Although it’s coming off a double-digit victory in its opening game, No. 22 Houston isn’t satisfied with its level of play from last week.
The Cougars will hope to shore things up when they face visiting FCS squad Southern on Saturday.
Houston (1-0) felt its 33-20 win over Oregon State last Saturday wasn’t as dominant as it could have been. Part of that comes from the nearly-blown 19-point second-half lead the Cougars squandered.
The Beavers followed up a touchdown late in the third quarter with an interception of Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman that Oregon State turned into another touchdown. Weigman responded by leading a 75-yard drive where he punched it in himself from 1 yard out to ice the game.
Houston coach Willie Fritz acknowledged that the second-half collapse, the minus-two turnover differential and the amount of penalties the Cougars had (10 for 65 yards) as areas in which his team can improve.
“We just stubbed our toe a bunch,” Fritz said Monday. “We had the ball driving it pretty well and then we fumbled. And then we got the ball down in there to score another touchdown, and we threw a pick. We had some foolish penalties, and had to settle for field goals when we made some mistakes.
“There’s a lot of first-game issues that we need to overcome … It’s good to win and be able to clean some stuff up.”
While Houston will be looking to improve in those areas, the Cougars will hope to maintain the dominance of their running back room. Makhi Hughes had 98 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown and Re’Shaun Sanford II had 75 yards on 11 carries — including a 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Weigman had a good day through the air as well with 305 yards on 20-of-30 passing with a touchdown and interception.
Southern (1-1) rebounded from a Week 0 loss with a 34-15 victory over Kentucky State last week to get NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk his first career win as a head coach.
The Jaguars were slightly outgained (378 yards to 372) but were able to turn the Thorobreds over on downs four times. Southern was paced by running back Trey Holly who operated as the workhouse back with 21 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Southern quarterback Christian Johnson completed 15 of 28 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He joined the Jaguars after leading Hutchinson Community College to back-to-back NJCAA Division I national championship game appearances the last two seasons.
This will be the third game ever between Houston and Southern with the Cougars winning the first two games by an average of 50.5 points. But Faulk is preparing his team to put up a fight despite the big challenge ahead.
“They’re a really good football team,” Faulk said. “They’re well coached. They’re disciplined, and that’s the kind of game that you look forward to. I want my team to go out there and understand that we got to rise up and compete against an FBS school. Listen, once the whistle blows, nobody cares that it’s FCS and FBS. It’s just kids out there playing football, having fun.”