This One Thing Continues To Be A Major Issue For The Houston Cougars

Houston’s start against the Texas Tech Red Raiders did not look too different from the starts to the last four games that the team had won.

The Cougars were on fire to start the season, at least in the win column. They muscled their way to four victories, including dominant ones over Rice and Colorado. The common denominator in all of their games, however, has been a molasses-slow start.

In their first four games, the Coogs were able to surmount their slow starts and push ahead of their opponents. Against Texas Tech, Houston was completely dormant to start, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. On Monday, coach Willie Fritz addressed the slow starts.

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Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Fritz seemed to know all of the answers when it came to the slow starts.

“I got to do a better job of coaching them up and making sure the script is correct, the openers are correct, and then also we just got to execute,” Fritz said during his Monday press conference. “We knew we were going to have to play a good ball game and we’re going to have to do a good job at being assignment sound and we just didn’t do that. They’re a quality opponent and when you play a quality opponent, you have to be assignment sound and physical.”

The slow starts have plagued the Cougars and even made an appearance in the team’s first game of the season against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, an FCS program. Heading into the long stretch of Big 12 play, the Coogs will need to learn how to start fast and stay fast throughout games.

One thing Fritz and the Coogs could do is start practice with a team period, almost simulating a game situation between warmups and the first period of practice. This would get the team used to performing early and get a lot of jitters out for the team.

While last year’s team did go 4-8, it is not to late for this year’s squad to do the same. If Houston can not figure out how to score early and often, there is a serious chance that the now-4-1 team can finish 4-8.

With its first loss under its belt, Houston can now turn its attention to a struggling Oklahoma State squad that is led by an interim head coach after it fired longtime head coach Mike Gundy, a perfect opportunity to practice starting fast.