Promising season in the offing for UH

The lack of depth was obvious. And it’s something that could hurt UH down the road.

“It’s a jagged pill to swallow,” Applewhite said.

He’s aware of the problem and is also aware of how to fix it.

It seems simple enough. The second-and third-string players have to be better. The Cougars can’t take that much of a hit when the starters sit down.

“They have to play more,” Applewhite said. “And as coaches, we need to work them more.”

I’m glad CMA recognizes the need and seems to be addressing it. Very few teams don’t experience a drop off in talent from 1st team to 2nd/3rd team players. Unless you are Alabama or Nebraska back in the day when their second string was #2 in the nation.

IMO, concerning the “team” change instead of one at a time, I believe, personally, it is better, especially early on, to substitute groups instead of individuals, because they practice as groups and begin to understand what each other in the group do and are capable of. Playing with “strangers” (exaggeration) would be more difficult. Familiarity breeds confidence. Soon, with some experience, they should be able to fill in piecemeal . . . . . Just my opinion . . . . .

3 Likes

CMA wanted to get the 2nd/3rd team players – and some true frosh – experience in the game Saturday. He took a big hit from it from posters on this and the other boards, but it was something he needed to do to give them real game speed experience. (I admit, at the time I wasn’t happy with it either, but got over it when we put the first team back in.) Sometimes we need to realize that he is not just thinking of the game at hand (which was well in hand) and is also thinking of down the road needs.

10 Likes

Had no issue with him bringing in 2/3 rd team players in 3rd quarter after Oliver was on a knee needing assistance to get off the field. It was very hot on the field and would much rather keep players from needless injury by giving them a rest instead of losing someone for the season / career to pad the score. Clock management was my only beef in the fourth quarter. We were snapping too fast instead of letting the play clock run down the game time. Time on the game clock was the only way Arizona had a chance of coming back.

1 Like

Yeah I’ll admit I was on the CMA bashing bandwagon, but after hearing other opinions it was a good decision for the long term.

It wasn’t a big lead, but in order for our 2nd/3rd stringers to really develop, they have to have that pressure of knowing the game wasn’t exactly over. I think had we been up by 50 points, the 2nd/3rd stringers wouldn’t have given it everything they had because there would be no pressure.

Although they allowed Arizona momentum, it was something that they needed. Overall smart call on CMA and I apologize for not really considering all of this initially.

“11 more games left to play” I like that guys thinking!

My heart and breath stopped when I saw Ed on the ground. On tv reply it didn’t look serious, but in the stands I froze in panic.

5 Likes

You and about a million others!

3 Likes

Plus I bet most missed King being checked out by O’shea before halftime. Then Dormandy coming in with less than 3 min before half. To me I thought King was hurt or the heat got to him because it was way to early to rest players. Then relieved when I saw him starting the 3rd Q

2 Likes

Ed got a cramp or ding in his left side around the lower part of the lat. They were massaging it in the sideline. You saw him realize something was tweeked and the training staff was yelling at him to sit down to stop play.

King got dinged. It looked like his shoulder, but it was minor. They were reaching under his shoulder pads to palpate/massage the area.

King got pancaked to the ground by a huge dude on that TD pass to Brooker. I didn’t see it at the game from where I was, but when I watched it on the replay when I got home, I was surprised he survived that hit as well as he did. That’s the kind of pounding that often ends in a broken collar bone.

After I thought about this some more, I’m really glad our 2s and 3s got some extended time. How many P6 teams have the opportunity to play 2s and 3s in mop up duty against a P5 team that was only a 3 point dog on the road? Not only did our backups get lots of snaps, they got those snaps against Arizona’s starters. It certainly showed, but that experience is so much better than what those guys will ever get in practice. I imagine those same guys are going to get a full half of snaps in a couple of weeks against TSU, but it won’t be the same experience.

3 Likes

Originally, I was furious about the decision to rest the starters so early in the 3rd quarter. I think I would have felt differently if they stuck to the game plan. The 2nd and 3rd string O and D played very conservatively. Why change? Let them run the O and the D that built the huge lead.