Houston's Anemic Offense Is Sinking Cougars' 2014 Hopes

Coach Tony Levine has taken what used to be one of the nation’s most prolific passing attacks and turned it into one of the most boring, uninspired and dysfunctional offensive units in the country.

Or maybe it’s his offensive coordinator, Travis Bush.

Whatever the case, Houston’s offense doesn’t work, is only consistent in its inconsistency and has Cougar fans longing for days of yore, days that were only three years ago before Levine took over for the departing Kevin Sumlin.

Heck, some folks, such as John Royal of the Houston Press, believe fans would be stoked if they could only get last year’s coordinator, Doug Meacham, back in the fold:

Alas, Meacham remains at TCU, and Houston’s struggle to find its offensive identity continued on Thursday night at TDECU Stadium against UCF. Houston fell to 2-3 on the season and 0-1 in American Athletic Conference play after suffering a heartbreaking 17-12 loss.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Houston headed into the locker room at the half versus Central Florida down 7-6. It wasn’t that they didn’t have their chances to score. They did. Houston’s offense racked up 143 yards, and the ball-hawking Cougar defense gobbled up three turnovers.

But Houston didn’t score touchdowns when it had opportunities, and things didn’t change much in the second half, either.

Part of the problem seems to be Houston’s unwillingness to decide what it wants to be.

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Is Houston a running team? It sure seems like they want to be sometimes. The Cougars rushed the ball 33 of their 76 total offensive plays. But Houston only managed 117 yards rushing, averaging a paltry 3.5 yards per carry.

Are the Coogs a passing team? That’s what they used to be, and most fans probably think that’s what they should be now. It wasn’t long ago that Case Keenum and the Coogs broke just about all passing records known to mankind, at least at the NCAA level.

But Keenum is long gone now, and the way Houston’s receivers drop the ball, one has to wonder if it’d even make a difference if he weren't.

Besides, the offense Keenum ran left with him. Oh sure, Levine’s offense lines up like the Air Raid, but it’s more of a “Field Goal Assault” than the prolific offensive scheme Sumlin took with him to Texas A&M.

And what about the most important position on the field? Is John O’Korn the quarterback? Should he be?

The sophomore’s second-year slump continued against UCF. O’Korn finished the game 12-of-26 passing for only 98 yards. He threw two interceptions and was replaced by sophomore Greg Ward in the middle of the third quarter.

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If there was any silver lining to Houston’s effort on offense against UCF, it was Ward.

The former high school standout from Tyler, Texas came into the game and breathed new life into the offense. He doesn’t have the arm strength O’Korn possesses, but he has fast feet and he kept UCF’s defensive backs’ eyes on him a split second longer than they had to when O’Korn was in the game, freeing up receivers in the secondary.

Ward almost engineered the comeback. After a brilliant run to the end zone as time dwindled down to its final seconds, Ward had the ball knocked out of his hands just inches from the goal line as he dove forward for the win.

Tough luck, kid. Maybe things would have been different if you’d been in the game the whole time.

Ward finished 10-of-17 passing for 116 yards. He threw no interceptions and kept UH in the game with his scrambling ability.

But Ward couldn’t do it alone, and he won’t be able to do it alone if he gets the nod for the rest of the season, either. And it’s pretty clear he should.

Untimely drops, penalties and misguided play calls were too much for anyone to overcome against UCF. No matter how good the offense could be, it was nothing short of terrible against the Knights. Ward replacing O’Korn might solve one problem, but how about the rest of them?

Levine has his work cut out.

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It has to be frustrating for Cougar fans. There are glimpses here and there. At times, they look like a revved-up Lamborghini. They’re sharp, speedy and look like they can drive as fast as they want down the field of play whenever they so desire.

But inevitably, they turn into that lime green Pinto your grandma still totes herself around in for some reason. She has the money to do something different, but just doesn’t want to part with the thing.

That’s a shame.

Houston has talent on offense. It’s all over the field. The quarterback has a strong arm. His backup has fast feet and is accurate. The receivers are big and fast. They have both kinds of running backs: the strong and the shifty. The offensive line is huge.

But it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do: score points. And that’s too bad, because as solid a defense as Houston has, one of the best in the AAC in fact, the anemic offense is sinking Houston’s 2014 hopes anyway.  

And things don’t look like they’ll get better anytime soon.

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