing to get by UCF and Tulsa over the next two
weeks to get within range. If the defense plays as well as it did in the second
half against the Miners, winning the last four games isn't out of the question.
Oct. 14
Southern Miss 31 ... Houston 27
Southern Miss pulled away from Houston in the fourth quarter
thanks to a one-yard Jeremy Young touchdown run and a 16-yard scoring pass to
Shawn Nelson, but Kevin Kolb made it interesting with fourth quarter strikes
from 74 and 13 yards out to Jeron Henry with the final score coming on the last
play of the game. USM allowed two short Jackie Battle scoring runs, but held the
Cougars to 85 rushing yards. Bobby Weakley started off the scoring for the
Golden Eagles with a one-yard run. Player of the game ...
Southern Miss QB
Jeremy Young went 17-of-26 for 180 yards and two touchdowns and added another
score and 20 yards on six carries. Stat Leaders: Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 22-38, 339 yds,
2 TDs Rushing: Jackie Battle, 13-39, 2 TDs Receiving: Jeron Harvey,
5-174, 2 TDs Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 17-26, 180 yds, 2
TDs Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 21-80 Receiving: Josh Barnes, 5-89, 1
TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Coming off the stunning loss to UL Lafayette, the Cougars needed to right the
ship in a hurry against Southern Miss. It didn't happen. There wasn't nearly
enough production from the ground game with Jackie Battle failing to get going
for the second straight week, and the defense had problems coming up with big
plays. Kevin Kolb didn't do nearly enough until it was too late. Even with all
the recent problems, the West is still there for the taking by winning out.
Oct. 7
UL Lafayette 31 ... Houston 28
UL Lafayette got down 21-0 as Kevin Kolb threw two touchdown
passes and ran for another, and then went on a 31-7 run with Jerry
Babb running for a 14-yard score to start and throwing a four-yard
pass to Kevin Belton to finish it off. The Ragin' Cajuns dominated
the second half on offense holding on to the ball for 20:41
highlighted by an 18-play, 85-yard drive for the winning points.
Houston had one final drive, but it stalled before it could get
going. Drew Edmiston nailed field goals from 23, 37 and 51 yards out
for ULL. Player of the game ... UL Lafayette QB Jerry Babb
completed 14 of 29 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and ran 12
times for 73 yards and a score Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette - Passing:
Jerry Babb, 15-29, 146 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 24-110, 1 TD. Receiving:
Derrick Smith, 4-54 Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 24-31, 367
yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jackie Battle, 7-37, 1 TD. Receiving:
Jeron Harvey, 6-118, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The collapse to UL Lafayette appeared
to be a classic case of letting down after having too much success
right off the bat. After the Miami loss and getting off to a 21-0
lead, all of a sudden the defense couldn't get the Ragin' Cajuns off
the field and Kevin Kolb, who had a huge night, wasn't able to lead
the way to many key drives. In a positive way, this might be a
wake-up call before the Conference USA schedule really gets humming
with huge games against Southern Miss, UTEP, and UCF over the next
three weeks.
Sept. 30
Miami 14 ... Houston 13
Miami needed a two-yard touchdown pass to James Bryant in the
third quarter and a key fourth-and-inches sneak from QB Kyle Wright
in the fourth to come up with the tight win. Javarris James set a
Miami record for a freshman with 148 rushing yards to go along with
a one-yard touchdown run, but the offense sputtered all night long
despite finishing with 420 yards. Houston stayed alive with a
four-yard Kevin Kolb touchdown run and two Ben Bell field goals, but
the defense couldn't get Miami off the field in the final six
minutes, although it came close as Wright just barely made the key
fourth down sneak on the Miami 38. Player of the game ... Miami RB Javarris James ran 18
times for 148 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 22
yards Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle
Wright, 16-27, 190 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Javarris James, 18-148, 1 TD. Receiving:
Charlie Jones, 4-27 Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 18-28, 196
yds
Rushing: Jackie Battle, 9-43. Receiving: Vincent
Marshall, 5-50 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Don't forget that Miami is actually very, very talented.
Houston went toe-to-toe with on the loss in the Orange Bowl and be angry at a
few missed plays that could've turned the game in Houston's favor. It would've
been nice to have gotten more out of the running game, but this was a Hurricane
defense playing for its season. Even in a loss, this needs to be looked at as a
confidence builder. The rest of the teams on the schedule will look slow and
soft by comparison.
Sept. 23
Houston 34 ... Oklahoma State 25
The two teams put on an offensive show with 955 yards of total
offense, but things slowed down late when a heavy downpour kicked in. The
Cougars were able to break open a close game with a seven-yard touchdown catch
early in the fourth quarter. OSU had two late drives, but misfired on a fourth
down pass and later lost a fumble on the Houston five. Kevin Kolb threw four
touchdown passes highlighted by a 42-yard scoring play to Donnie Avery, but
Oklahoma State's Bobby Reid was up to the ask throwing a 75-yard scoring pass to
Adarius Bowman and two touchdown passes to D'Juan Woods. Player of the game ... Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed
21 of 28 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns and ran 11 times for 42 yards. Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin
Kolb, 21-28, 313 yd, 4 TD Rushing: Jackie Battle, 23-108. Receiving:
Mark Hafner, 4-58, 1 TD Oklahoma State - Passing: Bobby Reid,
13-22, 28 1yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Bobby Reid, 7-85. Receiving: Adarius
Bowman, 7-166, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Is any
quarterback playing better than Kevin Kolb? The senior has Houston out to a 4-0
start and was able to bomb away against a solid Oklahoma State team, and now
he'll have to be perfect to have any shot at beating Miami next week. Can the
offense remain balanced? Jackie Battle was a difference maker against OSU. The
defense did nothing to slow down the Cowboy offensive balance, but it did a
great job of holding late when it had to.
Sept. 16
Houston 42 ... Grambling State 22
Grambling State got on the board first with a 34-yard
touchdown pass to Clyde Edwards, and then Houston exploded for 42 straight
points with three scoring passes from Kevin Kolb, three Jackie Battle touchdown
runs, and a fumble recovery for a score from Anthony Alridge. GSU scored the
final 15 points, but the game was well out of reach. Player of the game ... Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed
27 of 31 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin
Kolb, 27-31, 297 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Roshawn Pope, 9-45. Receiving:
Vincent Marshall, 5-80 Grambling State - Passing: Larry Kerlegan,
18-23, 248 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Larry Kerlegan, 20-88. Receiving: Clyde
Edwards, 6-87, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Hail hail
to Kevin Kolb for being the first 10,000-yard passer in Houston history. He was
flawless against Grambling State running the offense to near perfection just
when the big games on the slate come up. If the Cougars can be this efficient
against Oklahoma State, they'll come away with the win. It's nitpicking, but the
defense could've been a lot tighter late even though the game was well out of
reach.
Sept. 9
Houston 45 ... Tulane 7
Houston cranked out 621 yards of total offense and had 26
first downs to Tulane's eight in a dominating performance on both sides of the
ball. 49 of Tulane's 224 yards came on one play, a touchdown from Matt Forte on
a pass from Lester Ricard. But this was Kevin Kolb's night as the senior became
Houston's all-time leading passer on the way to a 350-yard, three touchdown
game. The Cougars got big play after big play with a 44-yard touchdown run from
Anthony Aldridge in the first quarter and an 87-yard score from him in the
fourth. Roshawn Pope scored twice and Vincent Marshall caught a 32-yard scoring
pass. Player of the game ... Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed
24 of 41 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He
also ran for 11 yards Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin
Kolb, 24-41, 350 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Anthony Aldridge, 5-155, 2 TD. Receiving:
Donnie Avery, 7-96 Tulane - Passing: Lester Ricard, 14-25,
156 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ray Boudreaux, 4-28. Receiving:
Matt Forte, 5-69, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... After the
near-miss against Rice, Houston played like the Conference USA title favorite it
just might be with a brilliant all-around performance against Tulane. The
defense was suffocating, the offense was explosive and balanced, and Kevin Kolb
was Kevin Kolb. If all the parts are working and the ground game can keep
producing to take the pressure off the passing attack, the Cougars should have
no problems with Grambling State, beat Oklahoma State, and be
tougher-than-expected at Miami at the end of September.
Sept. 2
Houston 31 ... Rice 30
Houston overcame a 30-14 deficit with 17 unanswered points on
two eight-yard touchdown passes from Kevin Kolb and a 20-yard field goal from
T.J. Lawrence. In a game of runs, Houston scored the first 14, Rice scored the
next 30, and Houston closed out with its binge. Rice showed good offensive
balance with Quinton Smith scoring three straight times in the second quarter
with an 80-yard catch-and run to tie it at 14 and then scored two short
touchdowns. Rice had one final chance, but Chase Clement got picked off by
Ernest Miller. Player of the game ... Houston QB Kevin Kolb completed
22 of 35 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Houston- Passing: Kevin
Kolb, 22-35, 233 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Jackie Battle, 14-74, 1 TD. Receiving:
Donnie Avery, 6-66 Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 12-26, 152
yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Quinton Smith, 18-108, 2 TD. Receiving:
Jarett Dillard, 4-34, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Kevin
Kolb showed off his senior leadership in the comeback against Rice leading the
team back for the win with two scoring passes. The defense struggled way too
much to get a stop, the offense was awful on third downs, and the team committed
way too many penalties (10), but this was the type of victory that can carry the
team through a big first half of the season. The Cougars know they can come back
when the game appears lost.
The chance will never be better for Houston to win the
Conference USA title and have a shot to grow into a bit of a power
than this season with a whopping 17 returning starters,
good depth on defense, a loaded receiving corps, and a quarterback
with 36 starts under his belt.
Head coach Art Briles has done a wonderful job of taking the
moribund program and making it competitive enough to play in two
bowl games in the last three seasons, but every time it seems like
the team is at the point of making a big statement, it collapses.
The 2005 team overcame injuries and inexperience at key spots to
have a strong season, but failed to come up with a big win when the
spotlight was on. There was the 44-41 overtime loss to UTEP with QB
Kevin Kolb having as much fun throwing it to the Miners as he did
getting it to his guys. There was the loss to UCF that killed any
dreams of playing for the Conference USA title. And then there was
the complete debacle in the Fort Worth Bowl getting blasted 42-13 by
an average Kansas team.
However, last year might have been what was needed for a big 2006.
Houston played well in a loss to an Oregon team that ended up being on the fringe
of playing in the BCS, beat eventual conference champion Tulsa, won at
Mississippi State, and lost to UTEP, UCF and SMU by a total of ten
points. A veteran team wins those types of close games, and this one has
experience to burn.
It all starts with Kolb, who has the ability to crank out 400 yards of
total offense when he gets hot, but has the knack for throwing interceptions
at the worst times. But that's a recent problem; he's generally a good
decision maker who should go ballistic this year with a receiving corps
that should be the best in the league thanks to the return of Vincent
Marshall and the arrival of Arizona transfer Biren Ealy.
The defense should make an even bigger jump with a linebacking corps and
a secondary that should be among the best in the league, and a front
three that has size and potential with sophomore end Cody Pree and
Phillip Hunt ready to break out.
So now it comes down to how well the team plays in the role as favorite.
UTEP and Tulsa will be good, but Houston should be the preseason
favorite in the West and will have to play like it out of the gate.
There will be plenty of shootouts, plenty of scoring, and plenty of big
plays for good and bad. In the end, the turnaround should be complete.
The
Schedule:
It's a picnic. The schedule can't be used as an excuse if Houston
doesn't end up playing for the Conference USA title thanks to a beauty
of a three-game home stretch playing UTEP, UCF and Tulsa after the big
road trip to Southern Miss. The regular season ender at Memphis will be
a battle, but a veteran team like the Cougars should be good enough to
pull that off if they play as well as expected. Considering one of the
road games is at Rice, which is right down the road, and one of the
other away dates is in Dallas to play SMU, the road schedule isn't all
that bad. There will be good national tests against Miami and Oklahoma
State. The Cougars can't beat the Canes, but they sure can hang with the
Cowboys.
Best
Offensive Player:
Senior
QB Kevin Kolb. The senior has cranked out 9,752 yards of career offense
with 55 touchdown passes and 17 touchdown runs. Considering the talent
he has at receiver to work with, and considering he threw for 3,258
yards last year, a 3,387-yard passing season, which would make him
Conference USA's all-time leading passer, isn't out of reach.
Best
Defensive Player:
Senior LB Wade Koehl. There are several good defenders on the Cougars
with safeties Rocky Schwartz and Will Gulley also deserving of being
considered the team's best defensive player, but Koehl is the leader of
the D and the main playmaker in the front seven. He's a quick 6-2 and
230 pounds with a nose for getting into the backfield with 26 career
tackles for loss and eight sacks to go along with 262 career tackles.
Key player
to a successful season: Sophomore PK Ben Bell and junior PK T.J.
Lawrence. The offense will put up plenty of points and yards, but the
difference between a good, bowl-berth season and a Conference USA title
might come down to the kicking considering Houston lost to UTEP by
three, UCF by two, and SMU by five thanks to two missed field goals.
Lawrence is the long range bomber while Bell is the close range
specialist. The two have to be better than 13 of 22.
The season
will be a success if ... Houston wins the Conference USA title. There won't be the same
mix of starting experience and a favorable schedule for a long time. The
first ten-win season since 1990 is also an attainable goal.
Key game:
Oct. 14 at Southern Miss. If all goes as planned, Houston will be
5-1 or at worst 4-2 before going to play Southern Miss. A win over the
Golden Eagles would do wonders for the team's confidence before the
critical homestand against UTEP, UCF and Tulsa, while a loss might mean
there can't be a slip over those final three home dates.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Houston first quarter scoring: 55. Houston second quarter scoring: 118
- Average yards per pass: Houston 7.7 - Opponents 6.4
- Rushing touchdowns: Houston 23 - Opponents 12
The Last Time Houston…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Fort Worth Bowl v. Kansas)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…1999 (UL-Lafayette)
…was shutout…2000 (Texas)
…scored 50 points…2003 (UAB)
…went undefeated…Never
…won a conference title…1996 (share, C-USA)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2005 (Kevin Kolb)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Ryan Gilbert)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2004 (Vincent Marshall)
…had a first-round draft choice…1997 (RB Antowain Smith)
