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Inept offense thwarts Cougars

Freshman receiver Demarcus Ayers took the opening kickoff for 61 yards — not a bad way to start a game. It’s just hard to fathom that the run would outgain three quarters of his Cougars’ offensive output.

In the first, third and fourth quarters combined, UH displayed a dismal 55 net yards on offense, consisting of dropped passes and the inability to sustain drives and rhythm in its 20-13 defeat against No. 19 Louisville at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday.

Freshman quarterback John O’ Korn and his offense were anemic and were overwhelmed by Louisville’s stingy defense. O’ Korn finished the day completing less than 50 percent of his passes while throwing for a career-low 121 yards as a starter. | Courtesy of Austin Lassell/Louisville Cardinal

UH was simply overwhelmed by Louisville’s defense and was shut out for the first time in a half since last season’s 41-7 loss to Tulsa.

Freshman quarterback John O’Korn completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw for a season-low 121 yards with no touchdown passes.

Lost yardage on screen passes and drops by receivers set the Cougars up with long-yardage situations on second and third downs. Junior receiver Daniel Spencer dropped two passes that would have moved the chains and could have limited Louisville’s offense — which had 22:30 time of possession in the second half.

“I thought our first-down execution was poor and got us into second and long calls,” said head coach Tony Levine. “At the end of the day, we certainly didn’t make enough plays to get enough points on the board in the second half to win the game.”

O’Korn was without his favorite receiver, sophomore receiver Deontay Greenberry, who was sidelined for the majority of the game and played sparingly because of a head injury suffered early in the first quarter. He had no receptions.

They still had their chances to tie or take the lead, similar to their first two losses this season. But after going backward on three consecutive plays on the final drive, the fourth time wasn’t the charm as the Cougars’ fourth-quarter comeback attempt failed when they turned the ball over on downs.

Levine said it was frustrating to watch his offense on the sideline as the Cardinals dominated the second half.

“I feel like offensively, if we can hold an opponent to 20 points, I feel like we’re going to have a good chance to win the game with what we do offensively. I felt like we had opportunities. We had possessions offensively to get that done and we just didn’t.”

Other than Farrow’s 12-yard reception that set up the Cougars’ second-quarter touchdown, he had five catches that netted only one yard. The offense has struggled since last weekend’s game at UCF. Levine said it’s not so much about the points they put up but the efficiency his offense has failed to sustain.

“With what we do offensively, we’re not trying to score a hundred points. We’re trying to move the chains and get first downs. The points will take care of themselves,” Levine said.

The tenacious defense has played consistently all season and opened the door for the Cougars to win the game in all three of their losses.

“We don’t point fingers and say that the offense didn’t come through,” said junior linebacker Efrem Oliphant, who recorded a game-high 13 total tackles. “The team lost. It’s the same when it’s a team victory. It’s more things we could’ve done on defense to stop them from scoring where our offense didn’t have to be in a bad spot. I don’t look at it as in it’s our offense’s fault.”

UH has come close in its last two games against arguably the two best teams in the American Athletic Conference on the road, but it has certainly proved that its young team can challenge for a conference title.

“We just have to look forward. It’s a loss — we’re going to put it behind us. We have to focus on next week and the week after that and finish off the season on the right note,” Oliphant said.

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3 Comments

  • Very disappointed in the loss due to the offense’s lack of production. I have to believe that it was due to the big game atmosphere’s and having such a young team. But, the fact that the team has had the opportunity to win in all of its losses at the very end gives me a bright outlook for the future. It would have been so different had UH not even had a chance. The defense has been the incredible story this year.

  • the discussion over on the coogit forums seems to be trending toward the idea that okorn is in over his head a little with these good defenses. He is not an air raid QB, and we do not have the big hosses in the trenches to be able to beat good teams without the deception and misdirection that we had with the air raid.

    I don’t think okorn can run the air raid, at least not now

  • O’Korn just ran up against the strongest defense we have faced all season. Louisville’s defensive guys, particularly the linebackers, were bigger and faster than any O’Korn has seen in High School. This will help him grow – I hope. Also, we do need a power runner.

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