UH not taking Memphis for granted

Before the season began, some expected the Cougars to be in this position: undefeated at 4-0 in advance of the tough back end of the schedule.

On Oct. 19, the Cougars will play Brigham Young University in what many believe will be the Cougars’ toughest match so far. But the Cougars said they know they can’t overlook their opponent beforehand — this Saturday’s contest against Memphis (1-3), a game in which UH is a 10-point favorite, according to teamrankings.com.

“That is something that definitely falls on our staff that we are informing our student athletes,” said head coach Tony Levine. “We are focused on being 1-0 at the end of this week and not concern ourselves with whom we’re playing next week or in November.”

The Cougars were favored in their last game at UTSA; however, they found themselves in a dogfight for the first three quarters before finally blowing the game open in the final quarter.

The Cougars are coming off a bye and will have had two full weeks to prepare for the Tigers. Levine said it’s important for his team to keep its poise against whomever they’re playing that week.

“That has really been something we have stressed going into the season. We have to keep (our team) focused one game at a time, and we are 100 percent focused on Memphis,” Levine said. “Everybody assumed we were going to beat UTSA, but after the game, somebody told me we were underdogs. We’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Memphis.”

Senior cornerback Zachary McMillian said the team is focused and needs to look at each game as if they’re starting with zero wins and losses.

“Ever since I got here, we’ve done a really good job of just focusing on the game at hand and not looking ahead,” McMillian said. “If you don’t take it game by game, you do have a tendency to look ahead of (teams). We don’t do that here. We have that focus of just starting off 0-0 each week, and we focus on going 1-0 at the end of the week.”

Memphis redshirt freshman quarterback Paxton Lynch is 6-foot-6, weighs 225 pounds and can run well in the open field. He will pose a “big challenge in the secondary” with his physique and the ability to throw the deep ball, McMillian said.

Sophomore running back Ryan Jackson said they need to focus on the game at hand and not take any opponent for granted.

“We can’t look too far ahead in the schedule, and we need to have our focus on one opponent at a time,” Jackson said.

“If you overlook your opponent you’re playing, then that makes you real vulnerable to get surprised come game time.”

The Cougars are no strangers when it comes to being upset by a team they were heavily favored against — in last season’s 30-13 loss against Texas State, UH was the 37-point favorite, according to Las Vegas Sports Books.

“What we have done makes no difference, and where we are going to be in the future makes no difference,” Levine said. “It’s about our next opponent and what we have done lately. We’re focused on getting better, and Memphis has our undivided attention.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article said through instead of throw. 

[email protected]