Overtime — UH vs. UTEP

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 , 2012

OVERTIMETHE DAILY COUGAR®

//////////////////////// INSIDE

Turnover woes cost Cougars // 3

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Hayden steps into leadership role // 5

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COVER STORY //////////////////////

LEVINE’SVISIONThe Cougars’ fi rst-year head coach focuses on long-term

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2 \\ Saturday, October 27, 2012 The Daily Cougar

SECTION EDITORSAndrew PateChristopher Shelton

COPY EDITORSAryan BaktashSamantha Wong

COVER PHOTONine Nguyen

PRODUCTIONAndres GarciaFarah Hasnie

ABOUTOvertime is produced by The Daily Cougar, the offi cial student newspaper of the University of Houston. No part of the publication in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the Director of the Student Publications Department. To contact Student Publications, call (713) 743-5350.

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OVERTIMETHE DAILY COUGAR®

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

LOUSIANA TECH

L, 56-49@ UCLAL, 37-6

TEXAS STATEL, 30-13

RICE (RELIANT STADIUM) W, 35-14NORTH TEXASW, 44-21UABW, 39-17@SMUL, 72-42UTEPOct. 27@EAST CAROLINANov. 3TULSA (HOMECOMING) Nov. 10@MARSHALLNov. 17TULANENov. 24

At the peak of election sea-son, all the flip-flopping done by the Cougars football this

season seems appropriate.

After drop-ping the first three games of the season, UH stormed back, showcasing the

hope and change we all were looking for — then in a pivotal conference road game against SMU, fell flat on its face.

“Thursday night was extremely disappointing,” head coach Tony Levine said. “When you play an opponent and you turn over the ball nine times, you rarely, if ever, give yourself a chance to win.”

A young group of players have tried to fill the shoes of a veteran squad who produced the greatest season in school history a year ago. The Cougars’ starting offense consists of only one senior, and nine freshmen have taken the field in total.

One message the head coach tried to make clear, though, was that the progression of the pro-gram is on par, despite the 3-4 record which opened the 2012 season.

Along with coaching a young team, the biggest issue is eliminating the penalties and turnovers, as evidenced by last week’s loss to the Mustangs.

“That’s a game you can learn from,” said quarterbacks coach Travis Bush. “It wasn’t them just totally whooping our (butt) and us playing horribly bad. We had a handful of really bad plays that were crucial in the ballgame.”

Which version of the team shows up this week is anyone’s guess. Throughout the past seven games, we’ve seen the good and the bad, and the ups and the downs. However, if anyone can come back from a miserable 30 point defeat to an in-state rival, it is this year’s Cougars.

AndrewPate

Young Cougar squad replicateselection season fl ip-fl opping

EDITOR’S NOTE

Your perfect all nighter companion.

The Daily Cougar Saturday, October 27, 2012 // 3

Christopher SheltonAssistant sports editor

Nine turnovers and a 30-point loss to SMU baffl ed head coach Tony Levine.

“I’ve never been a part of that or seen that before, where they score four offensive touchdowns from the end of the second quarter to less than three minutes into the third quarter and the game goes from being 14-14 to 45-14. The game got away from us in a short amount of time,” Levine said.

The Cougars said they hope to

respond better to adversity this week. Quarterbacks coach and play caller Travis Bush said the team will con-tinue to stay positive on the sideline. He said UH will try not to compound mistakes by committing others.

Bush said there are positives to take away from the loss to SMU. He said the Cougars made some good plays that showed up on the game tape.

“You show them, especially from this fi lm. I think eight turnovers in the game, we are still down by 17 and they went through the third. After all of that, we are still in a position to have a chance to win the game,”

Bush said.Redshirt sophomore quarter-

back David Piland was taken out of the game with a head injury but will play this week against UTEP. He was cleared to play on Tuesday after passing all the necessary concussion tests. Piland said the turnover margin is key to victory.

“It’s just one of those focus issues. Dropping a punt or the special teams deals — we are going to have that cleaned up,” Piland said. “We have to do a better job of, one, taking care of the ball, and two, overcoming adversity. We will do a better job of that this week.”

Turnovers cost Cougars in losing season

The Cougars have thrown 13 interceptions through seven games this season. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar


Head coach Tony Levine speaks to his team following the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice. The Cougars’ primary focus against UTEP will be eliminating turnovers. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar

First-year head coach Tony Levine has compiled a 4-4 record dating back to his hiring on Dec. 22. In his fi rst game as head coach, the Cougars defeated No. 22 Penn State, 30-14 in the Ticket City Bowl. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar

Andrew PateSports editor

Following the departure of former head coach Kevin Sumlin, Tony Levine took the helm with the Cou-gars on Dec. 22. After defeating No. 22 Penn State in the Ticket City Bowl, Levine confronted the challenges of being the man in charge. The Daily Cougar caught up with Levine to get his thoughts on the season seven games in.

The Daily Cougar: How would you evaluate your fi rst seven games as head coach this season?

Tony Levine: One thing about being a head football coach, or a head coach of any sport, is building a successful program and maintaining its consistency, which is a process that takes time. It’s something that does not happen overnight, and we’re working extremely hard every day. In establishing that consistency, while you’re focusing on the present, you’re also spending a great deal of time on the future — the recruiting aspect of it. A lot of people are not pleased with our current record of 3-4, and I would be at the top of that list, but I like where the direction of our program is headed in the imme-diate future and in the long-term.

TDC: At what point did you know you wanted to be a head coach?

TL: I’ve always wanted to coach. I determined I wanted to be a head coach when I got into coaching. In my fi rst year coaching, I was a high school assistant, and our head ninth grade coach as a 22-year old — really that gave me my fi rst taste of coach-ing. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a head coach.

TDC: Talk about your coaching staff and what it was like putting together a staff for the fi rst time.

TL: It was one of the toughest things to do as a head coach. You’ve got to hire nine full-time assistants, half a dozen graduate assistants and qual-ity control coaches, a strengths coach and a strengths staff, a support staff, director of player personnel, director of football operations and a director of recruiting. What made it diffi cult, in no particular order, what that I was not looking to hire my friends. I wanted people who were the best for our program, people who wanted to be here, men who had great charac-ter and I thought were great teachers. If they were married, they were great husbands. If they had kids, they were great fathers and they would care a lot about our program. I think the guys we’ve got in our program all fi t those parameters.

TDC: Mentally, as a head coach, what helps you keep a positive attitude through the long days and tough times?

TL: What I look to — and I told this to one of my assistants today — is number one, being around our play-ers and their energy, enthusiasm and outlook is something very positive on a day-to-day basis. Then, knowing what the future is going to look like. When I say future, I mean immediate future, as in a month from now, and distant future as in a year, two years or three years from now. People that follow our program, while they want instant gratifi cation, you know we are going to be successful — it’s going to be in the near future and consistently in the not so distant future.

Levine guides youthful squad

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Before he was fi st-pumping in the end zone for scoring a 75-yard interception return last week, senior corner D.J. Hayden was thinking of ways to make a big play.

“They were running hitches all game. I told Zach (McMillian) if they do another hitch, I’m going to jump it,” Hayden said. “I looked at the quarterback the whole time. He was about to throw the hitch. I caught it and took it to the house.”

Though the Cougars lost the game 72-42, Hayden’s intercep-tion gave them a chance, cutting a 24-point SMU lead to 17. Hayden said he knew the team needed energy.

Hayden’s size allows him to make plays, said defensive backs assistant coach Zac Spavital.

“He’s a big physical guy, so when teams want to isolate receivers we can put him on that receiver and we can match him up one to one. He has the ability to cover guys up and he’s big and strong, so he can go up against the small guys and he can go up against the big guys,” Spavital said.

Since transferring from Navarro

Junior College last year, Hayden caused 10 turnovers.

Hayden is on pace to intercept more passes this season. Through-out the past seven games, Hayden had two interceptions. Last sea-son, he had two interceptions and forced fi ve fumbles, including one in each team’s fi nal fi ve games.

Schematically, Hayden and junior corner Zachary McMillian’s ability to play man-to-man allows the defense to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and stop the running game by putting an extra safety in the box, Spavital said.

Against Louisiana Tech, Hayden locked up against Quinton Patton — who has nine touchdowns this season and was named to the 2011 Biletnikoff Award Watch List — to four catches for 36 yards. North Texas receiver Brelan Chancellor averaged 20 yards per reception. Hayden held him to four catches for 44 yards.

“It allows us to put another guy in a box of safety and be able to help us stop the run a little bit just knowing that we have guys on the outside that can man-up receivers without any help from the top,” Spavital said.

Hayden said he hopes his impact

at UH extends longer than his two-year tenure. Though he said he’s not perfect, he tries to influence younger players in the secondary

like McMillian and freshman safety Trevon Stewart.

“They look at me almost like their role model. I make mistakes

too just like they will,” Hayden said. “I try to help them as much as I can on and off the fi eld. I just try to be a big brother.”

D. J. Hayden makes a hit against UAB as Phillip Steward looks on. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar

Hayden provides senior leadership

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THEBIGBOARD // College football at a glance

COUGARFLASHBACK

1990 Houstonian

#16 HOUSTON 95, #20 SMU 21

Cougars rout SMU

On Oct. 21 1989, Andre Ware led an offensive attack that nearly put up 100, defeating SMU by 74 points.

Ware set fi ve NCAA records in one half of play fi nishing with 517 yards passing. In one quarter, Ware fi nished with 340 yards and fi ve touchdowns. In total, the quarter-back set 26 NCAA records in 1989.

The Cougars also set a Las Vegas record too.

The pregame 59 1/2 point spread was the largest seen of its time.

— Chris Shelton

RK TEAM RECORD PTS

1 Alabama (59) 7-0 1499

2 Oregon 7-0 1424

3 Florida (1) 7-0 1380

4 Kansas State 7-0 1333

5 Notre Dame 7-0 1241

6 LSU 7-1 1172

7 Oregon State 6-0 1106

8 Oklahoma 5-1 1065

9 Ohio State 8-0 1028

10 USC 6-1 944

11 Florida State 7-1 872

12 Georgia 6-1 745

13 Mississippi State 7-0 739

14 Clemson 6-1 713

15 Texas Tech 6-1 653

16 Louisville 7-0 620

17 South Carolina 6-2 591

18 Rutgers 7-0 539

19 Stanford 5-2 300

20 Michigan 5-2 421

21 Boise State 6-1 25822 Texas A&M 5-2 25223 Ohio 7-0 181

24 Louisiana Tech 6-1 106

25 West Virginia 5-2 76

Others receiving votes: Toledo 49, Texas 33, Wis-consin 31, TCU 29, Nebraska 24, Penn State 18, North Carolina State 13, Oklahoma State 12, Arizona 7, UCLA 7, Tulsa 6, Arizona State 5, Northern Illinois 5, Cincinnati 3

SATURDAY, OCT. 27 NETWORK TIME (CT)Tennessee at South Carolina ESPN 11 a.m.

Iowa at Northwestern ESPN2 11 a.m.

Kentucky at Missouri ESPNU 11 a.m.

Temple at Pittsburgh ESPN3 11 a.m.

Ball State at Army CBSS 11 a.m.

Indiana at Illinois BTN 11 a.m.Northern Illinois at Western Michigan ESPN3 11 a.m.Ole Miss at Arkansas SEC/ESPN3 11:21 a.m.

NC State at North Carolina ESPN3 11:30 a.m.

Maryland at Boston College ESPN3 1 a.m..

Utah State at UTSA ESPN3 2 p.m.

Colorado at Oregon Pac-12 2 p.m.

UCLA at Arizona State FX 2 p.m.

BYU at Georgia Tech ESPN3 2 p.m.

Florida vs. Georgia CBS 2:30 p.m.

Texas Tech at Kansas State FOX 2:30 p.m.

USC at Arizona CBS 2:30 p.m.

Tennessee at Georgia ESPN2/ABC 2:30 p.m.

Duke at Florida State ESPNU 2:30 p.m.

Kent State at Rutgers ESPN3 2:30 p.m.

Boise State at Wyoming CBSS 2:30 p.m.

Ohio at Miami (Ohio) ESPN3 2:30 p.m.

Michigan State at Wisconsin ABC/ESPN2 2:30 p.m.

Purdue at Minnesota BTN 2:30 p.m.

Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green ESPN3 2:30 p.m.

North Texas at Middle Tennessee ESPN3 2:30 p.m.

Ohio State at Penn State ESPN 3:30 p.m.

Washington State at Stanford Pac-12 5:15 p.m.

Texas A&M at Auburn ESPNU 6 p.m.

Syracuse at South Florida ESPN3 6 p.m.

Massachusetts at Vanderbilt ESPN3 6 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at New Mexico State ESPN3 7 p.m

Notre Dame at Oklahoma NBC 7 p.m.

Michigan at Nebraska ESPN2 7 p.m.

Mississippi State at Alabama ESPN 7:30 p.m.

Oregon State at Washington Pac-12 9:15 p.m

SATURDAY NETWORK TIME Southern Miss at Rice CBSSN 12 p.m. CT

Memphis at SMU TW TEXAS 2 p.m. CT

Navy @ East Carolina FCS 2:30 p.m. CT

Southern Miss at Rice CBSSN 7:00 p.m. CT

EAST W L W L

UCF 3 0 5 2

East Carolina 4 1 5 3

Marshall 1 2 3 4

Memphis 1 2 1 6

UAB 0 3 1 6

Southern Miss 0 3 0 7

WEST W L W L

Tulsa 5 0 7 1

SMU 2 1 3 4

Houston 2 1 3 4

Tulane 1 2 1 6

UTEP 1 3 2 6

Rice 0 4 2 6

A lot of people are

not pleased with our current record of 3-4, and I would be at the top of that list, but I like where the direction of our program is headed in the immediate future and in the long-term.”

— Tony Levine, UH head coach on the direction of the program

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11 players. 100 yards. 140 characters at a time.


UNDERTHEHELMET // Getting to know the Cougars

Hobby Goal Favorite Movie

Kris Johnston

Time with family

Stay tight with team

Forrest Gump

TEAMLEADERS2012 stats, UH vs. UTEP starters

David Piland

Nick Lamaison

202

110

334

212

2,264

1,361

60.5

51.9

10

10

9

5

121

116.6

Player Cmp Cmp% Int RatYards TDAtt.

PASSING

Charles Sims

Nathan Jeffery

122

94

5.71

4.4

697

433

6

0

53

71

Player Att. LongYards TDAvg.

RUSHING

Daniel Spencer

Jordan Leslie

36

40

14.19

15.4

511

618

3

4

74

61

Player Rec. LongYards TDAvg.

RECEIVING

DEFEENSE

OFFEENSE

90 Riser (DE)

76 Ashworth (RG)

19 Ros (WR)

81 McDuffey (WR)

64 Cloud (LG)

88 Maxwell (WR)

3 Greenberry (WR)

58 Redman (C)

8 Piland (QB)

69 Oragwu (RT)74 Harper (LT)

92 Mbu (DT) 95 Scypion (DT)

54 Daniels (LB)42 Steward (LB)

20 Valencia (SS) 23 Stewart (FS)

2 Hayden (CB) 10 McMillian (CB)

44 Pulliam (DE)

49 Mathews (LB)

5 Sims (RB)

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After a much needed homecom-ing win, the Miners will attempt to get their fi rst road win of the season against the Houston Cougars Oct. 27, at the Robertson Stadium.

“It is the most important game that we are playing, there is no ques-tion about it,” UTEP head coach Mike Price said. “Everyone is going to play as hard as they can and as long as they can. I’ll guarantee it.”

The Cougars lead the series between the two schools 5-4 all-time, and 5-2 since UTEP joined Confer-ence USA in 2005.

The Miners won a crucial game at

home Oct. 20 against Tulane to keep their bowl aspirations alive and they are seeking to get back-to-back victo-ries for the fi rst time in 2012.

For a second straight week, senior quarterback Nick Lamaison only played one half as he re-aggravated a hamstring injury. During his one half of play he completed 11 of 16 attempts for 157 yards and two touch-downs, both to senior wide receiver Mike Edwards.

The Cougars are coming off a nine-turnover performance against SMU, which they lost 72-42.

The toughest challenge the Min-ers will face is the Cougar offense, which is the third best offense in the country in passing yards averaging

364 per game. “They pass an awful lot, they are

going to run the offense a lot, they ran 97 plays in the game and got beat by 30 points,” Price said. “We would have to score more than 24 points to beat Houston I would think, but I don’t know how I’m going to do that.”

Houston sophomore starting quarterback David Piland is now in charge of the offense and so far he has completed 60 percent of his attempts for a total of 2,264 yards and 10 touchdowns, but he had to leave the game with an injury and is uncer-tain if he will be able to play against the Miners.

The backup quarterback for the Cougars, senior Crawford Jones has

a 50 percent completion average and has thrown for 252 yards so far.

For Price, regardless of who is the signal caller, he wants play similar to how SMU played Houston defensively.

“SMU came after them and blitzed a lot and knocked their quarterback out of the game, and put heated pres-sure in the next two backups,” Price said. “It doesn’t make a difference (if Piland plays) we have to put pressure on him, mix up the coverage on him and all quarterbacks, some people think the senior backup (Jones) is better.”

UTEP will have to keep up with Houston’s no-huddle offense, which Price said runs a play nearly every 14

seconds. “They are a big play offense we

have to take angles,” Price said. “I think it’s going to be very diffi cult to play man defense with them because if they break it, it’s going to go for a long way.”

The Cougars are averaging 174 rushing yards per game. Running backs junior Charles Sims and fresh-man Kenneth Farrow have combined for 921 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“We need to win this game, we need to win in Houston,” Price said. “We need to save our season and this game is going to save it, every play in our playbook will be available. You are going to see everything we do. We are going to give it our very best effort.”

THEOPPOSITIONUTEP seeks to salvage season against Cougars

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Overtime — UH vs. UTEP

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