As Don Adams (and later Steve Carell for those who are younger) used to say in Get Smart: “missed it by that much.”
Greg Ward Jr. stretched for the goal line for what would have been a game-winning touchdown, but instead the ball got jarred loose just before it crossed the plane and went through the end zone for a touchback in Houston‘s tough 17-12 loss Thursday night against UCF.
The loss drops Houston to 2-3 on the season (0-1 in the AAC), but more than that, it raises a lot of questions about the future of the Cougars in 2014.
Let’s be honest, this game shouldn’t have come down to a last-minute touchdown for the Cougars to get the win. This UCF team came into the game looking pitiful on defense. With the balance Houston was starting to create, it should have been a big offensive night for the Coogs instead of a four-field goal performance (thank goodness for Kyle Bullard).
The first big question is what on Earth is going in with the quarterback situation? John O’Korn looked incredibly average against a defense that gave up 454 yards to Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and four passing touchdowns against Missouri. But O’Korn, who came into the season with such promise, looked absolutely pedestrian going 12-for-26 for a mere 98 yards and two interceptions (although one was not his fault).
Bring in Ward Jr.—the wide receiver turned quarterback turned wide receiver now back to quarterback. He came in and completed 10 passes for 116 yards and nearly got the win. But the real troubling thing was the confusion on the sidelines; at one point O’Korn looked like he was going back in the ball game, only to be pulled back to the sidelines by coach Tony Levine.
After the game, Levine said he “went with the hot hand” in the second half (Ward) and that the team will evaluate the quarterback position for the next game. Uh oh. You know what they say, if you have two starting quarterbacks you don’t have one.
The next big question is where does Houston go from here? We talked earlier this week about how the UCF game was absolutely critical for the Cougars; that it would set a tone going into conference play. That tone sounded like the sound effect they play for the losers on The Price is Right.
Houston’s next two games are on the road at Memphis, which has looked good at times this season, and then back home against an upstart Temple team. If the Cougars don’t fix some big problems they could easily start the conference season at 0-3; and dreams of a season of building momentum in the AAC could turn into an absolute nightmare.
The biggest concern that needs to be addressed is the offense. I can’t believe I’m saying that about Houston, but Thursday’s game was the first time the Coogs were held without an offensive touchdown since 2003. O’Korn needs to get his head straight. No more stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (on the second play of the game no less). The receivers dropped far too many passes. The offensive line, which looked like it was really coming together, needs to do better in both run and pass blocking.
As we saw Thursday, football can be a game of inches; but Houston needs to make a much bigger step forward if they want to turn things around this season.
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