WEEKDAY, MONTH XX
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
INSIDE PG.XX
Teaser here Headline and here and First, second year players see extensive playing time PG. XX
Teaser Headline
INSIDE PG. 6
UH left searching for answers
This is the teaser text. Dolor aut ut ut faciunte et quidus After a devastating loss to UTSA in the home opener, quia quis explist autesto | PG. 6
head coach Tony Levine and the coaching staff must find a way to overcome poor performance
Be you. Belong.
WELCOMING ALL PUTTING-IN-THE-WORKTODAY-FOR-A-GREAT-FUTURE COUGARS. New semester, new challenges. You’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about financial stability. We can help. Now that TDECU is partnering with the University of Houston, you can count on us to make all your banking needs pretty much worry-free. Open your account online today at TDECU.org. Be YOU and Belong. Our newest branch will open in the University Center this Fall. Go Coogs, Go! Join us on Friday, August 29, at 8 p.m. for the opening game at the new TDECU Stadium.
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2 | Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Q&A: Spencer expects UH to rebound ADAM COLEMAN
Overtime is produced by The Cougar, the official student newspaper of the University of Houston. No part of the publication in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the Director of the Center for Student Media. To contact the CSM, call 713-743-5350.
STAFF WRITER
Coming off a career season, senior receiver Daniel Spencer — who caught 52 balls for 768 yards and six touchdowns as the No. 2 option in 2013 — has become a team leader. He and the Cougars suffered a 27-7 loss to UTSA in last Friday’s home opener. Spencer had three catches for 22 yards in the defeat. An explosive high school running back who fits perfectly with the Cougars' up-tempo offense, Spencer sat down with The Cougar to discuss the game, as well as the rest of the season. The Cougar: After the loss, what words of encouragment did you say to the rest of your teammates, especially the underclassmen? Daniel Spencer: It’s just one game. We still have 11 more to go. We’re gonna learn from our mistakes and just move on. You really just gotta have a short memory, because it happens— you’ll have bad games. I don’t know about the defense but for the offense, stuff just sometimes doesn’t go your way.
TC: How lethal can you and (junior receiver) Deontay Greenberry be after you both had stellar seasons a year ago? DS : We can be as good as we want to be. We’re
EDITOR Andrew Valderas COPY EDITOR Joshua Cochran
Senior receiver Daniel Spencer's running back skills from high school has helped him be one of the more elusive and exploisve players on the team since his freshman year. | File Photo/The Cougar real talented and have skills that a lot of people just don’t have, so we just have to work hard every day and perfect our craft.
TC: How did playing running back in high school help you transition to being an explosive receiver? DS: It helps because after I catch the ball, you don’t know really what’s going to happen. I can make guys miss in open space, and I can read holes better. Sometimes, I can go play running
back if they need me to.
TC: What do you and your team need to do to get back to the winning ways? DS: Just go out there and do what we do. That game didn’t really showcase what all we can do. We went out there and kind of laid an egg, so we need to go out there and show the real Houston offense.
sports@thedailycougar.com
Five things we learned about the Cougars CHRISTOPHER SHELTON
CREATIVE DIRECTOR @CHRISSHELTONTDC
In the opening of TDECU Stadium, UH struggled in a 27-7 loss to UTSA on Friday. Here are five truths we learned after watching the 2014 Cougars for the first time. 1: The offensive line is an issue:
The Roadrunners sacked sophomore quarterback John O'Korn four times. And many other times during the game, O'Korn was forced to scramble before the play fully developed. The running game struggled, too. Juniors Kenneth Farrow and Ryan Jackson, the top two running backs on the depth chart, combined for 35 rushing yards against the stout UTSA defense. After the game, head coach Tony Levine didn't rule out changes to the starting line up. "If we feel like there need to be any personnel changes, we’ll watch the film, talk as a staff and implement any changes this weekend," Levine said.
2: UH's two new starters at corner back look legit:
Juniors Lee Hightower and William Jackson both did a good job of tackling and in coverage. They both helped hold UTSA's solid senior receiver Kam Jones to 17 yards and both made big tackles in space. The duo replaced last year's starters Zach McMillian and Thomas Bates. 3: Sloppy offense put defense in bad spot:
The Cougars turned the ball over six times, including four interceptions and two fumbles. UH also had two turnovers on downs. It's tough to win a football game after surrendering the ball to your opponent that many times. After 2012, which included a nineturnover game against SMU, head coach Tony Levine made winning the turnover battle a point of emphasis in 2013. It worked—the Cougars led the nation in turnover margin, which aided the team in reaching a bowl appearance. If the Cougars continue to lose the turnover
battle to this degree, the team could see another 5-7 season. 4: Junior receiver Deontay Greenberry is really good:
Greenberry seemingly won every one-onone match up. He caught six passes for 96 yards, including a one handed grab along the sideline in tight coverage. 5: QB O'Korn struggled, but he didn't get much help:
O'Korn tossed four interceptions and lost one fumble, but the offensive struggles weren't all his fault. I counted three drops by senior receiver Daniel Spencer. One was an anticipation throw that should have been a touchdown to tie the game. On the ensuing play, O'Korn forced a pass to Greenberry that was tipped then intercepted. And the aforementioned offensive line allowed four sacks and didn't open holes for the running game. sports@thedailycougar.com
CLOSING EDITORS Jenae Sitzes Cara Smith Christopher Shelton WRITERS Christopher Shelton Sean Alder
WRITERS (cont.) Adam Coleman PHOTOGRAPHERS Justin Tijerina AD MANAGER Callista Brown SALES Jose Salazar
ABOUT THE COVER Head coach Tony Levine suffered his second home opening loss in the past three seasons as a heavy favorite. UH hopes to rebound against Grambling State on Saturday night in the second game at TDECU Stadium. — Photo by Justin Tijerina
Contact The Cougar thedailycougar.com NEWSROOM 713-743-5360 editor@thedailycougar.com facebook.com/thedailycougar twitter.com/thedailycougar
EDITOR IN CHIEF Cara Smith
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Wednesday, September 3, 2014 | 3
More than just a game Despite a 27-7 loss to UTSA, students, fans and administrators celebrated UH football's new home.
Friday's festivities included the ribbon cutting, games for fans and the Cougars' season opener to the 2014 season at TDECU Stadium. | Photos by Justin Tijerina and Caitlin Hilton/The Cougar
4 | Wednesday, September 3, 2014
STARTING LINE-UP
STEWART (FS)
OLIPHANT (SLB)
HIGHTOWER (CB)
BOWSER (DE)
MATHEWS (MLB)
MBU (DT)
MCDONALD (SS)
TUCKER (WLB)
JACKSON (CB)
HARRIS (DE)
MARK (DT)
DEFENSE OFFENSE PARRIS (LT)
WARD JR (WR)
OKAFOR (LG)
REDMAN (C)
SPENCER (WR)
HARPER (LG)
O'KORN (QB)
COOPER (LT)
GREENBERRY (WR)
AYERS (WR)
FARROW (HB)
@
Tell us who would you start using the hashtag #TDCUHvsGBS or tweet us @thedailycougar
UNDER THE HELMET
TEAM LEADERS
2014 stats, UH vs. Grambling State starters PASSING PLAYER
CMP
ATT
YARDS
CMP%
TD
INT
AVG
John O'Korn
21
43
204
48.8
0
4
204
Stephe Johnson
6
18
118
33
0
0
51
PLAYER
YPA
ATT
YARDS
LONG
TD
G
AVG
Kenneth Farrow
3.57
7
25
8
0
1
25
Cedric Skinner
5.1
10
51
18
0
1
51
REC
YARDS
TD
YPC
RPG
LONG
AVG
Deontay Greenberry
6
96
0
16
6
23
96
Chad Williams
3
82
0
27.3
3
51
31.4
FAVORITE FOOD
FAVORITE MOVIE
FAVORITE SUPERHERO
Spaghetti
The Dark Knight Rises
Batman
RUSHING
RECEIVING PLAYER
DANIEL SPENCER WR Class: Senior Age: 21 Major: Health
@
Who do you want to see next? Use the hashtag #tdcunderhelmet or send your suggestions to @thedailycougar
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 | 5
THE BIG BOARD AP TOP 25 RK
TEAM
1 2
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE RECORD
PTS
Florida State (57)
1-0
1496
Stony Brook at UConn
Alabama (1)
1-0
1361
SMU at North Texas
3
Oregon
1-0
1334
Oklahoma at Tulsa
4
Oklahoma
1-0
1324
Navy at Temple
5
Auburn
1-0
1207
Maryland at USF
6
Georgia
1-0
1198
Georgia Tech at Tulane
7
Michigan State
1-0
1106
8
Ohio State
1-0
1080
9
Texas A&M
1-0
1015
10
Baylor
1-0
966
11
UCLA
1-0
885
12
LSU
1-0
843
13
Stanford
1-0
776
14
USC
1-0
637
15
Ole Miss
1-0
626
16
Notre Dame
1-0
536
17
Arizona State
1-0
445
18
Wisconsin
1-0
424
19
Nebraska
1-0
357
20
Kansas State
1-0
242
21
South Carolina
1-0
238
22
North Carolina
1-0
226
23
Clemson
1-0
194
24
Missouri
1-0
134
25
Louisville
1-0
130
Others Receiving Votes: UCF 94, Florida 87, Texas 86, Duke 71, Iowa 68, Louisville 48, Marshall 41, Oklahoma State 37, Virginia Tech 26, TCU 23, Mississippi State 22, Michigan 19, Texas Tech 19, Miami (FL) 16, Cincinnati 15, Boise State 10, Oregon State 10, Northwestern 8
SAY WHAT?
"If you look in the dictionary for words and phrases of 'team player,' you'll find a picture of Shane Ros."
head coach Tony Levine, on senior receiver and special teamer Shane Ros
STANDINGS
NETWORK
TIME
AMERICAN
W
L
W
L
SNY
11 a.m.
Houston
0
1
0
0
Fox Sports 1
11 a.m.
Louisville
1
0
0
0
ABC
11 a.m.
USF
1
0
0
0
ESPN3
noon
UCF
0
1
0
0
CBSSN
2:30 p.m.
Cincinnati
0
0
0
0
ESPNews
3 p.m.
Rutgers
1
0
0
0
SMU
0
1
0
0
Connecticut
0
1
0
0
Memphis
1
0
0
0
Temple
0
1
0
0
TV GUIDE Saturday, Sept. 6
Network
Time
Florida Atlantic at No.2 Alabama
SEC
11 a.m.
Western Illinois at No.18 Wisconsin
BTN
11 a.m.
No.20 Kansas State at Iowa State
Fox Sports 1
11 a.m.
McNeese State at No.19 Nebraska
ESPNU
11 a.m.
No.24 Missouri at Toledo
ESPN
11 a.m.
Arkansas State at Tennessee
SEC
11 a.m.
Western Kentucky at Illinois
BTN
11 a.m.
Akron at Penn State
ABC
11 a.m.
Central Michigan at Purdue
ESPNews
South Carolina State at No.16 Clemson
ESPN3
Fresno State at Utah
PAC12
2p.m.
Sacramento State at California
PAC12
2 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Washington
PAC12
2:05 p.m.
Virginia Military Institute at Bowling Green
ESPN3
2:30 p.m.
No.14 USC at No.13 Stanford
ABC
2:30 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky at Miami (OH)
ESPN3
2:30 p.m.
FLASHBACK
11 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
Ball State at Iowa
ESPN2
2:30 p.m.
Middle Tennessee at Minnesota
BTN
2:30 p.m.
Richmond at Virginia
ESPN3
2:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Florida
SEC
3 p.m.
No.15 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
ESPN
3:30 p.m.
No. 7 Michigan State at No. 3 Oregon
FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m.
No.17 Arizona State at New Mexico
CBS
6 p.m.
Florida A&M at Miami (FL)
ESPN3
6 p.m.
Citadel at No. 1 Florida State
ESPN3
6:30 p.m.
Sam Houston State at No. 12 LSU
SEC
6:30 p.m.
Michigan at No. 16 Notre Dame
NBC
6:30 p.m.
Lamar at No. 9 Texas A&M
SEC
6:30 p.m.
BYU at Texas
Fox Sports 1
6:30 p.m.
Texas Tech at UTEP
Fox Sports 1
10 p.m.
File Photo/The Cougar
HOUSTON 40 TULANE 17 UH closes Rob with solid win On November 24, 2012 Ryan Jackson helped lead UH past Tulane in their 40-17 victory, the last game to be played in Robertson Stadium. Jackson finished with a total of 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns, with quarterback Crawford Jones throwing for 368 passing yards in the blowout season finale. Adding to the list of achievements, receiver Ronnie Williams reached a career-best 10 catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns to round out the scoring.
— Sean Alder
6 | Wednesday, September 3, 2014
UH has ugly performance to open $120M project CHRISTOPHER SHELTON
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
@CHRISSHELTONTDC
Moments that combine the big stage with the pomp and circumstance of a stadium opening don't often happen in college football — especially at programs like UH. For the Cougars, who have bounced between national prominence, mediocrity and even irrelevancy during the past decade, the opening of TDECU Stadium was supposed to be a crowning event. Instead, the Cougars laid an egg in front of their largest ever on-campus crowd, including more than 10,000 students as well as a national television audience. UTSA defeated UH 27-7 in the inaugural game at TDECU Stadium on Friday. “I’m not going to sugarcoat things; it’s a very disappointing start to our season,” said head coach Tony Levine. The Roadrunners' winning formula was simple — they controlled the line of scrimmage, ran the football and won the turnover battle. Sophomore quarterback John O'Korn tossed four interceptions, the Cougars lost two fumbles and turned the ball over on downs twice. A team that led the nation in turnover margin last season lost the battle 6-1 against UTSA. The Cougars didn't score a point until there were less than two minutes left in the game and narrowly avoided their first shutout since a 48-0 loss to Texas in 2000. "The turnovers were big. I felt that their defensive line and defense deserve a lot of credit; they controlled the line of scrimmage, and they took away our running game. We were playing from behind pretty early in the game, and we became one-dimensional, never got into a rhythm and I think there’s no more to be said about that," Levine said. The defense made some plays, but couldn't overcome the short fields provided by turnovers and the length of time spent on the field. For three quarters, UH corralled UTSA's short passing game and slowed the running game, but it wasn't enough. "I think we are a great team, (but) we had some miscues. It makes it harder to win. We have to learn from our mistakes and bounce back from them," said senior defensive end Joey Mbu. UH's loss alone was not disappointing. UTSA is a talented veteran team expected to be a Conference USA contender. But it was poor performance for a
Sophomore quarterback John O'Korn statistically had the worse game of his football career. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw four interceptions in the season opener. Senior backup Billy Cosh (9) led a touchdown drive in in the team's final series. | Justin Tijerina/ The Cougar
STANDOUTS Here are three players who had an impact in the Cougars 27-7 loss to the Roadrunners Friday in the opening of TDECU Stadium. DEONTAY GREENBERRY Receiver
96
Yards
DERRICK MATHEWS Middle linebacker
16
TACKLES
RYAN JACKSON Running back
1
TD
The junior receiver led the team in receiving yards in the home opener.
Mathews was a force on the defense agasint the Roadrunners.
Jackson scored the team's lone touchdown deep in the fourth quarter.
program that has struggled in money moments during the past half-decade. In 2011 it was a 49-28 loss to Southern Miss in the C-USA title game that would have thrust UH into a BCS game. In 2012, with electricity in Robertson Stadium surrounding the Cougars after a 13-1 season, it was a loss to Texas State in its first game as an FBS school. In 2013, despite a turnaround from 5-7 in 2012, UH couldn't finish games against good teams and lost to arguably the five best teams on its schedule. But Friday's loss was the most disappointing for its off-the-field significance — UH lost more than a football game. Though the tailgating, turnout and atmosphere were great, TDECU Stadium's
opening will always be tied to a drubbing. It was a lost chance for UH to elevate its profile. Located in the press box were affiliates from Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports and every major local media outlet. Instead of discussing a win in a beautiful new stadium, everyone is talking about an ugly loss in a beautiful new stadium or not mentioning UH at all. It was a lost chance to invigorate the fan base. Folks in the Bayou City only support a winner, unless you're the Houston Texans or a high school football team. So retaining the casual UH fan could be tough. The momentum gained from an 8-5 season where the Cougars had one of the
best defensive turnarounds in the nation and a young quarterback that set freshman records was halted. From a football perspective, though, the Cougars still have a chance to bounce back. The team has 11 games including the entire conference season to fulfill the promise that was expected by fans, media, coaches and players before the games began. The Cougars have a veteran defense adept at creating turnover to go along with a talented quarterback and group of skill position players. But, as UTSA proved at TDECU Stadium, games aren’t won on paper. sports@thedailycougar.com
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 | 7
2014 RESULTS
BYU, UNLV, Cincinnati highlight new season's schedule
VS. UTSA L, 27-7 FRIDAY, AUG. 29, 2014 TDECU STADIUM
VS. GRAMBLING SATURDAY, SEPT. 6, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, 7 P.M.
AT BYU THURSDAY, SEPT. 11, 2014 LAVELL EDWARDS STADIUM, 8 P.M.
VS. UNLV SATURDAY, SEPT. 20, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, TBA
VS. UCF* THURSDAY, OCT. 02, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, 6 P.M.
AT MEMPHIS* SATURDAY, OCT. 11, 2014 LIBERTY BOWL MEMORIAL STADIUM, TBA
VS. TEMPLE*
The Cougars' passing game had a frustrating night in its season opener, completing just 50 percent of its passes and threw four interceptions (six total) and turned it over on downs twice in the 27-7 loss. Senior receiver Daniel Spencer (4) had just three catches for 22 yards. | Justin Tijerina/ The Cougar
FRIDAY, OCT. 17, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, 8 P.M.
UH reflects on offense after struggles in opener
AT USF*
SPORTS EDITOR
SATURDAY, NOV. 01, 2014 RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM, TBA.
VS. TULANE* FRIDAY, NOV. 01, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, TBA
VS. TULSA* SATURDAY, NOV. 22, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, TBA
AT SMU* FRIDAY, NOV. 28, 2014 GERALD J. FORD STADIUM, TBA
AT CINCINNATI* SATURDAY, DEC. 06, 2014 NIPPERT STADIUM, TBA * DENOTES CONFERENCE GAME
SEAN ALDER @SEAN_ALDER
The Cougars came into last Friday’s TDECU Stadium opener with more than 40,000 students and fans ready to watch them perform in their new home. However, their stagnant offense couldn’t stop turning the ball over. “I’ll take the full blame for the way the offense played,” said offensive coordinator Travis Bush after the TRAVIS BUSH team’s 27-7 disapOFFENSIVE COORpointing loss. “It’s my DINATOR responsibility, and we just need to get better at some of the little things.” Head coach Tony Levine acknowledged the skill of the Roadrunners’ defensive line while looking at the poor performance of his offense. “I thought that UTSA did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage,” Levine
said. “Last season in 13 games, we threw 10 interceptions; in just one game we threw four. No one played perfectly, and we just need to protect the ball better.” Sophomore quarterback John O’Korn threw four interceptions and completed just 48 percent of his passes. He often took a lot of chances early, which played into the opposing defense’s hands. “I wanted to be aggressive and I wanted to attack (UTSA)” Bush said. “I might’ve been too aggressive early by trying to get the ball to the outside guys and take advantage of some match-ups.” Bush wasn’t the only one taking a look at the UTSA defense, as junior receiver Deontay Greenberry was also hoping for the best offensively during Friday’s game. “I was just looking forward to get on the field and show my teammates. I was ready to play,” Greenberry said. “I saw the one-on-one match-ups, and I was looking forward to O’Korn taking advantage of those early. But he didn’t.” After last season’s strong display that led to a bowl game, the Cougars need to work
out the kinks in order to bounce back and meet their conference title expectations. “The biggest disappointment is you look on film, and that doesn’t look like us,” Bush said. “We felt great about everything we saw through camp but we didn’t execute and we didn’t perform to the way we’ve been performing.” Ending Friday’s game with six receptions for 96 total yards, Greenberry proved that it’s still possible to benefit from games like this. With the way the team needs to play in order to succeed, Greenberry has the necessary recommendations that are key to the Cougars’ offensive future. “It’s all about having that laser-focus, and it starts at practice,” Greenberry said. “The guys just need to be dialed in at practice and do what they’re supposed to do.” With that, the Cougars have headed back out to the practice field in preparation for their redemption game against Grambling State on Saturday night. sports@thedailycougar.com
8 | Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Be you. Belong.
WELCOMING ALL PUTTINGIN-THE-WORK-TODAY-FOR-AGREAT-FUTURE COUGARS. New semester, new challenges. You’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about financial stability. We can help. Now that TDECU is partnering with the University of Houston, you can count on us to make all your banking needs pretty much worry-free. Open your account online today at TDECU.org. Be YOU and Belong. Our newest branch will open in the University Center this Fall.
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