I know that we have our own problems which includes the loss of quality receivers, but They lose 11 starters which include almost all their playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. On offense they lose 35(name escapes me) and ayers. Granted they have Ward back, and a couple of good recruiting classes, but is that really enough. The new recruits are only sophomores at best and Ward is beatable. Hopefully, they do the smoke and mirror thing again and take down Oklahoma. Would lead to a big Thursday night if we can take care of our end.

(02-11-2016 12:04 PM)rosewater Wrote:  I know that we have our own problems which includes the loss of quality receivers, but They lose 11 starters which include almost all their playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. On offense they lose 35(name escapes me) and ayers. Granted they have Ward back, and a couple of good recruiting classes, but is that really enough. The new recruits are only sophomores at best and Ward is beatable. Hopefully, they do the smoke and mirror thing again and take down Oklahoma. Would lead to a big Thursday night if we can take care of our end.

I think it stems from the coaching. Two years ago they were a 'good' team with an emerging young QB (Ward). The Herman came and took them to a whole new level. Without breaking down their roster, I'm guessing they won't have a ton of star power but their scheme and coaching will allow them to play at a high level. Sort of like when BK was here, all we heard about was how we were going to drop off because we lost player X, Y or Z after each season (and never picked to win the conference pre-season).

(02-11-2016 12:30 PM)Racinejake Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 12:04 PM)rosewater Wrote:  I know that we have our own problems which includes the loss of quality receivers, but They lose 11 starters which include almost all their playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. On offense they lose 35(name escapes me) and ayers. Granted they have Ward back, and a couple of good recruiting classes, but is that really enough. The new recruits are only sophomores at best and Ward is beatable. Hopefully, they do the smoke and mirror thing again and take down Oklahoma. Would lead to a big Thursday night if we can take care of our end.

I think it stems from the coaching. Two years ago they were a 'good' team with an emerging young QB (Ward). The Herman came and took them to a whole new level. Without breaking down their roster, I'm guessing they won't have a ton of star power but their scheme and coaching will allow them to play at a high level. Sort of like when BK was here, all we heard about was how we were going to drop off because we lost player X, Y or Z after each season (and never picked to win the conference pre-season).

I do not doubt that Herman is a good coach, but he had quite a few advantages that are slowly evaporating at least in the short term. He had the advantage of flying under the radar against Louisville. The front end of his schedule was soft and eeked out wins against the better teams on the back end. Many of the preseason polls have Houston at 15 or higher. I think that they are ripe for the upset. My confidence would be much greater, but TT has not shown to be quick out of the gate. Especially now that we employ a new offensive coordinator.

If they are they 100% deserve it after last season.

I think they have a pretty tough schedule so a let down wouldn't be surprising. Hopefully Tub's can get our **** together.

(02-11-2016 12:30 PM)Racinejake Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 12:04 PM)rosewater Wrote:  I know that we have our own problems which includes the loss of quality receivers, but They lose 11 starters which include almost all their playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. On offense they lose 35(name escapes me) and ayers. Granted they have Ward back, and a couple of good recruiting classes, but is that really enough. The new recruits are only sophomores at best and Ward is beatable. Hopefully, they do the smoke and mirror thing again and take down Oklahoma. Would lead to a big Thursday night if we can take care of our end.

I think it stems from the coaching. Two years ago they were a 'good' team with an emerging young QB (Ward). The Herman came and took them to a whole new level. Without breaking down their roster, I'm guessing they won't have a ton of star power but their scheme and coaching will allow them to play at a high level. Sort of like when BK was here, all we heard about was how we were going to drop off because we lost player X, Y or Z after each season (and never picked to win the conference pre-season).

Agree. Unlike a couple of professional sports which I won't name, coaching matters in CFB. On the opposite end of the spectrum of UC under BK you had Pitt and Dave Wannstedt. On paper Pitt probably should have won the Big East multiple times during his tenure. They had a bunch of highly sought after recruits, many who went on to Pro Bowl careers in the NFL. Yet, they were mediocre in the Big East and would crap the bed against a MAC school every year OOC.

As long as Herman is there Houston will be very dangerous.

I think they are a quality opponent, but no where near the juggernaut some on this board are making them out to be.

I felt like we were close to beating them on the road, if not for that epic goal line meltdown.

No clue if they are overrated or not but they certainly proved on the field this year they are deserving of any hype that comes their way.

Based on the way UC has played early in the season under this staff I wouldn't get my hopes up over the game next year.

Not overrated on paper. They are one of very few teams who can actually say they got better on their rosters in the off-season. Ed Oliver is a stud and will instantly slot into that defense and make a huge impact in their pass and rush defense. They don't lose much talent of consequence on offense considering how easily they slotted in multiple RBs last year to the system. Really, as long as Ward remains healthy, they could be a contender to run the table if they get past Week 1 (which is a tough task in and of itself).

(02-11-2016 01:51 PM)Marcus Wrote:  Based on the way UC has played early in the season under this staff I wouldn't get my hopes up over the game next year.

In the case of this year, you could substitute "all" for "early in the".

(02-11-2016 04:16 PM)Brian_Johnson Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 01:51 PM)Marcus Wrote:  Based on the way UC has played early in the season under this staff I wouldn't get my hopes up over the game next year.

In the case of this year, you could substitute "all" for "early in the".

Yeah that is the truth.

To the original point: Rose you make a lot of great points. However, Houston has earned the right to be overrated. The Law of Ranking, so to speak, is success in postseason leads to lofty predictions the following season.

With the occasional exception, we've been poorly ranked in the preseason in basketball and football for quite awhile, and mediocre to poor performance in postseason has been the root cause.

(02-13-2016 09:27 AM)Brian_Johnson Wrote:  To the original point: Rose you make a lot of great points. However, Houston has earned the right to be overrated. The Law of Ranking, so to speak, is success in postseason leads to lofty predictions the following season.

With the occasional exception, we've been poorly ranked in the preseason in basketball and football for quite awhile, and mediocre to poor performance in postseason has been the root cause.

Agree, maybe it is a blessing and Tubs can rally the troups to sneak up on someone. Well maybe.