Houston Cougars 45, Tulane Green Wave 7 recap

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our Houston Correspondent Patrick Mahoney recaps the Houston win over C-USA foe Tulane.

The Houston Cougars exorcised some demons Saturday evening, steamrolling the Tulane Green Wave 45-7. The home opener saw the high octane Cougar offensive unit rack up 621 yards and a solid defense hold the Wave to only 224 yards.

Possible Heisman candidate quarterback Kevin Kolb brought his A-game, going 24-for-41 for three touchdowns and one interception with 350 yards in just three quarters. All-conference wideout Vincent Marshall caught six passes for 119 yards as the duo secured their positions atop all active career passers and receivers in yardage gained.

The Cougars seldom stumbled on their way down the field, scoring every time they crossed into the red zone for the second game in a row. Kolb signed his name atop the Houston record books along the way, becoming the school’s all-time leading passer before turning the ball over to the backup quarterback, red shirt freshman Blake Joseph, who went 3-for-3 for 27 yards.

The defense played well too, intercepting a pass and taking away a fumble while holding the Wave to just 55 yards rushing on 23 carries. Tulane never really found a groove, punting eight times and turning over on downs twice in 14 possessions.

The win came one week after an ugly 31-30 win over cross-town rival Rice, a victory which left many Cougar faithful stinging with echoes of lost Liberty Bowl dreams and Heisman hype ringing in their ears. Kolb has been heavily criticized, by the faithful and bandwagoners alike, for his problems with decision making and field vision but he silenced his critics this week, looking every bit the poster boy the Cougars need. The whole team proved better disciplined, incurring only five penalties, half the amount they accrued at Rice last week. Kolb has also been criticized for zeroing in on a particular receiver, but this time out he spread the love, hitting 10 receivers, including seven connections to Donnie Avery, who finished the game with 96 yards and a touchdown.

The often under-utilized rushers turned in a sterling 244 yards and three touchdowns. Anthony Alridge produced the big numbers with 155 yards and two of those scores while Roshawn Pope was a workhorse with 18 carries and the third TD. Starter Jackie Battle sat the game out with an injury but it appears he chose a good game for a rest.

This was the first time since 2004 that the Cougar O has topped 600 yards. The modest, yet spirited crowd, of 16,506 was treated to fireworks after the game too, part of the Armed Forces Day promotion that saw many local JROTC units in attendance.

The weather threatened early, perhaps partially accounting for the disappointing gate, but turned off cool and clear for a very pleasant night in the on-campus confines of Robertson Stadium. New light standards and a large video board with new scoreboards made their debuts and were well received as needed improvements over the old lights and boards. The Rob, famous (or infamous) for its endzone palm trees, wasn’t sporting the only improvements Saturday evening- the team broke in their new home uniforms. A new sponsorship deal with Adidas has seen the incorporation of more blue and different fonts into the home and away jerseys.

The Cougars are now 2-0 overall and in conference play while the Green Wave started their season 0-1 in their 12 th straight away game. The Wave are piecing their program back together amidst the ruins of Hurricane Katrina.

The Cougars will now start preparations for next week’s matchup at home against the Division I-AA Grambling Tigers (1-1).