2008 Houston Cougars Football


August 17, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

Kevin Sumlin takes over a talented Houston Cougars football program in his first year as head coach this season.  He has 15 starters back, with six on offense and eight on defense to work with.  Houston finished with an 8-5 record last year, winning six of their last seven regular season games before losing 20-13 to TCU in the Texas Bowl.  But that one loss, a 7-56 setback to Tulsa, shows how far back Houston is from the Hurricane in the Conference USA West Division.  Can the Cougars make up some ground this year on Tulsa?  Find out as Info Plays gives their 2008 Houston Cougars football predictions below.

Offense:

Art Briles left for Baylor and Kevin Sumlin takes his place as the head man.  The former offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Oklahoma promises the offense the Cougars have grown to love under Briles isn’t going anywhere.  Case Keenum shined last year at quarterback, earning league honors for Freshman of the Year by the media and coaches.  He’s not a prolific passer, but did end the season with a 335-yard performance against TCU.  Backup Blake Joseph has proved the job isn’t necessarily Keenum’s, throwing for 421 yards and five touchdowns in the spring game. 

Tight end Mark Hafner is back after catching 40 balls for 445 yards and four scores last year, but there’s little experience at receiver.  L.J. Castile, Chris Gilbert and Chaz Rodriguez step into the starting wideout jobs, with Castile the leading returnee of the trio with seven catches for 106 yards last year.  Keenum will have the luxury of an experienced offensive line blocking for him.  Four starters return, led by left tackle SirVincent Rogers.  The Cougars were ranked 10th nationally in rushing offense last year, but they lose their top ground gainers from last year.  Terrance Ganaway and Andre Kohn, who ran for 550 and 146 yards respectively, are back though.

Defense:

Eight starters return in a 4-3 defense led by standout Phillip Hunt on the defensive line, Kenneth Fontenette in the secondary and Cody Lubojasky at linebacker.  The Cougars should have a solid pass rush this season with Hunt, a first team all-conference performer who recorded 10.5 sacks last year.  Tate Stewart returns at tackle with Ell Ash, and Isaiah Thomas moves to nose tackle after seeing limited action a year ago.  Lubojasky must be the leader of the linebackers in the middle, with two new starters expected on both sides of him.  Matt Nicholson on the strong side and Tyrell Graham on the weak.

With four starters returning in the secondary, and a solid pass rush up front, the Cougars should improve their pass efficiency defense.  One thing the Cougars pride themselves on is playing tough in the 4th quarter.  Last season they allowed only 4.9 points/game in the final quarter.  Only Tulane and Marshall were able to score more than a touchdown in the final 15 minutes.  Coach Sumlin will want to make sure this defense is well-conditioned again.

Houston Football Predictions at Info Plays:  2nd Conference USA West Division

Sumlin has a good offensive pedigree, and the offense should be fine if receivers step up and Keenum doesn’t try to do too much.  Defensively the Cougars are going to be better, though playing in the offense-happy C-USA makes dominating on this side of the ball very difficult.  Houston’s chances of winning the C-USA West will likely fall to their No. 15 home date with Tulsa, the reigning conference champions.

Check out another 2008 Houston Cougars football preview from the Red Zone Report here!

Conference USA Wins Expected in ‘08:  UAB, at SMU, at Marshall, TULANE, UTEP, at Rice

Potential Scares/Losses:  at East Carolina, TULSA

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