After their win over UCF, Houston moved up three spots to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 rankings. | The Cougar/Justin Tijerina
The No. 18 Cougars are set to face Vanderbilt University on Saturday. Although the forecast shows chances of rain for Saturday, head coach Tom Herman says Houston is prepared to play in any conditions.
“Well, we practiced outside last night for a good hour and a half in the rain, wind and all that,” Herman said. “We don’t have an indoor facility so we are going to prepare. There is a phrase we have around here, ‘We ain’t changing.’ We are like a brick wall, if you keep banging your head against that brick wall, that brick wall is going to win. So we ain’t changing.”
During his weekly press conference Herman said his team is going to stick to their training routine every week regardless of the conditions because it’s important that championship teams stick to their routine.
“I told our guys, I didn’t make the quote up because I’m sure I read it somewhere on a Hallmark card or something, but the obstacles and challenges that you see in front of you can only be seen when you take your focus off your goal,” Herman said. “As long as we stay with blinders on and focused on our goal of being 1-0 this week those challenges shouldn’t be an issue, because we really shouldn’t be paying any attention to them.”
The offensive line has a tough task ahead of them in Vanderbilt’s defense.
“I’m sitting here looking at 22nd in total defense, 16th in rush defense, 13th in scoring defense, third in the country in third-down defense and fifth in red zone defense,” Herman said. “Challenge is an understatement, they’re really good. Our offense will certainly have their work cut out for them, especially that young offensive line.”
Houston’s offense still managed to put up 433 yards against the University of Central Florida with true freshman Will Noble at center and redshirt freshmen Mason Denley and Colton Freeman at left and right guard.
“To me that’s unheard of. This kid is the apex of our offense. Six or seven months ago he was literally walking down the halls of his high school and getting ready for prom and all that stuff,” Herman said. “Now he’s going to be snapping the ball 70 some odd times and blocking an SEC defense out there.”
Herman said he’s pleased with the progression of the offensive line and is excited for the trajectory they’re on but made it clear that they’re not a finished product by any stretch.
Herman also gave an update on senior running back Kenneth Farrow who suffered an injury against UCF after he collided helmets with a Knights player.
“All signs are pointing in a good direction,” Herman said “I won’t know anything until tomorrow after 24 hours. He continues to get updated and checked on and everything, and it looks good at this point, but we won’t know until tomorrow whether he is cleared for practice.”
Herman said he hopes Farrow doesn’t become hesitant in his return and continues to play the way that he has.
“He ran better at UCF than I have ever seen him run, we want that same kind of Farrow back,” Herman said. “He bulldozed his way to the end zone and ran over a guy in the sideline and continued down for another 10- 12 yards. We need him to run that way in order for us to be successful.”
