Key note to first year Texans’ coach Gary Kubiak — the Texans (3-7) are not yet good enough to put the offense in a phone booth while trying to milk the clock with a narrow 4th quarter lead. It’s pretty hard for the Texans to lose a game in which their generally anemic offense generates almost 400 yards, but giving up over 200 yards passing and two long TD passes to the eminently forgettable Bills QB J.P. Losman in the 1st quarter is a good way to start to do it. And then making only four first downs in the second half (the Bills had as many in the game-winning drive) and just one in the fourth quarter is the way to finish it off. By the way, does anyone else think that John McClain’s entry into the world of blogging has actually improved his analysis of Texans football (blog post on yesterday’s game is here)? The Texans go on the road the next two weeks to meet the Jets (5-5) and the Raiders (2-8) before returning home the following week to meet the Titans (3-7).
Houston Cougars 23 Memphis 20 OT
In another example of what can go wrong when a team quits taking measured risks with its offense while sitting on a 4th quarter lead, the Coogs (9-3, 7-2) survived a blocked field goal returned for a Memphis (1-10, 0-7) TD in the last two minutes to win the game in overtime. Houston has an extremely difficult offense to defend when they are clicking on all cylinders, but their defense is simply not good enough for the offense to play conservatively after building a lead. The Cougars now get Thanksgiving week off before hosting the C-USA championship game on Friday evening, December 1 against probably Southern Miss (6-4, 5-2).
The Owls (6-5, 5-2) continue to make me look prescient for my early season prediction that they were going to surprise quite a few people this season so long as they could avoid decimating injuries during their brutal early season schedule. This win was particularly impressive in that the Owls pulled it off after losing stellar QB Chase Clement over the final quarter and a half. If the Owls can get Clement back next week and beat SMU (6-5, 4-3) at home, then they will likely be C-USA’s representative in the Ft. Worth Bowl, the Owls first bowl appearance in 45 years. First year Rice coach Todd Graham is the coach of the year in my book.
The Texas Longhorns and the Texas Aggies were off this week in preparation for their annual day-after-Thanksgiving showdown in Austin.
By the way, does anyone else think that John McClain’s entry into the world of blogging has actually improved his analysis of Texans football (blog post on yesterday’s game is here)?
Rhetorical question, but I’ll answer anyway: No.
If anything, it makes me appreciate that poor man’s editors even more. Most of his blog posts ramble off on tangents and go on and On and ON. At least the editors manage to trim some of that out of the columns for the big newspaper.
GO OWLS!!!!! and Coogs, too.