Southern Miss vs. Houston: 5 Things We Learned from Cougars' Loss

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Another non-BCS school gets their BCS bowl hopes dashed in 2011. First it was TCU in Week 1 in their loss to Baylor, then it was Boise State who got upset by TCU.

And again on Saturday, during conference championship week, the 12-0 and No. 6 ranked Houston Cougars fell to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 49-28.

Here's what we learned from the Conference USA title game.

Houston Wasn't Focused

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On paper and in virtually every facet of the game, Houston was the better team. But that's why they play the games.

As for this game, the Cougars simply weren't focused. On the day they went 6-of-20 on third down and had a lot more dropped passes than usual.

Thing is, you don't get to third down 20 times if you're focused—and converting just six of them is abysmal. Had Houston been able to move the ball better on first and second down, well, then third down becomes that much more manageable.

Also, if you have more success on the first two downs, you don't even get to third down. Limited success early is what ultimately killed the Cougars' chances.

Southern Miss Defense Better Than Advertised

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Southern Miss was damn impressive In keeping one of the nation's more prolific offenses under 30 points and picking off two passes.

Additionally, Southern Miss has given up an average of just over 20 points per game. They beat the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC 30-24—and UVA finished 8-4 and second in the ACC Coastal to Virginia Tech.

So, although they were upset by Marshall and UAB, the Golden Eagles defense proved how good they can really be when focused and prepared. Not to mention Southern Miss had to prove to itself that Houston could be stopped.

No one had shutdown the Cougars and Case Keenum all year, but being that the Golden Eagles did, just shows how much credit they deserve. Keenum was under quite a bit of duress all game and was hit constantly.

Just goes to show that no matter how good any one QB is, pressure is the key.

No Run Game for Houston Proves Costly

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The Cougars may have the most explosive passing game and put up the most points per game, but if you don't have any type of ground game, it will eventually cost you.

On the year, Houston had averaged just over 160 rush yards per game and ranked No. 55 in the nation. Now, that's not a bad average but since the Cougars would get up big early in most contests, they would earn much of it in garbage time.

Against Southern Miss on Saturday, the Cougars had just 55 rush yards on 31 attempts. It would be a different story if Houston could run the ball effectively in clutch situations.

However, since they can't and haven't had to rely on the running game all season long, well, that was exploited by the Golden Eagles defense.

Austin Davis Deserves More Recognition

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With Houston's Case Keenum earning so much recognition for his dominant season, it's easy for anyone to overlook any other QB in Conference USA.

That said, Southern Miss' Austin Davis has been having a pretty solid season himself. With over 3,300 passing yards, over 30 total TDs and just 11 INTs, Davis deserves some props.

Then again, when he played the Cougars on Saturday, Davis stepped up on a big stage and threw four TD passes, three of which led to the Golden Eagles' first 21 points.

After that, Southern Miss knew they could match Houston's pace and the Cougars hadn't played against a team like that all season. If Austin Davis has just an average game, Southern Miss doesn't win.

The four TD passes were the most by Davis in any game this season and his 47 rush yards were the third most. It's clear that Houston wasn't prepared to stop him and he took control.

BCS Breathes a Sigh of Relief

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Thanks to Houston losing, the BCS has some pressure taken away. For one, the Cougars were the only other undefeated team left next to LSU and for as much chaos as there has been this season, a non-BCS school dropping out is big.

Much like with what happened twice in Utah (2004, 2008), twice in Boise (2006, 2009), and once in TCU (2010), a non-BCS school went undefeated and had a legit argument to contend for the BCS title. Well, that only added more wood to the fire in terms of adopting a playoff system.

But now that Houston has fallen from grace, there's no worry about a non-BCS school busting the party and messing up the whole system. That being said, now there's just controversy among the BCS schools.

So, although there's a good argument for implementing a playoff system throughout the BCS schools, there's less fire on the BCS system with Houston out of the conversation.

 

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