University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Football Notes
9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2007
Houston - The University of Houston football team was able to get a lot accomplished in its two-hour practice in hot and muggy conditions Wednesday afternoon on the UH Practice Fields, as the Cougars continued their preparations for this Saturday's home game against Conference USA rival East Carolina.
Houston was forced to practice in hot and muggy conditions for the second straight day after rain moved through the Houston area earlier in the day.
"We had a good workout," Houston head coach Art Briles said. "It was pretty warm for this time of year with the rain and humidity, but our guys fought through it. We got a lot accomplished and need to stay on pace and peak Saturday."
The Cougars play their second straight home game this Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. 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 pre-game 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 improved to 2-1 overall this season with a spectacular 38-27 come-from-behind victory over Colorado State last weekend in their home opener. Trailing 24-10 late in the third quarter, Houston scored four touchdowns during the final 18 minutes of the contest to win the game over the Rams.
"Our guys are playing with a lot of poise, confidence and belief," Briles said. "The reason we won the game was because we great effort and attitude. We are covering the intangibles as a team, and we just have to keep doing everything right on and off the football field. We have to understand our assignments and our technique, then get out there and play with a lot of emotion and a lot of effort."
The win was Houston's fifth-straight victory at Robertson Stadium, the longest winning streak at that facility and the seventh-longest winning streak in school history. More than 22,000 fans cheered the Cougars on last weekend, and that is the biggest home-opening crowd for the Cougars since Briles coached his first game in 2003.
"We had had a great crowd last week and need another great crowd this week because it is a conference football game," Briles said. "East Carolina is a strong football team and a team that has had the toughest schedule in the nation up to this point."
The Pirates enter Saturday's game with a 1-3 record, but their three losses have come against two Top-10 ranked teams (West Virginia and Virginia Tech) and one of, if not the best defensive team in C-USA (Southern Miss).
"They are fighting to make a move in the conference, just like we are," Briles added. "We are all fighting for the same thing-- that is to play in the conference championship game."
