University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Football Notes
10/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 16, 2002
After wrapping up a season-long four-game road swing, the University of Houston Cougar football team returns home to Robertson Stadium this coming weekend and took the practice field behind the Athletics/Alumni Center on Wednesday (Oct. 16) afternoon to continue preparations for Army.
Third-year head coach Dana Dimel immediately stressed that the focus of today's practice was specifically the passing game.
"Today we worked on improving the passing game, both on offense and defense," said Dimel. "We have to become better at defending it as well as throwing the football effectively."
He also mentioned that Army's run game, which is speared by the leading rusher Carlton Jones and Josh Holden, must be halted. "
"I think they run the football as good as anybody in the conference, and it's going to be important for us to stop the run game," said Dimel. "In this game, the most important part of the game is going to be defending their (Army's) run game."
As for the Cougars commanding the game, Dimel noted in addition to Houston establishing a solid run game of their own and creating big plays as a result to put points on the board, he and the coaching staff have been preparing the team for possible "Tom Foolery" moved by the Black Knights.
"We have to expect some trick plays in their passing game and in their special teams play," said Dimel. "That's hard to prepare for, but our expectations are that we should see something like that.
While Army continues to look for its first victory of the year, both teams are searching for their first Conference USA win this Saturday. The Houston-Army game kicks off at 2:00 p.m., the earliest time the Cougars have taken the field at Robertson Stadium since the 1999 season.
Following the game against Army this Saturday (Oct. 19), the Cougars enjoy a much-needed week off before heading back on the road to Memphis to take on the Tigers on Nov. 2 with kick-off at 1:00 p.m.
