Lets Try This One More Time
Every week, we’ll be taking a look at Auburn football’s upcoming opponent. This week, it’s the last game of the year; Auburn will face Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.
Dana Holgorsen is the head coach in Houston, and is in his third year as head of the program. This has been his best season with the team so far, as he’s led Houston to an 11-2 record, finishing second in the AAC. While the Cougars ran wild through the AAC for the most part, their two highest ranked opponents, Texas Tech and Cincinnati, beat them by double digits.
Holgorsen is a part of the Hal Mummy/Mike Leach coaching tree, and therefore runs a style of the air raid offense.Unlike Leach, however, Holgorsen doesn’t rely entirely on passing. In fact, Houston runs the ball a little less than half of their offensive snaps. Their offense averages about 415 yards per game, scoring just over 37 points per game. Their defense has been rather stingy, allowing under 300 yards per game and 21 points per game. It should be said though, that in their games against Texas Tech and Cincinnati, the two highest ranked teams they played, they allowed an average of about 37 points.
Players to watch for:
Wide Receiver Nathaniel Dell: Dell is the offensive focus for the Cougars. The JuCo transfer leads the Cougars in receiving with 1,027 yards, better than the next man by over 600 yards, and has grabbed 11 touchdowns this season.
Defensive Lineman D’Anthony Jones: Jones is the scariest guy on Houston’s defense, and it’s not particularly close. He tips the scales at 285 pounds, massive for an edge rusher. He led the Cougars with 7 sacks this season, to go along with 4 QB hurries. he totaled 9 tackles for loss.
