University of Houston Athletics
Football Daily Practice Report
9/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 25, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team began preparations for this weekend's home contest against Conference USA rival East Carolina with another impressive practice Tuesday afternoon on the UH practice fields.
Working out in full pads for more than two hours, the Cougars practiced in hot and muggy conditions after rain moved through downtown Houston in the early afternoon. However, head coach Art Briles said he was more than pleased with his team's effort.
"We had a good practice. It was a little warm, but we got some good done," Briles said. "Tuesday is always kind of a learning and teaching day. We accomplished that today, and we will be better Wednesday."
The Cougars return to action at 6 p.m., Saturday as they play host to East Carolina 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, David Klingler 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 shown live back to Greenville, N.C., on WITN-TV with Drew Smith calling the play-by-play action, Billy Weaver providing color analysis and Brian Meador on the sidelines. It will be the second straight game that the Cougars will appear on television.
Fans also can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the "Gametracker" link at UHCougars.com.
The Cougars (2-1, 1-0 C-USA West) come into the games on the heels of an thrilling, 38-27 come-from-behind win over Colorado State last weekend in the home opener. Trailing 24-10 late in the third quarter, the Cougars scored four touchdowns over the final 18 minutes to earn their third straight win over the Rams.
Although the Cougars struggled early at times and found themselves in a hole, the team rebounded to score 35 points in the second half. It marked the first time in more than a decade that the Cougars scored that many points in a half.
"That was a big emotional win and a big confidence-building win. It's hard to come from behind by 14 points twice in a game and win the game," Briles said. "We were not firing on all cylinders early but we had enough of them firing, and we were able to win the game."
Redshirt freshman quarterback Case Keenum came off the bench to throw for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18-off-22 passing and added another two touchdowns on the ground. For that performance, he was honored Tuesday as the CollegeSportsReport.com Division I-FBS National Performer of the Week.
"Case has a calm confidence about him that is very critical at that position," Briles said. "He has good vision, he understands what is going on on the football field and he understands what's going on within the plays that are called."
With that win, the Cougars also won for the fifth straight time at Robertson Stadium, the longest winning streak in that facility and the seventh-longest home winning streak in school history. More than 22,000 fans poured into Robertson Stadium last weekend for the biggest home-opening crowd since Briles' first game in 2003, a fact that Briles, his coaching staff and players noticed and appreciated.
"Our fans were outstanding. They helped us win the football game. Once we gave them a reason to holler and cheer, they hollered and cheered. They never lost faith in us. I am really proud of them for that," Briles said. "We have to come out this week and give them a reason to holler and cheer a lot earlier."
