University of Houston Athletics
Football Daily Practice Report
10/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2005
HOUSTON - Enjoying their second open weekend of the season later this week, the University of Houston football team worked out for less than 90 minutes in full pads Tuesday afternoon under picture-perfect weather at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars (4-3, 2-2 C-USA) will hold similar workouts Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before getting Saturday off. The team resumes its regular practice schedule Sunday afternoon.
"The emphasis we have this week is on academics and personal improvement," said head coach Art Briles following practice. "We want to find a way to help ourselves get better as a student-athlete and as a team member. We're looking at keeping our guys focused and fresh, and then we will get into our game plan at the start of next week."
With a slightly relaxed workout schedule, the team worked out in the weight room before hitting the practice field. After individual and group sessions of less than 90 minutes, practice was dismissed, and the Cougar redshirts, walk-ons and reserves had their chances to shine during the Cougar Bowl, a small scrimmage to show off their abilities to both their coaches and teammates.
UH doesn't return to action again until 5 p.m. (CDT), Nov. 5 when it meets new Conference USA rival UCF in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. That game will be broadcast on KTRH 740 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 air on iTV, formerly known as PAX, and can be seen locally on DirecTV channel 255 or Time-Warner channel 7.
The Cougars head into their open weekend on the heels of an impressive 28-16 win over Southeastern Conference member Mississippi State last weekend in Starkville, Miss. In that game, junior running back Jackie Battle led the Cougars with 81 rushing yards and a pair of short touchdown runs, while junior Vincent Marshall broke the game open with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown. For his impressive performance, Marshall was honored earlier in the week as the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week.
With that victory, the Cougars won for the third time in four road contests this season. What some may be surprised at the Cougars' success in hostile environments, Briles said the key to the UH winning ways is simple.
"We just have a lot belief in what we are doing, as a team and as teammates," Briles said. "Our guys believe in each other. They believe in the system that we have. We have a nice air of confidence about us. "
*****************************************
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, the 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.
