I haven't been able to write over the past few weeks, so here's a quick recap of the Cougars' last three games. This program is definitely showing improvement.
Houston 14, Kansas 42: Coming off the upset victory over TCU and a week off to rest, I thought the Cougars would be prepared to face the Jayhawks at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. They were not. Houston fell into a 0-21 hole early on and, after a flash of competitiveness - they scored on a pair of Donovan Smith touchdown passes to trail 14-28 at the break - were unable to put any additional points on the board in the second half. Smith and Zeon Chriss combined to throw four interceptions and suffer seven sacks, while the Cougar defense surrendered 467 yards to the Jayhawks. All in all a disappointing outing.
To add insult to injury, Kansas's win over Houston ended their five-game losing streak.
Houston 17, Utah 14: A.J. Haulcy intercepted a Utah pass late in the fourth quarter and Jack Martin kicked a 43-yard walk-off field goal to secure a homecoming victory over the Utes. The Cougars managed to win in spite of completing only 6 passes for 61 yards (it's been awhile since Houston was able to do that) and squandering a pair of fourth-and-goal attempts at the Utah goal line.
Fortunately for the Coogs, Utah made plenty of mistakes of their own. They missed two field goals, turned the ball over twice (including the aforementioned interception) and were flagged seven times. The Utes switched quarterbacks late in the game in an attempt to provide a spark to their anemic offense, but to no avail; after being picked first in the Big 12 preseason media poll and beginning the season ranked, Utah is now on a four-game losing skid.
Houston 24, #17 Kansas State 19: The game was played in an intermittent rain (kickoff was delayed for an hour due to lightning), and there were as many KSU fans in the TDECU Stadium stands as Houston fans. In spite of that, the Cougars kept pace with the heavily-favored Wildcats. Zeon Chriss was 11 of 11 for 103 yards and a touchdown (he rushed for a score as well) while the UH defense kept KSU's vaunted rushing attack under 100 yards and forced two turnovers.
Trailing 10-19 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored twice to take the lead. They were then able to deflect KSU's hail-mary pass into the endzone as time expired to secure the most unanticipated and enjoyable win of the season.
What It Means: After beginning the season with a 1-4 record, the Cougars have won three of their last four, including an upset of the #17-ranked team in the nation. This team is clearly making progress, albeit in fits and starts. They still need two wins to become bowl eligible, which is still a tall order at this point. But the fact that a bowl is even a possibility speaks to the team's progress under new head coach Willie Fritz.
The Cougars have another week off before traveling to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats.
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