College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Houston Cougars season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Houston Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 in American Athletic
Head Coach: Dana Holgorsen, 2nd year, 4-8
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 77
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 101
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 55
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Offense 3 Things To Know
– That wasn’t how it was supposed to work. The Houston offense was expected to explode with head coach Dana Holgorsen coming in to coach up dynamic quarterback D’Eriq King and an O that put up 571 points in 2018 and … nope.
The offense never clicked, the offensive line allowed too many sacks, and King – now a Miami Hurricane – sat out the season after four games. On the plus side, last year turned into one big scrimmage to get everyone ready for the season.
Call it a tank, call it prep work, call it being self-aware of what success really is for a college football program of Houston’s caliber. Thanks to that, there’s a whole lot of experience returning.
CFN in 60 Video: Houston Cougars Preview
– King is gone, but Clayton Tune was able to get in seven games of work and threw for 1,533 yards and 11 scores with nine picks. He’s not King when it comes to dynamic big plays, but he’s a 6-3, 215-pound passer who can move a little bit. For the moment, he’s it – sophomore Logan Holgorsen is the main backup – but with a transfer at some point expected to be added to the mix.
Tune is okay, and his receiving corps is great. Senior Marquez Stevenson and the top four targets from last year are back. They didn’t get enough work in overall, and they were far less productive than the 2018 corps, but there’s a whole lot of flash, size, and speed to rotate in.
– The offensive line loses OT Josh Jones at left tackle, but the rest of the front five is back. There’s terrific depth, but not a whole lot of bulk. Overall, this group has to be far, far better in pass protection – a huge injury issue across the board had a whole lot to do with that – but it’s going to be solid for what should be a good ground attack.
The top two running backs are great, but the developed depth is lacking. Leading rusher Kyle Porter – a former Texas transfer – is back after a 616-yard season, and 215-pound Mulbah Car returns after running for 375 yards and three scores as he spread out his four games to preserve another season.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense had problems, especially late. The move to getting the young parts experience for this year should pay off – at least that’s the hope – after allowing 468 yards and 34 points per game, with 44 or more given up in three of the last four games.
If all goes according to plan, 16 of the top 17 tacklers return, a whole slew of transfers should make a difference, and the pieces are there to be better in a big hurry. There should be a great rotation to go along with the promising starting 11.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Houston Cougars
Houston preview in 60 seconds
– It doesn’t matter where Grant Stuard plays, he’s going to bring the pop. The 6-1, 210-pound senior is a hybrid safety and linebacker who led the team with 97 tackles. There isn’t a whole lot of size in the linebacking corps overall, but again, the depth and options should keep everyone fresh. Donavan Mutin will be a given in the middle, and everything else will fill in from there.
The line loses Aymiel Fleming off the nose, but the pass rush has to ramp up from the ends. The defensive style is more than suited to anyone who’s able to fire into the backfield, but the group has to generate more than 21 sacks.
There’s a nice mix of edge rushers and decent size to play around with the rotation but 345-pound Olivier Charles-Pierre has to gum up the works with his bulk in the interior.
– There Cougars are loaded with options in the secondary. Not only are all of the pieces back, but lots and lots of transfers are in the program to provide a push for jobs. Senior CB Damarion Williams was second on the team in tackles, and junior S Gervarrius Owens is back after making 54 stops – they’re both former JUCO transfers.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Houston Cougars Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Houston Cougars Players
Best Houston Cougars Offensive Player
WR Marquez Stevenson, Sr.
The 6-0, 190-pounder missed all of his 2017 season hurt after missing almost all of 2016 banged up. Fine in 2018, he caught 75 passes for 1,019 yards and nine scores while becoming a whale of a kick returner.
Last year he dropped to 52 grabs, but he made more big plays and became more dangerous. With tremendous speed and quickness, get the ball his way and he’ll average more than 17 yards per catch.
2. RB Mulbah Car, Sr.
3. RB Kyle Porter, Sr.
4. WR Jeremy Singleton, Jr.
5. QB Clayton Tune, Jr.
Best Houston Cougars Defensive Player
S Grant Stuard, Sr.
A special teamer who got in a few carries in his first two seasons, Stuard found his niche and role last year as a hitting machine who led the team with 97 tackles with a sack, 9.5 tackles for loss, and four broken up passes. He’s part linebacker and part safety in the 4-2-5 alignment with great athleticism and range. If he stays in one piece, he’ll be a lock for 100 tackles.
2. CB Damarion Williams. Sr.
3. S Gervarrius Owens, Jr.
4. LB Donavan Mutin, Jr.
5. DE Payton Turner, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Houston Cougars Offense
The passing game has to start working again. Houston might have had a disappointing 2018 season, but at least it cranked up over 3,800 passing yards with 45 touchdowns and just nine picks. Last year’s attack? 2,440 yards, 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions.
Of course the shutdown of the offense was a part of it, but the machine didn’t work when D’Eriq King was playing, either. The O only came up with two 300-yard games – both losses – and those were the only two with more than 240 yards. The Cougars managed double-digit passing touchdowns in just five games.
In 2018, the offense came up with nine games with 240 yards or more with three or more scoring passes in every regular season game but one.
Biggest Key To The Houston Cougars Defense
More sacks, more pressure, more big plays. The pressure into the backfield will come – there are way too many good options to not find a few who can grow into stars – and the secondary is loaded with nice prospects, veterans and transfers.
Now the takeaways have to emerge.
The 2018 Houston defense managed 24 takeaways, and last year’s version generated just 14. It wasn’t just the ten turnover drop; it was that they just weren’t there in key times.
There were two recovered fumbles in the opener against Oklahoma, four takeaways in the win over Tulsa, and eight total in the other ten games with no more than one takeaway in any one of them.
Key Houston Cougars Player To A Successful Season
QB Clayton Tune, Jr.
Tune got a nice tune-up for seven games last season. The 6-3, 215-pounder took over once D’Eriq King took the rest of the season off and then took his talents to South Beach, Tune hit 59% of his passes for 1,533 yards and 11 touchdowns and nine picks, and he wasn’t consistent.
Granted, he rarely had a ton of time, but and the team lost the two times he and the passing game went off, but he’s it. He’s the make-or-break guy for what needs to be a far stronger season. As he goes, so go the Houston Cougars.
Key Game To The Houston Cougars Season
at Memphis, Sept. 19
Memphis has won four straight in the series has it’s become the star of the American Athletic Conference West division – it’s what Houston was supposed to be.
This time around, Dana Holgorsen and the Cougars can make a massive statement in their conference opener. Win this on the road, and there’s hope that there’s a payoff for everything that happened last year. Lose, and with at Navy, at Cincinnati, at SMU and UCF still to play, there might be a big problem.
– Houston Cougars Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Houston Fun Stats
– Penalties: Opponents 91 for 826 yards – 58 for 579 yards
– 3rd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 116 – Houston 55
– Red Zone TDs: Opponents 34-of-45 (76%) – Houston 22-of-43 (51%)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Houston Cougars Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
This will be interesting.
Houston started out last season 1-3 in Year One under Dana Holgorsen – losing to Tulane in brutal, last-second fashion after dropping the dates to Oklahoma and Washington State, and then all but shut down the machine.
It was the equivalent of being great at a video game, but starting over after a rough beginning meant there was no way to get the high score.
No coach will ever admit to dreaming of sitting several key players to get them ready for next year – all while rotating in a slew of options to get them live action – but it’s a phenomenal concept.
So what if you win a few games and go to some bowl when the goal is to win a conference championship and become a national player?
Last year’s let’s-not-say-tank-but-okay season might appear to be brilliant if the 2020 team is fantastic.
At the very least, this is a Cougar team loaded with depth at most spots, but not necessarily in the offensive backfield.
Clayton Tune and the quarterback play have to be great, and the offensive line has to stay healthier this season, but the receiving corps is great and the rushing punch of Kyle Porter and Mulbah Car should be great.
The defense might not have a ton of sure-thing stars, but the depth is ridiculous, especially in the secondary.
Set The Houston Cougars Regular Season Win Total At … 6
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 5.5
There’s talent and athleticism in place, but can this all really work? As bad as things were last year, the team just has to be just two wins better to go bowling and for there to be an upswing.
Rice, North Texas, USF, Tulsa – win three of those four, and the Cougars will be on their way.
But they want to be a whole lot better than that.
There isn’t a 100% can’t-win game on the slate, but road games at Washington State, Memphis, BYU, Navy, Cincinnati and SMU are going to make coming up with eight wins or more way too tough.
Six wins or more? Considering what last season was like, Houston had better be that good.
