University of Houston Athletics
Football Practice Notes
9/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2007
Houston - With the threat of rain from tropical storm Humberto, the University of Houston football team practiced inside the Bill Yeoman Field House as the Cougars wind down their preparations before their Conference USA opening game at Tulane this Saturday.
"The weather has been an issue for the last month in terms of having to practice indoors," Houston head coach Art Briles. "If hasn't been raining, the practice fields outside have been too wet, but it is something that we having been dealing with and moving on.
"Fortunately, we do have a place where we can practice indoors and get a good workout done. We can't throw the ball downfield like we need to and the kicking game is a little bit of a problem indoors. However, we can simulate our regular practice in the other areas. We just make it work and move on."
Following last week's open week, Briles and Cougars returned to their normal game-week schedule this week after playing their season-opening game at Oregon on Sept. 1.
"It feels good because our guys are focused and ready to play," Briles said. "We have been working out since August 1 and played just one football game before September 15. That is a long time to practice without playing a game. Our guys are anxious and ready to get on the field and ready to defend our conference championship."
Last season, the Cougars played 12 straight games without an open date, and now, the Cougars play games the next 11 weeks.
"We liked it last year because you can get into a rhythm and everything stays the same," Briles added. "Now, we have a chance to do the same thing this year."
Cougar fans can hear Saturday's game at Tulane live on AM 790 "The Sports Animal" with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action, Ted Pardee providing color analysis and Chuck Brown reporting from the sideline. The pre-game show begins one hour before the 6:00 p.m. kickoff. Fans also can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the "Gametracker" link at UHCougars.com.
