Volume 80 Issue 03 Overtime

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.

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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.

TDECU.org

Federally insured by NCUA. 5033-COUGAR-0821 0814-A7402

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