Ed Oliver has not played in several games, and the Cougars have lost two games in a row without him. UH will need him for the final games of the year to reach the AAC Championship. | Thomas Dwyer/ The Cougar
On Monday, head coach Major Applewhite met with the media at a press conference to speak on the storylines leading into this week’s game against Tulane.
Last weekend, the Cougars took a tough loss at the hands of the Temple Owls. UH had many injuries and was unable to stop the Temple running game. However, Applewhite said that there are no excuses for losing the way the Cougars did.
“We have to play better, we have to coach better and we have to put our players in positions to make plays,” Applewhite said, “Everybody this time of year has injuries.”
UH will have to turn its attention to its next challenge very quickly as it has a short week before its next matchup. The Cougars have to win this upcoming game to preserve its hopes of playing in the AAC Conference Championship. Applewhite assured that the short week will not have any negative effects on the team.
“Our guys responded really well last night at practice. In some ways, it’s actually a positive, especially coming off of a loss because you’ve got to drop it and move on quickly,” Applewhite said. “The guys came in last night prepared to get ready for Tulane and they had a great practice.”
For the Cougars, the short week makes it more difficult to get healthy for the game. Against Temple, UH did not have several defensive linemen including junior defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Oliver missed three games in a row, and he might not make his return against Tulane.
“Going through warm up drills, he bothered his knee again and that’s why he was out against Temple,” Applewhite said. “I don’t want to get into the healing part of it, that’s not my expertise at all. Ed wants to play, but you have to be cautious.”
Houston plays Tulane Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at TDECU Stadium.
