University of Houston Athletics
Football Begins Preps for Southern Miss
11/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 4, 2003
HOUSTON - Fresh off its final bye weekend, the University of Houston football team began preparations for its final four games of the regular season with a solid workout Tuesday.
Working out in shorts and shoulder pads, the Cougars practiced for a little more than two hours on the UH practice fields. From there, the team wrapped up the day with another solid session of conditioning in the Cougar Weight Room.
The Cougars play host to Southern Miss at 4 p.m., Saturday at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium in UH's annual Homecoming contest.
After participating in one game as a Cougar player during the 1976 season, first-year head coach Art Briles said the festivities around Homecoming help intensify the game.
"It is special to me and our team and all the people that love the University of Houston," Briles said. "It adds a little flavor to an already 31-treat cone."
UH (5-3, 2-2 C-USA) comes into the games on the heels of a 62-55 loss to 13th-ranked TCU on Oct. 25 at Robertson Stadium. After enjoying the second bye weekend of the year, Briles said the Cougars were ready to hit the field again and that showed during Tuesday's workout.
"We're ready to play," Briles said. "The open date was good in that it allowed us to get healed and be refreshed. But this isn't the time of the year to practice; this is the time of the year to play."
USM (5-3, 4-0 C-USA) comes into this weekend's contest as one of only two undefeated teams in conference play. The two teams did not meet in 2002 with USM taking a 58-14 win over the Cougars during the 2001 season.
In their last game, the Golden Eagles won for the third time in their last four outings with a 48-3 non-conference win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 1 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
