University of Houston Athletics
Upbeat Attitude Fills Football Practice
9/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 15, 2004
HOUSTON - With the home and conference opener against Army just three days away, the Cougar football team and its staff are feeling upbeat and ready to try and turn the season around.
The coaching staff has been striving to make practice as lively and upbeat as possible to motivate the team and get them prepared both mentally and physically for the upcoming conference opener.
"Today we concentrated on being relentless, tireless, enthusiastic and our guys really responded," said head coach Art Briles. "Now we got to go out and do it on Saturday."
Heading into the game Houston is 5-2 all-time against Army (0-1) and has won the last two meetings 56-42 and 34-14.
You might think that preparing to face the No. 2 team in the country last week in Oklahoma would be different than a preparation week for Army, but for Briles and his staff, they are focused on the things as a whole that will make the team better every week.
"We prepare each week the same," said Briles. "Army is a tough, quality opponent, what we have to do is continue to improve each week and understand our roles on the team."
However, the Cougars understand how big this game is since it is the C-USA opener for the team. "It's huge from the standpoint that it is a conference game, it is also huge from the standpoint that we are striving hard to be a better football team," said Briles of the upcoming game.
The two teams kick-off on Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Robertson Stadium. "We're just excited about playing again and getting to prove ourselves on the field," said Briles.
