Why Houston Cougars Struggled in First Half For Second Consecutive Game
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To get off to an efficient start in a road game, it takes any offense to generate touchdowns while limiting penalties and costly mistakes.
The Houston Cougars went scoreless until the 7:52 mark in the second quarter in Friday's 30-27 win over the UCF Knights in Orlando. The issue for coach Willie Fritz’s offense was that it was not moving the chains on fourth down. There were two opportunities early in the game to extend two drives on fourth down, but the UCF defense stood firm and applied pressure to the biggest playmakers.
Quarterback Conner Weigman had two errors that brought early nerves to the Cougars’ fans as he threw one pass that got batted into the air, which ended the first drive, where the offense was trying to make a statement. Instead, it fired up the “Bounce House” crowd that produced confidence for the home team.
Bad Decisions
There are going to be a lot of questions raised for Fritz about what factored into his decision to elect to follow the analytics and go for it on fourth down instead of punting it away deep in Houston territory.
Anyone can point fingers at that decision, and that is one reason why the Cougars struggled to produce many red zone drives. Another wound that the Cougars had to lick was their special teams problems, which caused the errors to accumulate quickly.
One of the Houston wide receivers, Mehki Mews, who had his name called to return the punt, made a mental mistake when a 35-yard punt fell into his hands and slipped like a bar of soap out of his grasp, which gave UCF’s offense the ball on a stalled drive. That’s been what this coaching staff has been hoping to clean up: the turnovers and silly mistakes, but it has carried over from the last several weeks.
Special teams wasn’t the only trouble the Cougars struggled with. It was also poor play by Weigman, who was undisciplined with his footwork and eye discipline, as he slinged a pass intended for wide receiver Amare Thomas, but it instead ended up in a pick-six for the Knights to give them the 24-14 lead.
UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch contributed and called a tremendous game, as his defenders knew that the two dynamic weapons, Weigman’s favorite targets, would be expecting the ball. The right reads and formations were perfectly ran and startling for Houston.
At intermission, Weigman’s stat line was not characteristic as he went 14 of 21 with 171 yards in the air but was inaccurate with two interceptions. His offense had 223 yards, so the chains were moving, but the defense got caught on the field with not many breathers.
Since that was the case, UCF rushed for 89 yards and passed for 89 yards. What made the difference was the turnovers, but yet, Fritz & Co. stayed within striking distance, trailing 24-17 at halftime.
Getting Football To Different Playmakers
Going into the night against the Knights, the Cougars knew it would be necessary to establish the ground game early, which would open up play-action and the RPO game. For offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, he avoided running the ball to begin the game as running back Dean Connors was quiet.
Throughout the first quarter, Connors didn’t receive many touches, registering only two attempts for five yards. Why was that the case? Was it an issue upfront where the UCF defensive line was just dominant and more aggressive? Could there have been confusion on when to show pass blocking or when certain big men were supposed to pull and pick up other defenders?
Perhaps it was just a lack of understanding or inability to open up holes and throw in windows that could spark what Houston’s offense prides itself on. When Connors has been able to show off his speed and ability to take sharp angles, it is a good sign that it is a good day on the field.
When analyzing the expansive receiver room, five receivers were targeted and hauled in passes, but nothing stood out from Thomas's four receptions and 39 yards after one quarter.
Surprisingly, one of the best tight ends on that list only had four yards until the second quarter got going. When a quarterback has an electric tight end with a great frame who can catch one-on-one passes, he needs to use him more effectively. Unfortunately, Weigman tried, but the UCF secondary jumped the routes and forced Houston off the field.
Before halftime, something had to bring confidence on the sidelines and be observed by the coaching staff upstairs to produce better drives that resulted in points. Thomas finished with 103 yards, and Connors had 20 yards.
Whatever was planned in the script by Fritz must have seen an advantage against the defense, but there are no excuses for another game where the Cougars have to inch their way back into the game.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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