University of Houston Athletics
Football Continues Practice with Solid Effort Tuesday
8/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 23, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team began preparations for their final scrimmage of the fall with a spirited workout Tuesday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
Working out for about two hours in shorts and shoulder pads, the Cougars continued their preparations for Wednesday's scrimmage and the Sept. 1 season opener against Oregon.
The start of classes on Monday put some changes in the practice schedule to which the Cougar players and coaches had been accustomed since training camp started in early August. However, head coach Art Briles said he was pleased with the way his team adapted to their new routine.
"We came out with a pretty good effort and pretty attitude. Any time the schedule changes and you have to set a new routine, there is a little bit of a learning curve," said Briles, who begins his third season in 2005. "From that aspect, coming out and getting some prosperous work done, we were able to establish that. Now we have to have a good scrimmage tomorrow."
Wednesday's scrimmage will allow Briles and his coaching staff to further evaluate his 2005 team. While those evaluations are important, fans could tell that Briles was ready to kick off the 2005 season.
"We are just going to line up and play. We're not going to have wonder, we're not going to hope, we're not going to have any type of falsified faith," Briles said. "We're just going to line up and go play ball and expect to win the game (on Sept. 1). "
With only nine days before the season opener, the Cougar coaches already have begun installing their game plan against Oregon and will continue to refine that plan in the days ahead.
"We're starting to lockdown on Oregon a little more. In the few couple of weeks, we just worry about getting in shape and making sure we know what to do in certain situations. Now, we are locking in on what Oregon is probably going to do," Briles said. "The first game is a feeling-out process for both teams. Hopefully, we will make the right decisions and the right guesses at the right time."
The Cougars open their 2005 season at 6 p.m., Sept. 1, when they play host to Oregon at Reliant Stadium. That game can be heard live on ESPN 790 AM with Tom Franklin handling play-by-play duties and Tony Fitzpatrick providing color analysis.
Fans also can hear the game on the Internet by logging onto www.UHCougars.com.
In addition, the game will be the first of a school-record seven Cougar football games in 2005 on television. The showdown against the Ducks will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with Sean McDonough calling the play-by-play action and Mike Gottfried as the color analyst. Dave Ryan will serve as the sideline reporter.
