University of Houston Athletics
Football Daily Practice Report
9/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2007
HOUSTON - With its first home appearance only four days away, the University of Houston football team began preparations for this weekend's showdown against Colorado State with a solid workout Tuesday afternoon on the UH practice fields.
Working out in full pads, the Cougars practiced for about two-and-a-half hours in hot and humid conditions. Following the workout, head coach Art Briles said he was proud of his team's performance.
I am really optimistic that we are going to improve more from week three to week four. This is the continuation process that we really didn't have from the first week to the third week," Briles said. "We are in a rhythm here. Our guys have a system as far as what they are doing mentally and physically, and they are going to be able to adjust and get going."
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Cougars dropped a 48-27 decision at Oregon on Sept. 1, enjoyed their lone bye weekend and claimed a dominating 34-10 win at Tulane on Saturday to open Conference USA play.
Now, the Cougars will get to play in front of the hometown fans, and no one was more excited about that than Briles.
"We're extremely happy to be home," Briles said. "We're glad to be back and give our crowd a chance to see us."
After two weekends on the road, the Cougars finally appear in front of the hometown fans when they play host to Colorado State at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, at the friendly confines of John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium.
Fans can hear the game live on 790 AM 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 pregame show is slated to begin one hour before kickoff.
Saturday's game also will be televised live nationally on CSTV (DirecTV channel 610) with Carter Blackburn calling the play-by-play action and Brian Jones providing color analysis. It will be the first of three nationally televised games for the Cougars in 2007.
Fans also can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the "Gametracker" link at UHCougars.com.
The Cougars come into the game after an impressive win at Tulane last weekend that put UH atop the early C-USA West standings. In that game, senior running back Anthony Alridge recorded rushing and receiving touchdowns for the second straight game, making the Denton native the only player in school history to accomplish that feat.
Senior wideout Donnie Avery led all players with seven catches for 103 yards, while sophomore quarterback Blake Joseph finished with 113 yards and a pair of touchdown on 10-of-12 passing to lead the Cougar offense.
"Any time you win on the road, it's a good win, especially a conference game on the road," Briles said. "It takes a tough team to do that, and we've got a tough football team. I'm proud of the guys and they way they went over there and took care of business. It was a business-like win, and that's the way we wanted to do it."
