While Houston coach Willie Fritz opened his second season with the Cougars last Thursday, there was enough change within the program to mimic the feeling of an altogether fresh start.
The Cougars’ 27-0 home victory over Stephen F. Austin not only featured a ballyhooed newcomer at quarterback in Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman, but also a pair of coordinators new to the program in Slade Nagle (offensive) and Austin Armstrong (defensive).
Houston (1-0) experienced smooth sailing in its coaching mechanics, but the Cougars still expect improvement when they travel to face crosstown rival Rice (1-0) on Saturday.
“I thought they both did an excellent job,” Fritz said. “We talked (Sunday) for about 20 minutes about how we could improve our press box to sideline communication, all the communication on the sideline, because we’ve got a new group. We’ve also got a new special teams coordinator with Chris Couch. We wanted to improve our communication, how we do things on the sideline.
“I thought all three of them did an excellent job for Game 1. But we’ll get better.”
Weigman finished 15-of-24 for 159 yards and three touchdowns in his eagerly anticipated debut. He also rushed for 39 yards.
“It was the first game he played in quite a while,” Fritz said. “Last season, he was banged up; he’s healthy now. I think it was good for him to knock some of the rust off.
Rice coach Scott Abell produced a successful debut with the Owls last Saturday in a 14-12 road victory over Louisiana. The Owls entered as a two-touchdown underdog against the Ragin’ Cajuns and will seek to carry the momentum of that upset into their showdown with Houston.
“I am excited to see what we can learn from that,” Abell said. “I do think that you learn a lot about your team between Week 1 and Week 2. I look forward to what we are going to learn about ourselves between this week and next week. And the next play for us is … Saturday.”
Quinton Jackson led a strong rushing attack against Louisiana (22 carries, 119 yards, one TD). The Owls held their opponents to just 88 passing yards, but their own quarterback, Chase Jenkins, threw for just 45.
Houston has won eight of the last nine meetings with Rice, including 33-7 last year.
