The Houston Cougars took the college football kingdom by storm last season, rolling to an American Athletic Conference championship and making a New Year’s Six game, the Peach Bowl. The Houston Cougars were underdogs in that game, but they rose up and beat the Florida State Seminoles to finish 13-1. This year, the team’s star head coach and star quarterback return. Ultimately, everyone wants to see if the other parts of the team can hold up and provide the support Tom Herman and Greg Ward require.
The challenge for Houston this year will be to finish undefeated. Considering they play in the AAC, they probably can’t afford to lose even a single time if they hope to crash the College Football Playoff. That type of pressure usually leads to a loss somewhere along the way.
Biggest Team Weakness
The defensive backfield loses a couple of starters, but the offensive line is even more green. There’s only one proven upperclassman on the line, and since there are so many responsibilities attached to line play, it’s a complicated reality for the Cougars’ linemen. They know Greg Ward is exceptionally good, but even though Ward can often wiggle his way out of trouble, they will still have to make their captain comfortable enough on most passing plays. If they allow Ward to take too many hits, Houston’s best player could either suffer an injury or lose his effectiveness. Houston’s offensive line has to come up with a big effort this year, but it’s not going to be very easy to steer Ward away from trouble.
Biggest Team Strength
The Cougars’ biggest strength is their coach. Tom Herman is almost certainly going to coach at a major college football power once he leaves Houston, which could very possibly be after the 2016 season. Greg Ward, the elite quarterback for the Houston Cougars, joined the program before Herman did. Ward was okay, but he was hardly special. Herman turned him into a next-level player. Herman has a gift for teaching quarterbacks. He showed it at Ohio State with J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. He showed it last year with Ward. As long as Herman is coaching this team, it should be able to succeed and hit most – but not all – of its targets. Ward is the best player on the team and thereby a huge strength in his own right, but Herman is the reason Ward is as good as he is. Therefore, Herman remains the team’s biggest strength.
Schedule
The schedule starts with a huge game against Oklahoma on Sept. 3. If Houston wins that one, the Houston Cougars could legitimately make the College Football Playoff if they go unbeaten. Even if the Houston Cougars don’t win it, they can still win the AAC championship and go to a New Year’s Six bowl. There is also the slim chance that they lose a close game in the opener to an Oklahoma team that everyone thinks highly of, and then they win out and still go to the College Football Playoff.
Within the AAC, Houston must play Memphis and Navy on the road, but those two teams are breaking in new quarterbacks. And Memphis lost head coach Justin Fuente to Virginia Tech, so this figures to be a rebuilding year. If ever there was a good year to play those two teams on the road, this is it. The schedule is therefore a mixed bag. Houston just has to focus on Week 1 against Oklahoma and then block out distractions, whether positive or negative.
Outlook
Houston won’t beat Oklahoma, but it will beat everyone else. There’s no one in the AAC who will be able to keep pace with Herman’s system and Ward’s outrageous talent. That means that Houston’s fate will be tied to Oklahoma’s. If the Sooners finish the season undefeated, then Houston’s lone loss to an undefeated team might not be viewed so negatively. But if they lose to Oklahoma and then the Sooners end up losing three or four times, then Houston’s reputation will sink.
It’s often challenging when a team’s “Super Bowl” is the first game of the season, but that’s what Houston has to focus on as that’ll determine how their season goes.
Projection: 1st In The AAC
