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Sports

UH drops ball in '05

Silent Assassin

Ronnie Turner

Here's an unlikely match up for tomorrow's inaugural Conference USA Championship game in Orlando, Fla.: Tulsa vs. Central Florida. Who would have thought two teams that combined for only four wins in 2004 would be battling it out for conference bragging rights as newcomers this season?

This goes to show how preseason polls can prove to be relatively worthless with time. Contrary to popular consensus before play began, it won't be Texas-El Paso, Southern Mississippi or Alabama-Birmingham that'll be tossing the pigskin around Saturday. And it most certainly won't be UH.

This is not to say that the Cougars (6-5, 4-4 C-USA) were expected to be there from the outset. They were, however, expected to at least be in the hunt at season's end, but when the chips were down, they folded.

The Cougars will probably get an invite to a lower-tier bowl after Saturday's 35-18 victory against Rice, but that's a moot point. If they had taken care of business against Southern Methodist the previous week, they wouldn't be on pins and needles right now.

The Cougars could have easily had eight or nine wins with a schedule that leaned heavily in their favor, but their inability to close out tight games was their downfall.

Against UTEP, a team that few expected they would beat, the Cougars were able to convert some momentum into a 14-point lead in the third quarter, but watched as the Miners proceeded to snatch the lead back. Though the Cougars were able to tie the game late in the fourth and send it to overtime, they lost 44-41 in double overtime after quarterback Kevin Kolb had a pass picked off near the goal line, his fifth interception of the game.

UH experienced similar misfortune against Memphis (6-5, 5-3) when two turnovers in the end zone and a missed 21-yard field goal in the second half sent them on their way to a 35-20 loss. They trailed only 21-20 when running back Ryan Gilbert fumbled the ball into the end zone with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter. Memphis didn't waste the gift, marching 80 yards the other way for the game-winning touchdown.

In their loss to SMU (5-6, 4-4), the Cougars were simply out-played. After tying the game at 24 with 2:07 remaining in the game, the defense failed to stop the Mustangs from getting in position for a game-winning, 49-yard field goal with three seconds left. Coming off a huge victory against Southern Miss the week before, it was inexcusable for the Cougars to allow this ticky-tacky team slip away with the victory.

For all the talent this UH team has, it still performs like an average team. It won't be enough for the Cougars to simply look good on paper; they have to go out on game day and put their plans into effect. Most importantly, they have to learn to play four complete quarters of football.

Should the Cougars get a bowl invite, they'll have the opportunity to finish the season 7-5. 

They better hope that's what happens, because head coach Art Briles' players will need all the momentum they can get heading into Briles' fourth season at the helm.

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