With its first game in the American Athletic Conference on Saturday, UH is tangibly moving forward from Conference USA. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars began preparing for their debut in the American Athletic Conference as soon as the change was announced in 2011.
The shift in talent from Conference USA to the American is steep, so the Cougars began recruiting bigger players who could handle the physical toll and provide the depth needed in a Bowl Championship Series conference.
This year, its recruiting class reflected UH’s goal to grow — especially in the trenches. Along the offensive line, 6-foot-5 offensive linemen Ja’Braylin Thomas and Josh Thomas, who each weigh more than 330 pounds, were added. On defense, 6-foot-3 freshman end Tyus Bowser cracked the team’s two-deep this week after a groin injury to sophomore Eric Eiland.
But for the Cougars’ first-ever conference opponent, their speed could be a bigger factor than the newly added brawn.
Temple, UH’s Saturday opponent, plays at the pace of a C-USA team after hiring a new coach this offseason. Temple head coach Matt Rhule installed a new fast-paced offensive style when he was hired.
“Offensively they’re going to be no huddle… Their quarterback, Connor Reilly, does a nice job — (he has) a tremendous arm, one of the best I’ve seen,” said head coach Tony Levine. “He rushed 12 times against Notre Dame. Some of those were designed; quite a few were scrambles where he broke (containment) and moved the chains to get the first down.”
The Cougars are one of the few teams in the American that sees the fast-paced offense every day in practice. Practicing how Temple plays will give UH an edge, said senior linebacker George Bamfo.
“When you go against an offense like ours that goes fast tempo every day, we kind of have the advantage. I don’t think they’re going to have any type of speed that we haven’t seen before with practicing against our offense every day,” Bamfo said.
Bamfo received the team’s game ball after recording eight tackles and recovering a fumble against Southern on Friday. Levine said he expects the linebackers to be a strength of the team moving into conference play.
“I was happy with how (the linebackers) played. Coach (Vernon) Hargreaves is doing an excellent job of coaching that group right now,” Levine said. “There are some techniques that he’s really emphasizing that, as a staff, we noticed on Friday night.”
The Cougars’ offense will face a Temple defense that’s more aggressive this season.
Temple defensive coordinator Phil Snow installed a blitz-heavy defensive scheme aimed at disrupting the opposing quarterback when he joined the Owls. Temple had five tackles for a loss on Saturday against Notre Dame. Temple expects junior linebacker Sean Daniels to bring pressure off the edge.
“I’m counting on him to be the pass rusher you worry about,” Rhule said to the South Jersey Times.
With a lot of change surrounding the program — new coordinators, uniforms, 43 newcomer players, conference and a stadium on the way — the second game of the season helps bring a sense of normalcy.
“I don’t want to say that’s not a big deal, because it certainly is a big deal, it’s an extraordinarily big deal for our program,” Levine said.
“But it’s not something I’m going to get up in front of the team and say, ‘remember guys, we’re playing in the first ever American Athletic Conference football game’. It’s the next game as far as our preparation is concerned.”
It’s kind of funny. Both teams think they have the advantage because they practice at a fast pace. Hint: when you both do it, neither has the advantage.