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Commentary: Cougars unleash secret weapon to win

Those wondering how the Cougars did it can stop boggling their minds. I have footage of Houston head coach Art Briles caught in the act.

It was as easy as flicking a switch.

After giving up the two passing touchdowns of over 20-yards in the first half, Briles was forced into a corner and resorted to his secret weapon to get the 38-27 victory over Colorado State Saturday: The Intensity Switch.

Used only in dire situations, this switch, located in a secret compartment behind senior linebacker Brendan Pahulu’s shoulder pads, has the uncanny ability to energize an entire team, starting with the defense.

A defense that could only be described as morbid until that point began to prowl the field ferociously lashing out at anything without a red helmet.

Not only did they limit scoring drives, the Cougars on-field demeanor took a noticeable turn for the better.

This confidence was quickly distributed to the offense and a Cougar football team that looked to be completely out of a game against a 0-2 Colorado State squad in the first half responded in the second half by dominating in all aspects.

The defense led the charge by forcing the Rams into a three-and-out on their first possession, setting the offense up with ideal field position at the opponent’s 37-yardline.

UH quarterback Case Keenum took that opportunity to lead the Cougars on a six-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard pass to L.J. Castillo to cut his team’s deficit to 17-10.

Those series of events set precedence for how the subsequent snaps would be played.

UH outscored Colorado State 35-10 in the second half, and though the defense did give up another long touchdown pass to Rams quarterback Caleb Hanie due to miscommunication in the secondary, it denied Colorado State offensive production in clutch situations and even took it upon itself to score on a forced fumble by Tate Stewart and a 37-yard return by Kenneth Fontenette.

Throw in a key stop fourth-and-two with 2:57 left in the game to preserve a 31-27 lead and it would be more than safe to say that UH had all the momentum in the second half of the game.

Briles’ Intensity Switch worked to perfection against Colorado State, but the fact that it took an entire quarter for him to use it, should be cause for concern.

For his sake, let’s just hope Briles forgot to turn off the Intensity Switch after the game, because if the Cougars don’t bring it for four quarters against East Carolina next week and especially Alabama the following game, they will find themselves with a losing record in no time.

So what if it results in mass injuries among the UH student body because Pahulu and the defense won’t be able to distinguish civilian from football player in the days leading up to the games.

If the entire team has to stay amped and in a tackling rage 24-7 for the remainder of the season, then so be it.

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