Houston 49, Temple 59

So, another embarrassing shitshow unworthy of an extensive writeup. Suffice to say, pretty much everything went wrong for the Coogs last Saturday, including:

• A blocked punt early in the game that led to a quick Temple touchdown
• Temple converting a fake punt on fourth down, which eventually led to a touchdown
• A stupid personal foul penalty by the defense on fourth down that gave Temple new life and led to a touchdown (this same player, defensive lineman Payton Turner, would be ejected after second stupid personal foul penalty in the second half) 
• 12 penalties overall on Houston, many of which were drive-killers
• 210 yards and six touchdowns surrendered to Temple RB Ryquell Armstead by an inept, ineffective UH defense (the Owls gained 537 total yards on the evening)
• 4 three-and-outs by the UH offense 
• Three turnovers (two sack fumbles and an interception) by Houston QB D'Eriq King

There were some bright spots for the Coogs - special teams forced a fumble and recovered an onside kick, D'Eriq King passed for 322 yards and 5 touchdowns and ran for another 125 yards and a TD - but the end result as Houston's second loss in a row.

The Cougars were suffering from injuries, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, but there's really no excuse for the lack of preparation, the lack of adjustments on defense, the poor tackling, the penalties. That's on the coaches. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio is clearly incompetent - he was a disaster at Miami and never should have been hired by UH to begin with - and should be fired when the season is over. Major Applewhite's job is probably safe for now, but results like last Saturday's do not reflect well on him or his abilities.

Next up for Houston is a Thursday night game against Tulane. This is probably the Coogs' last realistic chance at a win this season.