University of Houston Athletics
Football Daily Practice Notes
10/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2004
HOUSTON - With only three days to get ready, the University of Houston football team began preps for this week's showdown at Conference USA rival Southern Miss on Monday with a solid workout at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars (1-4, 1-1 C-USA) worked out for about 90 minutes Monday in shorts. After practicing for more than an hour outside, the team headed into the Yeoman Fieldhouse when it became dark for the final 15 minutes of practice.
Despite the changes in the Cougars' regular schedule, second-year head coach Art Briles said he was pleased with his team's first workout of the week.
"We really had a good effort. We challenged our guys to step up. We went out and worked hard today and had a great practice," Briles said. "We're a day closer and ready to go."
UH meets defending C-USA champion Southern Miss at 6 p.m., Thursday at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss. The game will be broadcast on Star 790, KBME-AM beginning with the pregame show 45 minutes prior to kickoff.
Tom Franklin and Tony Fitzpatrick will call the action from the booth with Chuck Brown as the sideline reporter.
In addition, Thursday's game will be televised on ESPN2. Gary Bender will call the play-by-play with Craig James providing color analysis.
Monday is regularly an off day for the Cougar coaches and players. But with a game on Thursday looming, the Cougars were forced to work out Monday and will enjoy their off day later in the week.
Due to class schedules, Monday's practice time was pushed back nearly three hours later than the Cougars' regular starting time.
Southern Miss enters Thursday's game as the defending C-USA champions. After jumping out to a 3-0 start with three consecutive road games, the Golden Eagles will play their first home game against the Cougars, leading to an even more intense atmosphere for his team, Briles said.
"All you have to do is pull out the record book and look through it. They've been good for a long time and been doing the right things for a long time," Briles said. "It's their first home game, so they're going to be real excited to be there. The fans are going to be packed, and it's going to be a great atmosphere for us to go into."
Despite the tough start to the 2004 season, Briles said he was proud of his team's effort and continuing progress each day in practice.
"I'm proud of them all the way through. We're maintaining our work ethic and our composure," Briles said. "When you have been through the battles that we've gone through, things aren't always going to go right."
