University of Houston preview
9 months 2 weeks ago #378
by wvu4u2
University of Houston preview was created by wvu4u2
Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment of a 12-part series previewing West Virginia’s football opponents for the 2023 season.
Dana Holgorsen is glad to be back in the Big 12 Conference.
The former West Virginia coach is leading Houston to the Power Five ranks this season as one of four newcomers pulled over from the American Athletic Conference.
He’s already familiar with the league after spending eight seasons at the helm at WVU — which he and Houston will host in a Thursday-night game at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Oct. 12.
“The last four years have been a little different for me, being in the American Conference, and it really makes you appreciate a conference like the Big 12 by now being back,” Holgorsen said in July during Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“This thing goes so many different directions. The University of Houston has been looking forward to this day for a long, long time.”
Holgorsen led WVU from 2011-18, posting a 61-41 record and finishing as the second-winningest coach in Mountaineer history. WVU went to bowl games in seven of his eight seasons, including the last five.
He’s also been on staff with current Big 12 members Oklahoma State and Texas Tech during his coaching career.
With familiarity among Holgorsen, the University of Houston and the combination of returning and new Big 12 programs, the veteran coach doesn’t believe it’ll take long for the Cougars to fit into the league.
“I think those rivals are going to naturally take care of themselves,” he said. “It’s kind of the opposite of what I did back in 2011 when West Virginia came into the Big 12. It was a big day for West Virginia, but there was no prior relationships with anybody. Everybody that West Virginia was playing was new.
“Now the University of Houston is coming into the Big 12, and we’ve got history with BYU. We’ve got history with Cincinnati, Central Florida recently, OK, and then obviously my familiarity with West Virginia. But then you go back to the old Southwest Conference back in 1990, the late ’80s and early ’90s where it was Texas and TCU and Texas Tech and Baylor and Oklahoma State, and so those will get rekindled. So I think it’ll happen actually a little bit quicker. That’s great for college football.”
Houston was picked to finish 12th of the 14 Big 12 programs in the preseason media poll, ahead of Cincinnati and WVU.
The Cougars are coming off an 8-5 season after going 12-2 in 2021. Houston is 27-20 in Holgorsen’s four years with the program.
“It’s just a deep conference,” Holgorsen said. “There’s never been more parity than there is right now in college football. This conference is crazy. Being a part of it for 17 years and then being on the outside looking in for the last four years, I watched every game and I followed it. There’s just so much parity in this league.
“Without getting too much into it, there used to be a few layups back in the day. There aren’t any layups. The parity is good, the coaching is unbelievable, the facilities are spectacular, the support is unbelievable. I’m so excited to be back in the league, and the University of Houston is excited to be a part of it.”
Houston averaged 36.1 points and 455.8 yards per game offensively in 2022, but will be without quarterback Clayton Tune and receiver Nathaniel Dell this fall. Tune threw 40 touchdown passes and for more than 4,000 yards, while also leading the Cougars with 544 yards and five scores on the ground, and Dell had 17 touchdown catches and nearly 1,400 yards receiving.
Holgorsen brought in Texas Tech transfer quarterback Donovan Smith, who played in more than 20 games with the Red Raiders over three seasons. He’s battling with sophomore Lucas Coley. Coley started his career at Arkansas before transferring to Houston, where he appeared in three games last year as a redshirt freshman.
“The expectations are high for Donovan, but I felt like it was important to bring a guy in with experience, with Big 12 experience. We did that at a number of other positions as well,” Holgorsen said. “But Donovan has impressed me. I think his best days are ahead of him. He’s only been playing quarterback for a couple years.
“He’s got the upper hand right now based on 21 games of experience, but Lucas Coley has been battling and is really competing hard, and he’s got a lot of good football ahead of him as well.”
Despite the loss of several key skill players on offense from last season, Holgorsen said “that’s the one thing I’m pretty comfortable with.”
“We’ve got three starters returning with Matt Golden, who’s a special player, Joseph Manjack, who was a contributor in five games last year, Sam Brown made some big plays, a couple of transfers coming in that have Power Five experience, and then we recruited very well at that spot,” Holgorsen said.
“There’s a lot of competition and a lot of very talented players that quite frankly we wouldn’t have got if it wasn’t for the Big 12.”
Houston was among the worst defensive teams in the country last year, allowing 32.2 points and 421.8 yards per game. The Cougars ranked 112th of 131 FBS teams in scoring defense and 105th in total defense.
The Cougars will need to replace their top five tacklers and top two pass-rushers from last year as they try to get back into 2021 form, when they finished 19th nationally with 20.4 points allowed per game.
The Oct. 12 meeting between Houston and WVU will be their first. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Houston, and the game will be televised on FS1.
Jared MacDonald covers WVU athletics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow @JMacDonaldSport on Twitter
Dana Holgorsen is glad to be back in the Big 12 Conference.
The former West Virginia coach is leading Houston to the Power Five ranks this season as one of four newcomers pulled over from the American Athletic Conference.
He’s already familiar with the league after spending eight seasons at the helm at WVU — which he and Houston will host in a Thursday-night game at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Oct. 12.
“The last four years have been a little different for me, being in the American Conference, and it really makes you appreciate a conference like the Big 12 by now being back,” Holgorsen said in July during Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“This thing goes so many different directions. The University of Houston has been looking forward to this day for a long, long time.”
Holgorsen led WVU from 2011-18, posting a 61-41 record and finishing as the second-winningest coach in Mountaineer history. WVU went to bowl games in seven of his eight seasons, including the last five.
He’s also been on staff with current Big 12 members Oklahoma State and Texas Tech during his coaching career.
With familiarity among Holgorsen, the University of Houston and the combination of returning and new Big 12 programs, the veteran coach doesn’t believe it’ll take long for the Cougars to fit into the league.
“I think those rivals are going to naturally take care of themselves,” he said. “It’s kind of the opposite of what I did back in 2011 when West Virginia came into the Big 12. It was a big day for West Virginia, but there was no prior relationships with anybody. Everybody that West Virginia was playing was new.
“Now the University of Houston is coming into the Big 12, and we’ve got history with BYU. We’ve got history with Cincinnati, Central Florida recently, OK, and then obviously my familiarity with West Virginia. But then you go back to the old Southwest Conference back in 1990, the late ’80s and early ’90s where it was Texas and TCU and Texas Tech and Baylor and Oklahoma State, and so those will get rekindled. So I think it’ll happen actually a little bit quicker. That’s great for college football.”
Houston was picked to finish 12th of the 14 Big 12 programs in the preseason media poll, ahead of Cincinnati and WVU.
The Cougars are coming off an 8-5 season after going 12-2 in 2021. Houston is 27-20 in Holgorsen’s four years with the program.
“It’s just a deep conference,” Holgorsen said. “There’s never been more parity than there is right now in college football. This conference is crazy. Being a part of it for 17 years and then being on the outside looking in for the last four years, I watched every game and I followed it. There’s just so much parity in this league.
“Without getting too much into it, there used to be a few layups back in the day. There aren’t any layups. The parity is good, the coaching is unbelievable, the facilities are spectacular, the support is unbelievable. I’m so excited to be back in the league, and the University of Houston is excited to be a part of it.”
Houston averaged 36.1 points and 455.8 yards per game offensively in 2022, but will be without quarterback Clayton Tune and receiver Nathaniel Dell this fall. Tune threw 40 touchdown passes and for more than 4,000 yards, while also leading the Cougars with 544 yards and five scores on the ground, and Dell had 17 touchdown catches and nearly 1,400 yards receiving.
Holgorsen brought in Texas Tech transfer quarterback Donovan Smith, who played in more than 20 games with the Red Raiders over three seasons. He’s battling with sophomore Lucas Coley. Coley started his career at Arkansas before transferring to Houston, where he appeared in three games last year as a redshirt freshman.
“The expectations are high for Donovan, but I felt like it was important to bring a guy in with experience, with Big 12 experience. We did that at a number of other positions as well,” Holgorsen said. “But Donovan has impressed me. I think his best days are ahead of him. He’s only been playing quarterback for a couple years.
“He’s got the upper hand right now based on 21 games of experience, but Lucas Coley has been battling and is really competing hard, and he’s got a lot of good football ahead of him as well.”
Despite the loss of several key skill players on offense from last season, Holgorsen said “that’s the one thing I’m pretty comfortable with.”
“We’ve got three starters returning with Matt Golden, who’s a special player, Joseph Manjack, who was a contributor in five games last year, Sam Brown made some big plays, a couple of transfers coming in that have Power Five experience, and then we recruited very well at that spot,” Holgorsen said.
“There’s a lot of competition and a lot of very talented players that quite frankly we wouldn’t have got if it wasn’t for the Big 12.”
Houston was among the worst defensive teams in the country last year, allowing 32.2 points and 421.8 yards per game. The Cougars ranked 112th of 131 FBS teams in scoring defense and 105th in total defense.
The Cougars will need to replace their top five tacklers and top two pass-rushers from last year as they try to get back into 2021 form, when they finished 19th nationally with 20.4 points allowed per game.
The Oct. 12 meeting between Houston and WVU will be their first. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Houston, and the game will be televised on FS1.
Jared MacDonald covers WVU athletics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow @JMacDonaldSport on Twitter
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