Many lessons can be’ learned from UH’s 73-14 throttling of Rice at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night – by both the Owls and the Cougars.
The most important of these cannot be drawn simply from the lopsided final score.
There are the obvious effects from Rice losing its three biggest playmakers on offense: tight end James Casey, quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarrett Dillard.
There is also the resolve shown by the Cougars (10-2, 6-2 Conference USA)’ in not worrying about outside scenarios and’ their effects on where and whom UH will play in the C-USA championship game.
But what may be overlooked in all the hoopla surrounding Senior Night, and the ensuing beatdown is the immediate and direct impact head coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff have had on the UH program.
Since taking over prior to the 2008 season, Sumlin has taken a talented offensive group and instilled discipline and accountability in them while raising the expectations players have for themselves.
With all due respect to current Baylor and former UH head coach Art Briles, it’s hard to imagine a Briles-coached squad having the same mental fortitude to bounce back from deflating losses such as those suffered at UTEP and Central Florida.
Even when the Cougars were riding high after beating powerhouses Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, Sumlin regrouped his team after it fell flat to UTEP in El Paso.
His players responded and came back the following week to knock off Mississippi State on the road. He did the same after the Cougars were out of sync in a loss at UCF that took control of the C-USA West race out of their hands.
All season long, when fans and analysts were enamored with out-of-conference wins that propelled UH back into the national scene, Sumlin stuck to his preseason goals of winning the West.
He knew that if UH didn’t take care of business in C-USA, it would be an afterthought at the end of the season that would ultimately diminish those ‘breakthrough’ wins against the Cowboys, Red Raiders and Bulldogs. These games would be looked upon as flukes orchestrated by a team that couldn’t even win a’ lesser conference’s title.
UH still has business to take care of Saturday against East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., but it has put itself in this position with an attitude change that started at the top. Prior to this season, Sumlin asked junior quarterback Case Keenum to take on more of a leadership role, and the Heisman hopeful has responded.
Keenum has evolved into an extension of the coaching staff on the field. He directs Sumlin’s and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen’s offense like someone who has played in it for 10 years, not the year and a half he’s been the starter.
On a team with so much youth, Keenum has turned into someone that underclassmen such as freshman Charles Sims and sophomores Patrick Edwards and Tyron Carrier can look up to and have faith in when adversity arises.
Sumlin’s fingerprints on the program are especially evident in the sentiments of seniors such as Brandon Brinkley, who was on the team when expectations were much lower.
‘I came in when we were 6-6 and we were just hoping to go to a bowl game,’ Brinkley said. ‘Now it’s totally different. We want to win championships and big bowl games.’
The respect and appreciation is not a one-way street. Sumlin knows that part of building a winning program is getting players who were part of the team before him to buy into his system. Coaches cannot always win with only the players they recruit, and Sumlin addressed that from day one.
‘As a staff, I can’t say enough for how much appreciation we have for those guys,’ Sumlin said. ‘Any coaching change is hard, particularly on the older players. Those guys have to make a decision to stick around.
‘Every good team I’ve been around has had senior leadership. Those guys who aren’t starting anymore have accepted their role on special teams and put aside their personal feelings to win. That says a lot about this senior class.’
Another aspect of Sumlin’s approach that cannot be ignored is his willingness to trust his young players. This was never more visible than in the juxtaposition of the two programs on the field Saturday.
This’ started last season when Sumlin entrusted freshman running back Bryce Beall, who was not even listed on the preseason depth chart, with the bulk of the carries. His faith paid off when Beall was named C-USA Newcomer of the Year. He also prominently featured players such as Edwards and Carrier as freshmen, and both are better today because of their experiences a year ago.
What is especially telling is that Briles recruited both Edwards and Carrier and that Edwards only made the team after walking on for Briles and sitting out for a year with a redshirt. This constant influx of talented underclassmen creates a sense of accountability and allows Sumlin’s staff to quickly fill holes created by graduation and injuries.
Some will say that there is more to the fates of the Rice and UH programs than underclassmen and coaching, but Sumlin has shown a propensity to adapt and utilize talent while still holding players to his standards. It may be a risk to some coaches and fans, but it’s a risk that has paid off handsomely for Sumlin.
The Cougars have been ranked for much of the year and have a chance to win the C-USA Championship and a bowl game in the same year for the first time since the inception of the conference. That’s not bad for a’ second-year head coach and a heck of a lesson to be learned by all.
