Houston Cougars
Final Overview
The Cougars may be a bit on the overlooked side for 2017, and only because of the coaching change and a few minor areas of uncertainty. Looking at their schedule, the Cougars could possibly be in for a ten win season. If Allen can seamlessly transition in at QB, if the line can improve on the run block situation, and become more mature overall on the field, then the offense should be just fine. There were some major losses in the back of the defense, but with Oliver returning, the unit still has a massive superstar talent who could one day be a number one overall pick in the NFL draft. If the new starters at CB and LB can gel quickly, and there is another answer found up front to replace Malveaux, this team could challenge USF for the AAC crown. Getting by Navy and Memphis will be key in the West, but the Cougars could have an edge here.
What Really Happened
The Cougars fell well short of my expectations, but even then managed to hang in during the conference race enough to finish second to Memphis with a 5-3 AAC record for the year. Kyle Allen did not transition well, and missed seven games this season, handing omst of the rest of the work to Kyle Postma to handle, and Allen was not exactly in it to win it when he was active early, tossing just 4 TDs to 4 picks. He has one more year to get it together. The run game did improve by 38 yards per game, answering that basic question. The defense faired consistent, as they actually improved by 0.5 points allowed per game from an already low 23.5 in 2016. Houston split with those teams in the race I had projected, losing to Memphis, but beating Navy, but it was freaky losses to Tulsa and Tulane that did them in when all was said and done.
No comments:
Post a Comment