Not even 325 all-purpose yards from senior running back Anthony Alridge could help Houston climb out of the hole it dug itself into during Saturday’s 48-27 loss to Oregon at Autzen Stadium.
Alridge rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and returned a kickoff for 32 yards.
But that couldn’t help the Cougars, who turned the ball over four times, had a punt blocked and committed 11 penalties.
"I (thought) that we were going to win the football game, but you just can’t have an attitude, what you got to have is a good performance, and we didn’t (do) that," head coach Art Briles said. "You can’t have a punt blocked and turn the ball over twice in the red-zone against anybody."
One of the biggest mysteries going into the game was whom Briles would name the starting quarterback. Briles said repeatedly last week that it would be a game-day decision.
Briles gave the nod to redshirt sophomore Blake Joseph. However, Joseph (8-of-12, 51 yards) was replaced by redshirt freshman Case Keenum after he threw an interception on the Cougars second possession.
Keenum played for much of the game’s remainder, and completed 14-of-27 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown against an interception.
However, the interception, which came with the game tied at 20 and the Cougars at the Oregon 10-yard line in the third quarter, proved costly. It allowed the Ducks to march 80 yards in the other direction and go ahead by seven.
After the interception, Oregon outscored Houston 28-7.
"I have to look at (Joseph and Keenum) on film, but I thought they kept the ball alive and that’s what they got to do. It was the first time out for both of them – not bad," Briles said.
Much didn’t seem to go right for the Cougars in the second half. The Cougars had a punt blocked on their next drive and the Ducks recovered at the Houston 6. Oregon capitalized with a touchdown on the next play.
"That’s one of the most frustrating things…I think we got inside the 10, and we didn’t come away with any points," Keenum said. "It’s definitely something you don’t want to do. We’ll learn from it."
All things considered, the Cougars couldn’t stop the run in the new 4-2-5 defense. They surrendered 339 rushing yards (6.9 yards per carry).
"The defensive performance, overall, was alright… We have to learn how to tackle better and get the man down on first contact," junior defensive end Phillip Hunt said.
The turnover marathon began when Alridge was stripped of the ball on the seventh play of the game. Houston gave up the ball two more times in the first quarter.
"I wouldn’t say (the first fumble) was frustrating. It’s just a learning curve," Alridge said. "We played tough and had an opportunity to win to the game.
"It’s just whoever wins the turnover battle will win the game. Unfortunately they made us turn the ball over and a big part of it is on me."
On the first play of the next drive, the ball got away from Alridge again and Oregon recovered at the Houston 10. Oregon made the Cougars pay again with another touchdown.
"He doesn’t really (fumble). This is the first game and the offense doesn’t really get touched in practice, so maybe that’s what it was," junior cornerback Kenneth Fontenette said.
Houston began to put things together at the end of the first quarter. Keenum came in for Joseph, and Alridge broke open a 29-yard run to the Oregon 1. Freshman running back Terrance Ganaway punched it in with 10 seconds left in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 14-7.
"We had some good momentum after the first couple of drives," Keenum said. "We came out and showed some play action and we had it going there the whole time."
Alridge did what he does best and went for a 60-yard touchdown on the Cougars’ second drive of the second quarter. That pulled Houston within 17-14.
"I thought (Alridge) played hard. He made some big plays," Briles said. "He definitely gives us a chance to score from anywhere on the field."
The Cougars tied the game at 20 with a T.J. Lawrence 32-yard field goal and forced Oregon to punt to start the second half. Suddenly the sell-out crowd of 57,662 went silent as Houston looked to take the lead.
But the Duck fans weren’t kept in silence for too long. After an interception and a blocked punt, Oregon stretched the lead to 14.
"There were a bunch of (back-breakers) in there," Briles said.
Alridge did his best to keep Houston in the game. Down 34-20, Alridge took a screen pass from Keenum and went 86 yards for a touchdown that pulled the Cougars within seven.
"It was a screen and they did a good job up front blocking. I had a great block by (senior wide receiver Perry) McDaniel, he killed some guy, and I just ran and did what I do best," Alridge said.
Houston couldn’t stop senior quarterback Dennis Dixon, who completed 9-of-15 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown.
"I wasn’t surprised (about Dixon). We saw him on film and we knew that he was a very explosive player, and it was hard to stop him today," Hunt said.
Ducks picked apart the Cougar’s defense to start the fourth quarter. Oregon put together a 13-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Jeremiah Johnson’s 3-yard touchdown run.
The score gave Oregon its final points with 10:19 left in the game, and put the Cougars out of their misery.
"There’s only one way to get experience and that’s to get through it," Briles said. "We bled a little today, but it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon and journey. We just didn’t come out of the blocks well."
