University of Houston Athletics
Football Has Eyes on Tigers
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 12, 2005
HOUSTON - In the shadows of Robertson Stadium, the University of Houston football team practiced for slightly over two hours under breezy conditions Wednesday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars (3-2, 2-1 C-USA) are preparing for their first home game in 35 days. The last time UH was at Robertson Stadium was all the way back on Sept. 10 against Sam Houston State.
"It's really exciting to be back playing at home," head coach Art Briles said. "It's not only for us as a football team but exciting for our fans."
The Houston offense concluded practice emphasizing on goal-line sets and short-yardage situations. The Cougars have converted 15-of-19 (78.9%) on third-down situations in between one and three yards. However, UH is 8-25 (32.0%) from four to six yards away.
"We're trying to stay crisp when we get down into those short-field situations," Briles said. "We've got to be a good red-zone team and convert short yardage situations, because that's how you keep drives alive from an offensive standpoint."
Memphis (2-3, 1-2 C-USA) is coming off a 38-17 setback at UCF. The Golden Knights outscored the Tigers 24-3 and limited tailback DeAngelo Williams to only 43 yards on the ground in the second half.
Williams leads C-USA posting 177 rushing yards per game. Briles believes there is more to the Tigers than just Williams but talks about how to limit the All-America candidate.
"They have more than DeAngelo, but he's a great back," Briles said. "Above all that he's a great person. We're going to have to rally and get to him along with making sure he doesn't bust those long runs."
Kickoff against Memphis is slated for 4pm. Fans are encourage to head to Robertson Stadium earlier than usual due to traffic caused by events hosted in downtown Houston on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 790 AM with Tom Franklin handling play-by-play and Tony Fitzpatrick providing color analysis. Former All-Southwest Conference center Chuck Brown serves as the roving sideline reporter. In addition, the game will be televised live on College Sports Television on DirecTV channel 610. Tom Hart will call the play-by-play action, while Bill Burke will provide color analysis.
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With the changes in the Cougars' schedule during the month of November, fans also should note a ticket exchange policy. The Southern Miss game, originally scheduled at Robertson Stadium for Sept. 24 was rescheduled for 4 p.m., Nov. 13, due to Hurricane Rita. For the Southern Miss-Houston game to be played on Nov. 13, Cougars' game against SMU, originally scheduled for Nov. 12, was postponed one week and will now be played in Houston on Nov. 19. Any fan that purchased a ticket for either of these games may do one of the following: 1. Keep the current tickets, as it will be valid for the new rescheduled game dates. 2. Exchange your tickets for one of the remaining 2005 home football games. The Homecoming game against SMU originally scheduled for Nov. 12 has been changed to the Southern Miss game on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. If fans had tickets for the Homecoming game and still want to attend Homecoming weekend, they MUST Exchange their SMU tickets for Southern Miss tickets. The SMU tickets WILL NOT BE VALID for the Southern Miss game. All tickets must be exchanged in advance of the game date. Tickets can be exchanged at the UH Athletic Ticket Office located in the Athletics/Alumni Center or by mailing to: University of Houston Athletic Ticket Office 3100 Cullen Blvd., Ste. 1003 Houston, TX 77204 For more information, please call the ticket office at 713-GO-COOGS.
