Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Houston Cougars season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Houston Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 8-5 overall, 5-3 in AAC
Head Coach: Dana Holgorsen, 1st year
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOUSTON OFFENSE
– Yeah, the same offense that Dana Holgorsen cranked up at West Virginia is coming to Houston, but the passing game wasn’t a problem last season. The Cougars led the AAC and were ninth in the nation in passing efficiency for an O that finished seventh in the nation in yards and averaged 44 points per game.
– Back from a knee injury, D’Eriq King is one of the nation’s best all-around quarterbacks. Clayton Tune was fine in relief over the last part of the season, but when the 5-11, 195-pound King is rolling, he’s unstoppable. A baller’s baller, King ran for 14 scores and threw 36 touchdown passes after taking to the starting job right away. As long as King is in one piece, the offense is going to be fantastic again.
– The receiving corps is beyond loaded. Junior Marquez Stevenson is back after leading the team with 75 catches for 1,019 yards and nine scores, and senior Keith Corbin is back after averaging over 17 yards per catch with ten touchdown on his 40 grabs. And it doesn’t stop there with ten of the top 12 wideouts returning.
– King will be one of the team’s top rushers, but senior Patrick Carr will handle most of the work after leading the way with 868 yards and five scores, averaging 5.7 yards per pop. 215-pound Mulbah Car is a good veteran, and in comes transfer Kyle Porter from Texas to add even more flash to the mix.
– The O line should be okay, but it’s not going to be a rock after struggling a bit in pass protection. There’s decent size and enough depth to at least come up with a few position battles, but the tackles are set, guard Braylon Jones will likely move to center, and there isn’t a whole lot of concern about coming up with decent starting guards.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOUSTON DEFENSE
– The defense didn’t keep up its end of the bargain last year, and now five starters, Ed Oliver, and five of the top seven tacklers are gone. The run defense was awful, the pass defense was worse, and now the fourth-worst D in the country – giving up 497 yards and 37 points per game – has to undergo an overhaul.
– There’s no replacing Oliver at tackle, but JUCO transfer Olivier Charles-Pierre is an interesting 345-pound option on the nose, and 295-pound senior Aymiel Fleming is experienced – but he doesn’t get behind the line.
There’s a promising young rotation on the ends, but they need to do more after the D came up with just 23 sacks. A slew of JUCO transfers will play a role, and Isaiah Chambers is back after coming up with 4.5 sacks in his five games or work before getting hurt.
– Is Nathan Ceaser ready? The team’s top recruit is eventually going to be the linebacking star, but for now, the starting two or three – or four, depending on how you want to define the role of the hybrid Bandit position – has to replace the top-tackling tandem of Austin Robinson and Roman Brown, who combined for 241 tackles.
Leroy Godfrey has to play a bigger role as an all-around playmaker who can get into the backfield, but 245-pound sophomore Derek Parish is a good one who’ll be a stat-sheet filler.
– The secondary will be okay at safety, needs a few new corners, and has to hope for the transfers to play a big role. Colin Samuel is coming in from UCLA, and Kelvin Clemmons is arriving from Minnesota, but early on, the Cougars need the junior safety tandem of Gleson Sprewell and Deontay Anderson – the team’s two leading returning tacklers – will be the early main men.
It’ll be a fall camp fight for the starting corner gigs, with JUCO transfer Damarion Williams likely locking down a spot on one side.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP HOUSTON PLAYERS
Best Houston Offensive Player
QB D’Eriq King, Sr.
He quietly put up one of the best seasons in college football before getting hurt late in the season and missing the final few games. Before suffering the knee injury, he completed 64% of his passes for close to 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six picks.
Adding something more to the Dana Holgorsen offense is King’s mobility, finishing second on the team with 674 rushing yards and 14 scores, coming up with a rushing touchdown in every game.
2. WR Marquez Stevenson, Jr.
3. RB Patrick Carr, Sr.
4. WR Keith Corbin, Sr.
5. OT Josh Jones, Sr.
Best Houston Defensive Player
S Gleson Sprewell, Jr.
Sprewell combined with Deontay Anderson to make a whole lot of tackles in the Houston secondary, but the former JUCO transfer stood out with his team-high three picks to go along with his 81 tackles. Versatile, the 6-2, 195-pounder could end up as a nickel defender in the new defense, and he has the wheels to work outside if absolutely needed.
2. S Deontay Anderson, Jr.
3. DE Isaiah Chambers, Jr.
4. DE/LB Leroy Godfrey, Sr.
5. DT Aymiel Fleming, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Houston Offense
– Let the running backs handle the ground game. D’Eriq King is too athletic and too dangerous on the move to keep him from taking off, but considering how valuable he is for the passing attack – and coming off a knee injury – the more the running backs can handle the work, the better.
King finished second on the team in carries and rushing yards, and there’s no real need for that considering the stable of backs in place. Patrick Carr, Mulbah Car, and Texas transfer Kyle Porter are more than good enough to handle the heavy lifting. Of course King can and should take off, but keeping him in one piece is everything for the AAC title hopes.
Biggest Key To The Houston Defense
Get a whole lot nastier up front. Even with Ed Oliver, there weren’t enough tackles for loss, the sacks weren’t there, and the run defense was a distant rumor late in the season.
The stats are a bit skewed considering the Cougars had to go against Memphis and Army to end the season – allowing 908 yards and 14 touchdown in the two games – but the run defense was lousy against anyone who gave it a consistent effort. The pass defense was awful, too, and any improvement starts with more pressure from the front four.
With the Oklahoma, Washington State, and North Texas passing games over the first half of the year, the Cougars have to get to the quarterback.
Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Olivier Charles-Pierre, Jr.
Granted, the Cougars had to deal with a slew of nasty running teams, but it allowed 195 rushing yards or more in eight of the last nine games. The D overall was a hot mess, but simply being able to hold up in the interior would be a nice start.
Without Ed Oliver around, the Cougars need a top tackle, and 6-2, 345-pound JUCO transfer Oliver Charles-Pierre is a different sort of interior presence. He won’t get behind the line, but he can be a Coke machine who holds up as an anchor.
Key Game To The Houston Season
Memphis, Nov. 16
Unless something crazy happens, this should be the AAC West championship game. The Cougars won a 35-34 thriller in 2015, and went on to take the conference title. Memphis has won the last three and played in the last two AAC Championship games. There’s a week off for Houston to prepare – Memphis gets a week off, too – but it’s a home game.
– Houston Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Houston Fun Stats
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 42 – Houston 29
– Passing TDs: Houston 45 – Opponents 19
– Time of Possession: Opponents 34:57 – Houston 25:03
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. HOUSTON WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Last year’s team was weird, it underachieved, couldn’t stop anyone, lost star QB D’Eriq King late in the year, and allowed 45 points or more in four of the last five games – closing out by not getting off the plane in a 70-14 Armed Forces Bowl loss to Army – and yet it still won eight games.
This year’s team is a whole lot better.
At the very least, the coaching situation is stronger with Dana Holgorsen making the unique move of going from a good Power Five program to a Group of Fiver – who willingly goes from movies to TV? – and the offense should be unstoppable.
The Cougars have the best skill players among the Group of Five programs, with King back from his knee injury, all the top receivers returning, and with a three-deep running back corps that can all carry the mail. The line should be okay, but all it has to do is hold serve.
The defense isn’t going to be special, but it won’t have to be. Losing Ed Oliver is never going to be a positive, and the linebacking corps has to undergo a bit of an overhaul, but a slew of JUCO transfers are going to help.
So again, if last year’s team could have that many problems and still win eight games …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 9
Let’s just assume Houston isn’t going to take down Oklahoma in Norman to start the season, and figure the home game against Washington State and road trip to UCF will at best be a split.
Going to Tulane will be dangerous, and Memphis, SMU, Cincinnati and Navy at home won’t be easy, but this is a nine-win team that’s good enough to win the AAC title – or at least play for it.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
