Houston Cougars 34, Oklahoma State Cowboys 25 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 big Houston win over Oklahoma State.

The Houston Cougar football team had a statement to make coming into Saturday's game and they made it with a few exclamation points. On the road to earning votes in both major polls for the first time in 15 years the Coogs beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 34-25 in a sweltering prelude to a Gulf coast deluge. Nary a seat was left in Robertson Stadium as the Cougars rode an unstoppable offensive machine to their first 4-0 start since East Germany was still around.

The raucous capacity crowd of over 28,000 showed just how deafening a venue tidy little Robertson can be during the nationally televised match between the two undefeated teams. OSU dropped to 3-1 on the season after a disappointing defensive performance. The Cougars will next take their perfect 4-0 record into Miami for a battle on ESPN2 with a hungry Hurricane team (1-2) that is reeling after falling out of the Top 25 poll for the first time in years.
Kevin Kolb put on yet another offensive clinic, completing 21 of 28 passing attempts with four TD passes and 313 yards. Conference USA named Kolb its Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season as he started his 40th consecutive game, yet another category in which he leads the nation.

Punter Justin Laird knocked the dust off his leg, punting for the first time in eight quarters late in the fourth quarter. Laird launched two key punts in the final frame, including a booming 49-yarder from deep in his own end zone that was subsequently fumbled and recovered by the Cougars to close the door on the Cowboys. For his exceptional and infrequent performances Laird was named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week.

The game was close throughout the night but the Cougars pulled away in the second half as the rain and wind began to pour into the stadium. Complementing Kolb, nine players caught passes, including Mark Hafner who had four receptions for 58 yards and his first career touchdown and the faithful Vincent Marshall with two catches and a touchdown. Jackie Battle rushed for over 100 yards for the second time in his career with Roshawn Pope carrying five times to help keep the Cowboys D honest.

The Cougars once more ran a perfect game when it came to Red Zone scoring and continued to hold the penalties to a minimum, being flagged only twice. The Cougars dominated time of possession, holding onto the ball for 36:07 against the Cowboys' 23:53. The Cougars also beat the Pokes 27-17 in first downs as well as in passing, receiving, rushing, and special teams returns. The defense showed their mettle when it counted, forcing a turnover on downs and then recovering a fumble, both in the red zone during the fourth quarter. It was an almost flawless victory for the Coogs, save for one turnover and an injury to starting OL SirVincent Rogers that will put him out of commission for the remainder of the season.

This marked the first time in six tries that the Cougars have beaten a Big XII team, a victory especially sweet for long-time Coog fans. School lore is awash in tales of snubs by the University of Texas and Texas A&M in the sports arena. The indignation of being left out of the Big XII despite an excellent track record in the old Southwest Conference lingers in the air around UH and this victory is seen by many as the beginning of the road back to a major conference. Athletic Director Dave Maggard holds as a goal gaining admission to a Bowl Championship Series conference and it has been widely held that the Cougars must first prove they can beat BCS conference teams. Now for the second time in as many seasons the Coogs have those victories in hand and the fans are riding high. As the rain poured down and the palm trees whipped in the wind at the corners of the stands the Cougar faithful stormed the field for a giant victory dance in the mud, visions of the Liberty Bowl and eventually another conference dancing in their heads. Next week will be a bona fide powerhouse in Miami and with it the Cougars' hopes of a return to prominence.