Mean Green no match for sea of red

The Cougars rode a good offensive start and a career day by junior running back Charles Sims to a convincing 44-21 victory over the University of North Texas on Saturday.

It was about more than stats though; UH made timely plays.

Whenever the Cougars needed a stop to relinquish UNT of their momentum, they got it. Whenever the Cougars needed a score to regain the momentum, they also got it.

With 3:23 remaining before halftime, North Texas running back Jeremy Brown went 48 yards, breaking six tackles on his way to the end zone.

The Mean Green grabbed the momentum for a while, but UH quickly responded.

Sophomore quarterback David Piland led the Cougars 75 yards in 1:21, securing a touchdown on a 27-yard screen pass to junior running back Sims. Both were on their way to historical days.

Head coach Tony Levine said the team’s response from adversity was key.

“They got some momentum right before the half, but we were there to answer. At that point the momentum kind of shifted back to us,” Levine said. “North Texas did a great job coming out of the half and marching up the field. They made some adjustments at the half, so we made some adjustments and it showed the rest of the game.”

The quarterback and running back pair accounted for more than 500 yards combined. Sims had 210 yards rushing ­– a career high — on 21 carries with two touchdowns in a little more than three quarters of work, as he sat most of the final 15 minutes. Piland threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns.

UH used Sims early and often with good reason, UH is 5-0 when he eclipses the century mark. Sims finished with 26 touches, 27 if you count an incomplete pass he threw in the second quarter. Sims was a factor in the pass game with 5 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Field position was no match for the Cougars early in the game. They began their first three drives at their own 25, 20 and 13 respectively, scoring two touchdowns and a Matt Hogan 50-yard field goal.

UH scored on four of their five first half drives and didn’t punt until 9:30 remained in the fourth quarter. The team jumped on the Mean Green early, garnering a 17-0 lead and continued with similar offensive success throughout the night, finishing with 623 total yards. It was their second consecutive game with more than 600 yards of total offense and the third time in four games.

The defense employed a bend-but-don’t-break strategy. UNT, at times, drove the ball but weren’t able to consistently score. UH also won the turnover battle, something the team has been aiming to do. When the Cougars first came into the game, UH was minus six in the turnover battle. They didn’t commit a turnover in this contest but took away three.

To open the game UH got three consecutive scores and three consecutive stops. Senior linebacker Phillip Steward said the Cougars anticipated what the Mean Green would do.

“We knew they were going to come out and try to run the power,” Steward said. “So we knew if we stopped the power they would have to pass. I think we did a great job in the first half of stopping the power.”

Piland said it makes winning easier to have a player like Sims to give a handoff.

“Sometimes at halftime we’re sitting there talking about all of these situations and someone says, ‘You know we can just run the ball (and we say) yeah, we’ll just go we with that gameplan,’” Piland said.

 

[email protected]