As the Cougars return from their deflating road trip to West Texas, the only finger pointing to be done is at themselves.’
That doesn’t necessarily mean they defeated themselves Saturday against the Miners, but it does mean that the answers to their now-troubled season lie within.’
And yes, that season is officially troubled.
As head coach Kevin Sumlin has reiterated since spring practice, UH’s season goals start and end with the Western division of Conference USA.’
That’s why Saturday’s stumble in the Sun Bowl is so disheartening. The Cougars are now squarely behind the eight ball with a losing record in the C-USA standings. Couple that with expected challenger Tulsa’s win over Rice, and the situation becomes even more dire.
Granted this is all after one game and things can change in just one weekend, but the loss in C-USA positioning should be treated with greater concern than the loss of a national ranking. What’s worse is that they have to wait two weeks to gain some ground in the conference.
This week the team will talk about having to regroup and making adjustments on defense for this week’s game at Mississippi State, and rightfully so.’
Still, this non-conference game will mean little in the grand scheme of things, and the Cougars (3-1, 0-1 C-USA) would be wise to treat it as a tune-up for Tulane (2-2, 0-1 C-USA).
‘ Some fans may argue that a strong bounce-back win is necessary to turn around the season, but the reality is that if the team doesn’t address their issues on defense, a win against an SEC opponent will mean nothing.’
Priority number one has to be shoring up a defensive unit that was repeatedly gashed on the ground by UTEP (2-3, 1-0 C-USA).’
The Cougars can win their share of shootouts, but relying on their offense to outscore the opposition is a recipe for disaster.
When teams run the ball the way the Miners did, they control the clock and keep UH’s offense off the field.’
A potent offense is useless when it’s on the sidelines. Saturday’s game gave the rest of the league a blueprint on how to do just that.
Even if the Cougars lose in Starkville, Miss., their ability to dictate the style of play on both sides of the ball will be key.’
The Bulldogs’ defense will provide a good measuring stick for UH to see if it can correct some of the self-inflicted errors they had against UTEP. On defense, the Cougars will be challenged to stop a team that will be intent on running the ball.
UH may also need to accept a change in offensive philosophy. Case Keenum’s school record 51 completions came in part because the team was playing from behind in the second half.’
If the Cougars had established the run earlier and stayed with it throughout the game, UTEP would not have been able to focus on the pass as much. Throw in the added rest the defense would have received from longer, run-based drives, and the team’s need to balance the offense becomes more apparent.
UH needs to hit the ground running this week, literally. This season’s fortunes now rest on a young team’s ability to climb a mountain less glorified than the peak known as the Associated Press’ top 25.’
How a team responds to adversity, especially its first dose, is just as telling as how it responds to success.’
The team said all the right things entering Saturday’s matchup with the Miners. Now it has to do the little things to correct a big problem.
