UTEP Miners (Football)

Will UH and Rice Play in The Dubai Bowl?

Very few people have ever said that there are not enough college football games. Yet if the smaller, minor conferences have their way, then more college bowl games we'll be getting. And these bowl games won't just be in any minor location like Phoenix or New Orleans, they'll be in Dubai and Dublin a ... More >>

UH, Rice: Is College Football Season Over Yet?

The Houston Cougars were destroyed on Thursday night. The Rice Owls blew a game they should have won on Saturday. The Owls loss is not surprising. The Cougars loss isn't really surprising, either, though the magnitude of the loss is. The Cougars (3-5) lost to the SMU Mustangs by a 72-42 score on Th ... More >>

College Football Week 1: 4 Winners, 4 Losers Among Coaches, Heisman Candidates, QBs

Thursday night college football is fun. The Friday night ESPN game, at least under the magical watch of Joe Tessitore, has become somewhat sneaky over the years. But the college football season truly begins on that first Saturday. So when I fired up the television Saturday morning, then and only th ... More >>

New Baylor Stadium: Now Texas Can Actually Have a Good College Football Venue

On Friday, Baylor regents gave a thumbs-up to the construction of a new $250-million stadium that will post up on the Waco campus and alongside the Brazos River. If Waco City Council green lights the $35 million tax increment financing zone funds that would be needed, then the 45,000-seat venue coul ... More >>

Top 5 Liars in College Football History -- A List Dedicated to Bobby Petrino

Fired and liars rhyme. Just sayin'. This week, Bobby Petrino, a married father of four, was canned from his gig as head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. As Hair Balls previously rapped about, Petrino was let go for lying about his motorcycle accident, his extramarital affair with a fello ... More >>

Proper Pronunciation and UT Fans

Coogs Versus Southern Miss for All the Marbles

One more win and the Coogs are BCS-bound.​The distractions are there for the 12-0 Houston Cougars, the number six team in the BCS standings. Distractions like which BCS bowl game they're playing. Distractions like which team they're playing in that BCS bowl -- current projections being Michi ... More >>

Owls Defeat The Miners While The Cougars Remain Perfect

​If the Rice Owls only played football in November at home and against non-BCS conference schools, they'd be an unstoppable force. Like on Saturday when they played their most complete of the season in defeating UTEP 41-37. Unfortunately for the Owls (3-6, 2-4 in conference), they also have ... More >>

Oh Yeah, And The Cougars Win Back The Bayou Bucket

Photo by Aaron SprecherJust another record-breaking night for the Cougars.​Check out our slideshow of last night's rainy Bayou Bucket game. Houston's Tyron Carrier took the opening kickoff 100-yards for the touchdown to quickly put the Cougars up 7-0. Then the rain hit and the Rice Owls came ... More >>

UH Strives for Perfection as Rice Struggles to Stay Close

​The Houston Cougars SID office sent the media an e-mail on Wednesday morning. An e-mail warning that Houston athletes are prohibited by NCAA rules from promoting outside media events and individual media outlets, including specific shows and stations. And this is the first time since I've b ... More >>

The Coogs Go 13-0. Does Anyone Notice?

Don't get your hopes up, Coogs.​After their impressive win over East Carolina this weekend, talk in Cougar Town is that the team is set to run the table and go undefeated. Such talk has occurred before, of course, like in 2009 when it beat Oklahoma State and a strong Texas Tech team early in ... More >>

Cougars Near Perfection While Owls Stumble to Victory

The Rice Owls hosted the Memphis Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Houston Cougars hosted the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday night. It was a doubleheader of football action that saw the Houston Cougars play perhaps their best all-around football game since the Jack Pardee era while the Owls got ... More >>

Cougars, Owls, and Memories of Buddy Ryan

One of the most memorable images for any Houston Oilers fan is of Buddy Ryan throwing a punch at Kevin Gilbride on the sidelines of a Sunday night football game. Ryan, the Oilers defensive coordinator, had been critical of offensive coordinator Gilbride's playcalling the entire season, and as the h ... More >>

UH Preps for UTEP While Rice Takes on Southern Miss

It's no secret that the Houston Cougars (4-0) have problems when it comes to playing the UTEP Miners (2-2). No matter how good the Coogs might be, or how bad the Miners might be, the game is a struggle. They've played eight times, and each team has won four times. The Coogs are 2-1 for the past thr ... More >>

The Scrubs Get Major Playing Time As Coogs Glide To Easy Victory

J.D., Turk, and the gang didn't get to play, but the rest of the Cougars bench got plenty of playing time​As the Cougars trotted off of the field after the first half on Saturday night, the question wasn't whether the Cougars would be in need of another second half comeback. That wasn't the q ... More >>

Rocks Off's Musical 2011 Texas Football Preview

buckaroosfunnypictures.comHook 'em Horns...​You wouldn't know it from walking around outdoors, but fall is just around the corner, and in Texas that means two things: We no longer have to consume our body weight in water for shows at the Pavilion, and it's almost time for college football. An ... More >>

UH To The Big 12? Five Reasons It Would Be A Huge Boost

Home sweet home for the Coogs?​Everyone's reporting that Texas A&M has all but decided to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and the San Antonio Express-News adds an Aggie official says the Big 12 told the school the University of Houston would be a viable replacement. UH had been talking/hoping/t ... More >>

Case Keenum and the Favre Rules: Notes from UH Media Day

The Cougars would like Case Keenum to be a bit more like Brett Favre this season.​It's safe to say that the 2010 football season didn't pan out the way the Houston Cougars imagined it would. That team, to be paced by senior QB Case Keenum, was poised to take UH football to the next level with ... More >>

Top 5 Worst C-USA Football Games of 2011 (With Suggested Alternatives)

Pillow Fight! Uh, we mean, Conference USA football! ​We suppose that everything has its less-than-stellar companion. However, Conference USA's ugly twin is really freaking gross. The best games involving C-USA programs in 2011 are something to look forward to. The worst games? Never. Serio ... More >>

Top 5 Best C-USA Football Games of 2011 (With Predictions)

Case Keenum's comeback attempt starts September 3. ​Last week, Hair Balls broke down some of the best (as well as the worst) games of the 2011 football season involving Big 12 teams. Now, Conference USA, which just wrapped up its media days in Memphis, gets a similar treatment. Houston, tha ... More >>

Top 5 Worst Collegiate Conference Logos

Seriously???​Congratulations to the fourth grader who designed the new Mountain West Conference logo! Yesterday, the Mountain West Conference unveiled its new brand identity as they head into a hoped-for (read: Boise State-led) future as a regular contender in BCS football as well as other m ... More >>

Houston Cougar Football: Definitely Maybe Ending Tomorrow Night

This may, or may not, be the Cougars last game of the season​When Texas Tech and Houston met in September of last year, it was a truly magical moment for the Cougars. The Red Raiders were seen as one of the top teams in the country and head coach Mike Leach was one of those names mentioned ... More >>

Owls Focusing, Dammit, On The Cougars

The Owls are working on their focus this week​This post about Saturday's football game between the Rice Owls and the Houston Cougars is brought to you by the word "focus," as in the Rice Owls need to focus on making their plays. And as in the word "focus" is the current term of choice for th ... More >>

Rice Owls Lose Again

Owls bowl chances are as extinct as the galleryfurniture.com bowl​The Rice Owls were full of talk before the season started about how they were going to a bowl game this season. Talk of how people were underestimating them. Of about how they would surprise people.And the Owls are surprising ... More >>

The Rice Owls Go Mining For A Victory

The Owls hope to mine UTEP for a win​If you ask the Rice Owls, they'll tell you that they're doing just about everything right. That they're one or two plays from turning around the season. They'll tell you about the improvement they're seeing in this year's team when compared to last year's ... More >>

College Football and NFL: This Weekend's Best Bets

The Dr Pepper commercial can't be far behind​Now that The Office has turned into a big, directionless mess, the title for Most Watchable Thing on Thursday night television (with apologies to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and The League) is the two-minute "Dr. Lou" segments that run at halftime ... More >>

UH Takes On UCLA And Emphasizes Line Play

The big uglies up front will be butting heads​The Houston Cougars have gotten the reputation, undeserved or not, of being a soft, finesse football team. When you pass the football, when you play the spread and go with one-back backfields, that can happen.  The Cougar players don't like this r ... More >>

Cougars Not Getting Respect From ESPN -- Or Their Own Flagship Station (Updated)

Is this where they got their UH-UTEP announcers from?​I've got an idea for the Houston Cougars. Instead of wasting time going after beat writers for trying to find out health information on players, maybe they should instead use that valuable time for more important things. Like making sure the TV ... More >>

Coogs Win...With A Running Game?

Bryce Beall ran wild​Football is a game of adjustments. The team that makes the proper adjustments at the right time is usually going to be the team that wins when things are otherwise more or less equal. So it was obvious when, come the start of Friday's Houston/UTEP game, UTEP drove the field ... More >>

Game Time: Colts vs Texans -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

Photo by Marco TorresThe Texans didn't need a big day from Matt Schaub​My 12-year-old daughter got braces last week. This made me feel really old. So how did I respond? Well, the same way that any self-respecting 41 year old with no money to buy a Harley Davidson but with access to a computer w ... More >>

UH Looking For Lots Of Crowd Noise For Tonight's ESPN Game

Bring the noise to Robertson Stadium for ESPN​Strange as it may seem, if things had gone a bit differently in the college career of Drew Bledsoe, Kevin Sumlin might not have ended up in Houston. But strange as it may seem, that's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.Sumlin's first ... More >>

UH Opens Season Like It Should, And In Front Of A Sellout Crowd

Case Keenum gets off to a hot start​Playing a school like Texas State to open up a football season is never quite as easy as it looks. Just ask Michigan and Ole Miss.The Houston Cougars were very aware of the upset possibilities, and they were very aware of the opposite danger, that they could a ... More >>

Game Time: "I've Done Some Pretty Bad Things"

​"I've done some pretty bad things..." -- Tiger Woods, 3.21.10That makes two of us, Tiger. Of course, while the bad things you did were decidedly more kinky and homewrecking than my transgressions, it doesn't make me feel any less remorseful than you. Hey, by the way, saw your texts to Joslyn ... More >>

UH, Rice Football Schedules Offer Some Intrigue, But Will They Attract Fans?

​Lost amidst the hoopla of the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was the release on Tuesday of the football schedules of the Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls. And knowing Cougar fans the way I do, I'm sure they're already starting to form their excuses for failing to sell out the stadiu ... More >>

Coogs Lose...Is The Clock Ticking On Tom Penders?

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougar football and basketball teams have one thing in common: neither can defeat the University of Central Florida.But whereas football coach Kevin Sumlin just received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract extension, it might well be that this 78-71 Cougar lo ... More >>

Game Time: The Five Most Dominant Performances In A College Football Title Game

The time for talking is almost over, and tonight we'll find out if the shrinking spread on this season's BCS Title game and the last minute rush by some to the Texas Longhorn bandwagon is a harbinger of things to come. Me personally, I think Nick Saban dials up some exotic blitz packages that give ... More >>

Today's Bowl Menu: UH And The Texas Bowl, Both With Teams Wishing They Were Elsewhere

​Two of what should be more of the entertaining non-BCS Bowl games should be played this afternoon. They'll be entertaining because of the teams involved and because of similarities among all four teams. Both games feature teams that don't want to be playing that game and have chips on their shoul ... More >>

Coogs' Shot At A C-USA Title On The Line In Front Of A National Audience, Hostile Crowd

Photo courtesy UH​Tomorrow is the day the Cougars have pointed toward since they won the Armed Forces Bowl back on New Year's Eve 2008. Tomorrow is the Conference USA Title Game, and all this season, the Cougar coaches and players have talked of playing in this game and winning the conference.And ... More >>

UH Football And Basketball Have Big Weekends On Tap

​One season is ending. One season is just beginning. But for the Houston Cougars, it's a big Thanksgiving weekend either way with the football team playing for the C-USA West title, and the basketball team up in Alaska playing against Big 12 power Oklahoma in the Great Alaska Shootout on Thurs ... More >>

Title Dreams Are Likely Gone, But Coogs Try To Regroup

Photo courtesy UH​Nobody needs to tell the Houston Cougars that they messed up last Saturday. They're well aware of that fact on their own.But they're now trying to forget about what happened last week while they attempt to do the most important thing in the world: concentrate on Saturday's gam ... More >>

Coogs Take On Tulsa, Where The Hurricanes Are Golden

Photo courtesy UH​Before this football season began, it was thought that the Tulsa Golden Hurricane would be the toughest competition to the Houston Cougars for the C-USA West championship. But as both teams head into game number nine this weekend, it's beginning to look like those fears might ha ... More >>

Coogs Pull Off a Last-Minute Win, Thanks to Fendi Onobun

Photo by Fred Trask​Case Keenum delivered his standard Heisman-worthy performance. Charles Sims continued his fantastic freshman season. James Cleveland and Patrick Edwards caught key touchdown passes. But the Houston Cougars 50-43 last minute win over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles can, p ... More >>

Coogs Doing Their Part; The Fans Better Do Theirs

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougars came out in front of a nearly non-existent Superdome crowd on Saturday and got business done, defeating Tulane 44-16.Of course, it wasn't easy. At least for a half, as the Cougars battled a slow start and poor kicking to lead at only 9-6 after the first ... More >>

Coogs Try To Actually Win One In Conference USA

​Way back in August, way back when the Houston Cougars were just starting to practice, way back when the temperature was in the 100s instead of the 90s, way back then, at Media Day, head coach Kevin Sumlin and the players met with the media.They didn't care about the rankings, they said. They di ... More >>

Coogs Find Their Way Back To Their Winning Ways

Photo by Fred Trask​"It's hard to win every Saturday," Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin said Saturday afternoon. "But to go on the road and win, particularly in a place like this with so much tradition, it's a big boost for us."The Cougars defeated Mississippi State 31-24 on Saturday. A ... More >>

Coogs Try To Shake Off UTEP As They Take On The SEC

Photo courtesy UH​Many words were said by Houston Cougar head coach Kevin Sumlin and his players at yesterday's media luncheon. But of those many words, none captured the spirit of Saturday's loss to UTEP better than those of cornerback Brandon Brinkley: "I felt embarrassed."Quarterback Case Ke ... More >>

Five Reasons Notre Dame Will Win The BCS This Year And Texas Won't: Part 5

​College football's Top Ten this year has been a holy mess -- some crummy teams have been ranked highly (Ole Miss, Cal), others haven't (Miami, Iowa).UT has stayed steadily in the number-two spot, mostly by playing no one of any worth whatsoever. (Even UH beat Tech, and UH couldn't even beat UTEP. ... More >>

Scientists Unsure Whether Huge Reading Indicates Giant Tsunami, Or Coogs Falling To Earth

Photo courtesy UH​In retrospect, what happened to the Houston Cougars on Saturday night in El Paso shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.Yes, the team was coming off of a last-minute win against Texas Tech. And yes, UTEP was 1-3 and coming off a humiliating defeat to the Texas Longhorn ... More >>

Five Reasons The Longhorns Won't Win The BCS Title This Year

​Finally -- after what seems a wait of approximately five years -- college football is back.The New York Times, of all people, has picked the UT Longhorns as the Number One team in the nation. A lot of other experts, not to mention Red Bull-swilling, Cheeto-chomping, Mom-avoiding bloggers, pick UT ... More >>