3 X-factor Players When Houston Takes On UCF

All the Houston Cougars can do is flush it down the toilet. It might be stinky. It might be nauseating. However, that’s the game of football, and the best thing about the loss is in the past.

For coach Willie Fritz, it's about cleaning up the turnovers and learning from the mistakes made against the Mountaineers, especially when it's a short week and everyday routines are interrupted due to a matchup on a Friday evening.

Going into the week, practice and preparation for the Knights’ program will look different, as the coaching staff reassesses what went wrong. Luckily, the players can learn from the film, grading scale, and advice given throughout the week, which could help straighten their path and put them in the right mindset for the rest of the season. These three players will uplift the sidelines and be the difference makers on Friday night.

Amare Thomas, Wide Receiver

Houston quarterback Conner Weigman now has a favorite target after a massive injury to Stephon Johnson, who took a significant hit on the weapons in the receiving room. His name is Amare Thomas. In the game against West Virginia, Thomas nearly had 100 yards of offense but fell just shy of that mark with 10 receptions for 99 yards.

Three touchdowns against the Mountaineers were extremely eye-catching as Thomas hasn’t achieved this accolade all season. If Thomas can create open space and once again find ways to use his gigantic hands, UCF defenders are going to have an issue on Friday evening.

The junior from Birmingham, Alabama, continues to produce numbers for the Cougars and breaks the 100-yard mark easily. With 40 receptions for 634 yards with seven touchdowns, along with an average of 15.9 yards per catch, the speedster gets a spark going for Fritz’s team.

Eddie Walls, Defensive Lineman

One of the most popular defensive plays for the Cougars is Eddie Walls, due to the pressure he creates at the line of scrimmage. Without his large body and ability to beat offensive linemen, the defense would have a different identity that may not yield as many wins as it has now.

Native to Fort Myers, Florida, the senior has already stressed numerous offenses and forced them to change up formations and double-team him due to the tackling machine he is. As it stands, Walls has registered 26 solo tackles and tallied 5.5 sacks.

No quarterback wants the big man running at them because he is a force. Watch for him to make a game-changing play that gives Houston the upper hand early in the contest.

Dean Connors, Running Back

Coach Fritz knew that one of Houston’s issues was the lack of establishing the run game to open up the passing game. While Connors helped contribute to the offense, posting 71 yards isn’t always going to cut it with how well some defenses get coached.

For Connors to have only 13 touches signals that the play calling didn’t trust handing the ball off, given the situation the team put itself in early in the game. One thing to learn from the West Virginia game is that without an effective running game, it is hard for both sides of the ball to click and put together four clean quarters of football.

While Connors has recently been quiet, there should be a significant change in the play-calling this week, with the script being to feed Connors early so the UCF defense can stay on the field and give Houston’s defense a breather.

Expect to watch the Kamuela, Hawaii, native to show everyone watching college football on a Friday night why he is perfectly capable of bulldozing defenders and bouncing outside to find open space. Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle knows his team better than anyone, and running the football is his preferred game plan.