Previewing Colorado State’s Opponents: Houston

This game will pit two first-time head coaches with only a few games under their belts.  The Houston Cougars will be trying to replace Art Briles, who left for Baylor at the end of the season, and whose head coaching position was filled by Oklahoma’s co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin.

Last year these two teams faced off in Houston, and the Rams led 17-3 before fading fast and ultimately losing the game.

The Cougars lost a lot of firepower in the form of running back Anthony Alridge and wide receivers Donnie Avery and Jeron Harvey.  The main question is if the Cougars have enough offensive firepower to keep up what they have achieved in the past.

Offense

The Houston Cougars return six starters on the offensive side of the ball and will be led by WR Mike Hafner, who had 445 yards receiving and three touchdowns.  Those are modest stats, but as he was playing behind Donnie Avery and Jeron Harvey—who are no longer with the program due to graduation—those are pretty good stats for a third wideout.

New coach Kevin Sumlin has improved the offensive output at each stop he has made, but his biggest improvement was with Texas A&M, where Sumlin was moved into the offensive coordinator role.  The Aggies averaged 33.0 points per game after posting just 16.0 per game before he took control.

Sumlin is an innovator on offense and should keep the recent tradition from Art Briles of being able to score bunches of points.

The QB position is one that is muddled—the two quarterbacks are currently listed as number one on the depth chart, which should be figured out in fall camp.

The two QBs are Case Keenum and Blake Joseph, who split time last year.  Keenum played in every game and started eight, while Joseph played in eleven and started five games.

Keenum has more mobility and rushed for 412 yards and nine touchdowns, which is solid for a quarterback.  As for passing, Keenum had 2,259 yards, 68 completion percentage, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

While Blake Joseph in less time threw a comparable percentage, his touchdown to interception ratio was 2.25 to 1.5.  However, that could be inflated due to playing time.  Whoever is at the quarterback position should be able to thrive.

The key loss at running back is Anthony Alridge, who will be replaced by Terrance Ganaway.  As a backup, Ganaway had 550 yards, six touchdowns, and an average of 5.0 yards per carry.  He should be able to put up similar numbers to Alridge, who rushed for just under 1,600 yards.

If these new players taking over starting spots have success, and a quarterback is chosen, Houston’s offense should not skip a beat from last year.

Defense

The defense will need to help carry the offense while it finds its way and becomes acquainted with the new scheme.

There are eight returning starters on defense from a team that did give up 27 points per game, which needs to improve to help out this team.  Last year the offense was able to outscore teams, and the defense was called upon to make timely stops when it counted.

The top returning starter on defense is defensive end Phillip Hunt, who had 10.5 sacks and 18 for loss.  Hunt will see a lot of double teams and free up another player to make the play, but he is the leader of the front seven.

In the secondary, the Cougars return Kenneth Fontenette and Ernest Miller.  These two had four picks and eleven passes broken up and will only get better.

The defense should improve over last year's defense with the eight starters returning, and they will need to take charge to give the offense time to gel.

Early Prediction

This game should be a close and competitive game, and I could see either team winning.  Both teams have new coaches, but the edge has to go to Colorado State, because they are at home and have more of their offense returning than the Cougars.

As of now, look for the Rams to win by three because of the home field advantage.

This post has been syndicated from the Mountain West Conference Connection.  Check out the blog news and subscribe.