AT ISSUE: How many more 200-yard rushing games will UH senior running back Anthony Alridge play this season? Will Tulane be his next victim?
Quick Six for three
By Ronnie Turner
Looking at the remainder of the Cougars’ schedule, I see at least three more opponents that Anthony Alridge could burn for 200-plus rushing yards: Tulane, Rice and Texas Southern.
Why these three opponents? For starters, Alridge scorched Tulane with a five-carry, 155-yard outing last season, and will get more touches this time around as the Cougars feature back. Rice’s defense sucks so far this season, having surrendered an average of 401 yards in its first two games, both losses.
And against lowly Texas Southern, it’s possible Alridge could have 200 rushing yards before halftime. I predict Alridge will rush for at least 200 yards against two of the three aforementioned schools, starting with Tulane on Saturday. He’s a quick, elusive back and a threat to break a big run every time he touches the ball. Plus, Alridge didn’t earn the nickname "Quick Six" overnight. Many still don’t know what Alridge is capable of achieving.
200 not so easy
By Jong Lee
The break away ability of Anthony Alridge is amazing. All he needs is one seam and he’s gone. With that being said, I think this will be his last 200-yard rushing performance. Not because of Alridge, but because of the quarterback situation and 200 yards rushing being a tough feat in itself.
After this week, I also believe head coach Art Briles will have a much clearer picture of who will take the majority of the snaps for the rest of the season. That should open up a lot of room for Alridge to roam around catching passes. I think it wouldn’t be too crazy to believe that Alridge will finish the season with at least 500 yards receiving along with 1,500 yards rushing.
Also, after this week’s 200-yard performance, teams will lock onto Alridge more than they have. They will have to treat him like Reggie Bush. Defenses will have to plan their game plan around him and that will open up the passing game – playing into Briles’ game plan.
Have you no faith?
By Chief Achilefu
Am I the only one that saw Alridge get off for 225 rushing yards versus an Oregon team that held Michigan to a lowly seven points?
Tulsa, UAB, Tulane, and Marshall are all on the Cougars’ schedule and all four of those teams have given up more than 200 rushing yards per game this season. I’ll give Marshall a break since they had to face a West Virginia squad that featured two potential Heisman Trophy candidates in Pat White and Steve Slaton. I’ll replace them with Rice who has looked abysmal in their first two games.
Tulane has given up an average of 266 rushing yards per game this season. The only way they are going to stop Aldridge from getting more than 200 yards on Saturday is if he misses the team flight.
I predict that Aldridge will have four more games in which he eclipses the 200-yard mark.
Even ninjas can’t escape
By Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd heard that Alridge defeated two ninjas in a matter of seconds with one hand tied behind his back – cool part is, each ninja was in a different continent.
If Alridge can beat down two ninjas in two time zones at the same time, he’s sure he’ll be able to put up 200 yards on the ground against at least three more teams this season.
Judge Dredd is guessing these big games for Alridge will come in close games that Briles needs his No. 1 playmaker on the field for extended amounts of time. Then again, he’s capable of breaking an 80-yard gain on just about any play.
Jong, coaches can game plan all they want, but those game plans don’t mean anything when the guy they’re trying to stop is faster than Tim Montgomery on steroids.
Chief, Judge Dredd would have given you this round of fighting words, but you messed up your first stat. Alridge went for 205 against Oregon.
Ronnie wins Fighting Words.
Facetime: Ronnie Turner: Was there ever any doubt I would win?
