When the bright lights of Robertson Stadium faded Saturday night, Houston hoped the old adage, “it’s always darkest before the dawn,” would hold true. UH saw several dark moments in its 30-13 loss to Texas State and the aftermath served equally as dim with the resignation of offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt.
“The sun came up this morning and the sun came up Sunday morning,” said redshirt senior defensive back Chris Cermin. “You just kind of learn and burn. You watch the film, you see what your mistakes are and you correct them.”
The Cougars combated disappointment with determination as the week moved forward, believing they were better than what was shown.
“Don’t believe that’s how we play,” said redshirt sophomore quarterback David Piland. “It’s the University of Houston and you should want to come out to every game because it will be that fun to watch. If there’s someone on the wall about whether or not this is that team — this is that team — and we’ll make a believer out of you this Saturday for sure.”
The Cougars have a chance to redeem themselves against a strong and experienced Louisiana Tech squad tonight — a program that pushed UH to the brink of its first loss before Houston stormed back from a 34-7 deficit for a one point victory in Ruston, La. last season.
“They’re a veteran team and they’re similar to us on the offensive line with a lot of veterans back,” said head coach Tony Levine. “They’re a great team offensively and they’re really sound and aggressive defensively.”
A win over the Bulldogs — a potential Bowl Championship Series buster — would be the equivalent of throwing gasoline on the flame that is scarcely flickering and would ignite faith in a team with a long season ahead.
“We’ve got high expectations for our program,” Levine said. “You don’t judge a program, a team, on one opportunity. You want to look back at the end of the season then you’ll have a feel how the year went.”
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