University of Houston Athletics
Football Starts Practice for Mississippi State
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2003
HOUSTON - Off to a 2-1 start for the second consecutive year, the University of Houston football team worked out Tuesday in preparations for this weekend's home contest against Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State.
The Cougars play host to the Bulldogs at 7 p.m., Saturday, at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. This weekend's game will be the second home contest this season for the Cougars, who dominated crosstown rival Rice 48-17 in the season opener on Aug. 30.
The Cougars come into this week on the heels of a 21-14 win at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. That win came during some tough conditions for the Cougars, who endured a torrential downpour moments before the opening kickoff and then had to sit through a 37-minute lightning delay at the end of the first quarter.
Fighting through those conditions made his Cougar squad better, and first-year head coach Art Briles said he and his coaching staff could see that change in Tuesday's practice.
"We've got a little pep in our step because that was a hard-fought victory," Briles said. "When you win that type of game, it makes you feel proud of what you are doing. I think the players feel proud, and I am proud of them."
While the Cougar players battled through the muck and mire at Cajun Field, Briles was quick to praise his coaching staff for the adjustments it made prior to and during the game because of the weather.
"I am proud of the way that we did adjust because at 6:59 p.m., Saturday, our game plan went out the window," Briles said. "We had to get down and figure out plays that we could run that night and our staff on both sides of the ball did a great job. Everybody kept their composure, we stayed poise and that's how you win."
This will be the first time since 1972 that the Cougars have met Mississippi State on the gridiron but it will be the first meeting in Houston since 1969. UH hopes to rekindle some magic from that game after the Cougars routed the Bulldogs 74-0 at the Houston Astrodome.
