[New post] From Dylan Holt’s Perspective: I Have Cougar Fever
Dylan Holt posted: " Houston Athletic Department (UHcougs.com) Like most 20-somethings nowadays, I have found myself spending a ton of my free time thinking about the Cougars. My Cougar thoughts even spilled over onto last week's Dylan and Dylan Show, which you should " Tunnel Vision Sports
Like most 20-somethings nowadays, I have found myself spending a ton of my free time thinking about the Cougars.
My Cougar thoughts even spilled over onto last week's Dylan and Dylan Show, which you should listen to. I declared that the Houston Cougars would make the College Football Playoff. Trust me, I understand it sounds crazy at first, but I beg of you to just hear me out.
I like to be goofy and make outlandish predictions, but I truly believe Dana Holgorsen's Houston Cougars could be the second non-power 5 team, in as many years, to make the College Football Playoff.
Let's Rewind
Before we dive into why this year's Houston team could make the CFP, let's look back to last season. Houston went 11-1 with their lone regular-season loss coming in week 1 against Texas Tech. They would then rattle off 11 straight wins before falling to eventual CFP participant Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Championship game. They would bounce back by knocking off Auburn 17-13 in the Birmingham Bowl. The Cougars would end the year ranked No. 17.
All in all, Houston finished 12-2, with their losses coming to a 7-6 Texas Tech team in week 1 and Cincinnati who made the CFP.
"Last year gave us a lot of confidence in what we can do and how we can play and win as a team, and I think that energy's even higher this year," Houston quarterback Clayton Tune said. "We're just scratching the surface, so I think there's a heightened sense of energy and focus for this year."
In 2021 Tune blossomed into one of the truly great quarterbacks in college football and led an explosive offense, which the numbers back up.
2021 Offensive Numbers
Scoring offense: 35.9 points per game (15th)
Total offense: 414.9 yards per game (59th)
Passing offense: 271.4 yards per game (23rd)
Rushing offense: 143.4 yards per game (86th)
Turnovers committed: 14 turnovers lost (t-33rd)
Completion rate: 67.0% (14th)
Sacks allowed: 2.79 per game (105th)
First downs: 313 (t-23rd)
3rd down conversion rate: 42.1% (47th)
Red zone scoring rate: 89.1% (t-25th)
Time of possession: 33 minutes per game (6th)
While their offense was much improved and became explosive behind Tune in 2021, their defense was an anchor. They may have gone under the radar, but they were one of the best defensive squads in the country in 2021, and the numbers back it up.
2021 Defensive Numbers
Scoring defense: 20.4 points per game (19th)
Total defense: 301.5 yards per game (6th)
Passing defense: 194.0 yards per game (19th)
Rushing defense: 107.5 yards per game (10th)
Turnovers gained: 23 takeaways (t-19th)
Opponent completion rate: 55.2% (8th)
Sacks: 3.21 per game (11th)
First downs allowed: 210 (6th)
Opponent 3rd down rate: 25.7% (1st)
Opponent red zone rate: 73.5% (t-15th)
The Cougars Found Their Tune
This fall, the Cougars' offense will be led by senior quarterback Clayton Tune and junior wide receiver Nathaniel "Tank" Dell.
In 2021 Tune completed 287 of 420 passes for 3,544 yards and 30 touchdowns. He rushed for an additional 154 yards and added two more touchdowns on the ground.
What a great play by Clayton Tune. Bought himself some time and finds Jeremy Singleton, who freed himself and came to the front pylon.
As for Dell, he had a breakout season in 2021 as he recorded 90 receptions for 1,329 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. Dell is one of the best wide receivers in all of college football and will likely continue to put up big numbers in 2022.
Tune and Dell are one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in the entire country and belong in the same tier as USC's Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison and Ohio State's CJ Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With a duo like that, it is hard not to get excited about the Houston offense. That duo also believes they can build off of their 2021 success and lead their team to even greater heights.
Dell has set high goals and standards for his squad in 2022.
"The one goal me and everybody on this team should have is to win a conference championship — get back there and win," Dell said. "Another goal is New Year's Six bowl game. I want to go play in a big bowl game versus a big school and go out there and win."
If Tune and Dell are able to build off their success in 2021, they may be able to find themselves playing against one of those duos in the CFP.
The offense is deeper than just Tune and Dell, though.
Senior runningback Ta'Zhawn Henry took over the starting job after Alton McCaskill suffered an ACL injury in April.
McCaskill had a huge freshman season in which he scored 16 touchdowns and accumulated over 900 yards. The team believes Henry can fill in for McCaskill, though.
"Losing Alton was big but I didn't feel like we took a step back or anything," Dell said. "Ta'Zhawn's an every down back to me. He's quick, he's twitchy. He can catch out of the backfield, run in between the lines, make you miss in the open field, and like you saw in the USF game — 97-yard run to the crib — when it's time to run and get going, he's gonna go."
While they lost their second and third leading receivers, Jeremy Singelton (transfer portal) and Jack Herslow (graduation), the Cougars added weapons through the portal and the recruiting trail.
Can the Defense be Better in 2022?
In 2021 the Houston Cougars' defense was the sixth-best defense in the FBS. They want to be even better in 2022. Defensive coordinator Doug Belk has become one of the hottest names in college football thanks to the success of his unit last season. Belk is doing his best to disregard the hype surrounding himself and the Cougars and simply help his team to be the best they can be.
"I am trying to get our guys to get really focused on what we need to do to get better each and every day," Belk said. "We put an 'X' over last year. We put an 'X' over the preseason polls. We put an 'X' over all the hype and where we're picked to finish in the conference... Where you're ranked doesn't really matter in the preseason. It's where you finish, but you can't really finish if you don't start well."
The defense lost several key pieces to the NFL; Logan Hall, David Anenih, Marcus Jones, and Damarion "Pepe" Williams. Houston believes they have the pieces to fill their holes, but they are unproven players that have yet to make a name for themselves.
While there is a ton of unproven talent on the defensive side, they still have their leader, linebacker Donavan Mutin.
Mutin led all Cougars in tackles last season with 77, he also accumulated 6.5 tackles for loss and recovered three fumbles. Belk often refers to Mutin as the "Peyton Manning of the defense."
"When you look at the things Donnie does from a communication standpoint, from the way he prepares to the way he identifies formations, to just his entire approach to practice and games, that's his niche," linebackers coach Archie McDaniel said. "Calling him Peyton Manning is exactly right. He makes sure we're in the right spot at all times."
With Belk and Mutin, Houston has great leadership on the field and on the sidelines. They should be in a position to thrive on defense again in 2022.
A Favorable Schedule
Houston has a very favorable schedule in 2022. They start the season by going on the road twice; at UTSA and at Texas Tech. Neither game will be easy, but they will be motivated by beating other Texas schools and avenging their lone regular-season loss last season against TTU.
After week 2, they will host Kansas. While the Jayhawks are a Big 12 team, the Cougars should be favored and should win that game. They should be favored in their remaining games thereafter, with their toughest test likely being a road trip to Memphis on October 7th.
Houston avoids a matchup with Central Florida or Cincinnati, this is huge for them and creates a clear path for them to be favored to make the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, where they would likely face UCF or Cincinnati.
Final Verdict
One thing that rings true about both sides of the ball and the Houston coaching staff is that they have all bought in, and they all believe in this team.
Like the players and coaches, I have bought in and believe in this Houston team, and I am very aware I have Cougar fever.
They have seen the blueprint for them to make the CFP, laid out by their conference mates Cincinnati last season.
Dana Holgorsen's team has such a good shot of going 13-0 and being in a prime spot to make the CFP. They have a great offense led by two great players and will continue to play suffocating defense in 2022. I can't watch to see it all play out.
If everything goes as it could, the Houston Cougars could very well find themselves in the 2022 College Football Playoff.
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