Kevin Sumlin has injected some excitement into the University of Houston’s college football team program. The Cougars went 10-4 with signature wins at Oklahoma State, in Mississippi and the Cougars beat Texas Tech in Houston, but the Cougars couldn’t beat East Carolina in the Conference USA title game. . There is still optimism in southeast Texas about this program. Sumlin was contacted by Kansas and Cincinnati, but remained in Houston to try to take the program to even greater heights. Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen left the program for the same job at Oklahoma State, and that shouldn’t stop the team from having another explosive offense. The 2010 Houston Cougars play 5 of their last 7 games on the road, this sports insider believes the Cougars will seize every opportunity this season.
The team will refocus on offense in 2010 and should continue to be the highest rated offensive unit in the country. The Cougars averaged over 563 yards per game which was No. 1 in the NCAA, they were also No. 1 in passing yards with 433.6 yards per game and scored over 42 points per game, that was good for the No. 2 spot in college football. All he has to say is Case Keenum and eyebrows are raised, the senior gunslinger is surprised by his senior season after throwing for 5,671 yards last season. Keenum is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender and his former quarterbacks coach Cliff Kingsbury and Jason Phillips will be the coordinators this year. Wide receiver James Cleveland had 1,214 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last season and the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year is back for his senior season. Tyron Carrier also had over 1,000 receiving yards in 2009 and had 7 touchdowns. Houston also has 2 good running backs in Charles Sims and Bryce Beall, the offensive line comes back with 3 starters and will be solid. The Cougars could easily break every NCAA single-season record that has ever existed.
Defense is the question mark, last season this unit gave up 30 points a game, but what else can you expect when the offense scores so often and so quickly. The defense allowed 45 points in Cougar’s 4 losses and that’s unacceptable, Kevin Sumlin got rid of last year’s defensive coordinator and hired Philadelphia Eagles assistant Brian Stewart to run the show on that side of football. Houston will improve on the 451 yards per game they allowed, ranking 11th in the nation. Linebackers and defensive backs must become playmakers for the unit to be successful and that means more athletes on that side of the line of scrimmage. This sports handicap has the Cougars finishing in first place in Conference USA with a 12-2 record for the season.