The Cougars defeated Southern 62-13 on Friday at reliant Stadium. Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars answered some questions surrounding the team and created new ones in their season-opening win.
They cruised to a 62-13 victory against an overmatched Southern squad Friday at Reliant Stadium — it certainly ended better for the Cougars than last season’s opener, a 30-13 loss to Texas State.
With such a talent gap between UH and Southern, it’s tough to know what can be learned about the team.
The Cougars proved there could be a smooth transition after losing redshirt junior Charles Sims, their leading rusher, when he transferred to West Virginia this offseason. Last season, the offense struggled to move the ball while Sims, who was a threat to score each time he touched the ball, was injured.
Sophomore running backs Ryan Jackson and Kenneth Farrow combined for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Jackson showed great elusiveness and averaged 12 yards per carry.
“Those are two young men whose names will become household names at the end of the season. Ryan (Jackson) is very dynamic — certainly, Farrow brings a different element of power, but … he still has tremendous speed as well and toughness,” said head coach Tony Levine.
On defense, UH held Southern to 13 points — the fewest it has allowed since holding SMU to seven points in 2011 — and forced four turnovers.
Junior linebacker Derrick Mathews played well in the middle of the defense for the first time since he was a senior at North Shore High School. He helped hold Southern to only 107 yards rushing and less than four yards per carry.
Mathews said he has had a smooth transition to becoming the quarterback of the defense.
“I made that switch in the spring, and I felt at home in the position. I had that experience in high school and, making the change, I felt good,” Mathews said.
However, like last season, the secondary struggled at times. Southern quarterback Dray Joseph used the quick passing game to complete 19 passes in the first half. Though outside a 65-yard flea flicker, Joseph was unable to challenge the Cougars’ defense deep. Senior cornerback Zachary McMillian was unhappy about the way the secondary performed.
“We didn’t execute well in the secondary and that’s where that stems from, especially me,” McMillian said. “It had nothing to do with what they were doing, we just weren’t executing from top to bottom on secondary. Our safeties played well, but from a corner perspective, we didn’t execute well.”
Perhaps the biggest storyline heading into the season, the quarterback battle, got more complicated. Junior quarterback David Piland and freshman quarterback John O’Korn combined to throw for 255 yards and four touchdowns. The Cougars planned to play O’Korn during the fourth series of the game and most of the first half.
Levine declined to give further details about the quarterback situation moving forward.
With a schedule backloaded with conference contenders, success during the first five games are crucial to reaching the Cougars’ postseason goals. Levine said Piland is his starter, but if he is going to make a change, the freshman will need more meaningful reps before the schedule gets tougher.
The Cougars did what they needed to do on Friday — physically dominating a less-talented opponent — but still need to correct a few issues before the thick of conference play.
