University of Houston Athletics
Football Continues Preparations for Southern Miss
10/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 23, 2001
HOUSTON, Texas - As his University of Houston football team continued its preparations Tuesday for this weekend's game at Southern Mississippi, head coach Dana Dimel was probably dreading the end of the day's workout.
Knowing what was coming, most people would have feared the end of practice too.
For the second straight day, the second-year Cougar coach punished himself with a rigorous set of up-downs after receiving two personal foul penalties during last weekend's 29-28 loss to Conference USA leader Cincinnati. During his up-downs, Dimel ran the length of the football field with a push-up every five yards. After working his way through 500 yards on Monday, Dimel pushed himself through another grueling 100 yards on Tuesday.
"I haven't sweat like this in years," Dimel said.
Houston continues its 2001 season when it faces Southern Miss in a 2 p.m. game Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.
While the Golden Eagles have struggled this season, particularly on offense, Dimel said that his defense must be prepared against the running game early.
"They are struggling with the offensive system that they have and they are trying to get better at it all the time," Dimel said. "Until you can run the football with some consistency, you are going to struggle offensively and that is where they are now. They are going to try to establish their run game against us and we have to stop it."
Despite the Cougars' sixth consecutive loss to open the season and his own physical laborings Tuesday, Dimel remained upbeat following the practice session and said that he and his coaching staff saw plenty of highlights, both offensively and defensively, against the Bearcats.
"We stopped the run early, we became more aggressive, we caused turnovers and we scored a defensive touchdown which was a big step for our program," Dimel said. "Offensively, we ran the ball efficiently and effectively. Our run game was going so well we didn't feel the need to throw, but when we did throw we did it well."
For the third straight game, sophomore Nick Eddy will be the starting quarterback for the Cougars at Southern Miss. Against Cincinnati, Eddy was not called into service early due to the success of a UH running game which pounded out a season-best 147 yards on the ground. However, Eddy was successful moving the Cougars through the air when called upon, throwing 15-of-23 passes for 184 yards with no interceptions.
"Our run game was going so well we didn't feel the need to throw, but when we did throw we did it well," Dimel said. "Right now, he is completing passes at a high percentage rate and that is what we want to see happen. We want to establish a run game this weekend and be able to help Nick in his passing game."
Southern Miss comes into the game on the heels of a 24-14 loss at Louisville last weekend but can boast of a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Cougars. A year ago, the two teams squared off in a defensive struggled with USM claiming a 6-3 victory.
