University of Houston Athletics
Football Embarks on Homecoming Preperation
11/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team started preparations for this weekend's home contest against Conference USA foe Southern Miss with a strong workout under sunny skies Wednesday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars (4-4, 2-3 C-USA) are coming off a 31-29 setback at UCF. After falling behind 17-3 to the Golden Knights in the first half, Houston's second half flurry fell short at the Citrus Bowl.
"We have to make sure that we understand every situation mentally," head coach Art Briles said. "We've learned how to finish strong now we have to learn how to start fast. That's our motto this week."
UH hooks up with Southern Miss at 4 p.m. (CST), Sunday, for a Homecoming matchup. The game with the Golden Eagles will be broadcast on KTRH 740 AM with the voice of the Cougars, Tom Franklin, handling the play-by-play and Tony Fitzpatrick providing color analysis. Former All-Southwest Conference center Chuck Brown serves as the roving sideline reporter.
Southern Miss (5-3, 4-1 C-USA) is coming off a 27-24 overtime victory at Marshall where kicker Darren McCaleb hit a game-winning 34-yard field goal agianst the Thundering Herd.
The Golden Eagles have won six consecutive meetings with the Cougars dating back to the thrilling 56-49 overtime victory for Houston in 1996 that decided the inaugural C-USA championship.
"Southern Miss has been a dominant force in this conference since its inception," Briles said. "The University of Houston hasn't been able to beat them since 1996. We're ready to face up to that challenge."
On offense, quarterback Dustin Almond has thrown for over 1,700 yards this season with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Almond has six targets who have recorded at least 10 catches this season. Larry Thomas heads up the ground game with 584 rushing yards to go along with four scores.
The Coley brothers headline a fierce Golden Eagle unit that ranks third in C-USA surrendering 24.4 points per contest. Middle linebacker Kevis Coley paces the team with 95 tackles, including 53 solo stops and five sacks. Free safety Trevis Coley is right behind his brother with 70 tackles and is tied for second on the squad with a pair of interceptions.
Houston is 29-27-3 overall in Homecoming games. The Cougars are 1-1 in the Briles era after a picking up a 34-24 victory over East Carolina last season.
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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, 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.
