After beating a decent Arizona team on the road Week Two and avenging a loss to SMU last year, Houston managed to lose one to Tulsa in a game where the Golden Hurricane were 13.5 point underdogs and had only a 27.3 percent chance of winning, according to ESPN.com.
The Cougars now look to bounce back and will have a tough task as they host the Memphis Tigers in a Thursday night tilt at TDECU Staduim.
Photo: USA Today Sports
Memphis (5-1, 2-1) comes off a thrilling 30-27 win against AP No. 25 Navy last week at home. The Tigers have been phenomenal so far this season; their only loss coming from a well-rounded, undefeated Central Florida back in September. Houston lost to Memphis last year in gut-wrenching fashion, allowing a walk-off Tigers touchdown with just 19 seconds left in regulation—talk about heartbreaking. The Tigers have been led by exceptional play from quarterback Riley Ferguson, who has thrown for over 1,800 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a QBR of 146.2.
Photo: Troy Taormina-USA Today Sports
Houston (4-2, 2-1) enters this game continues to struggle at finding the right quarterback. Neither Kyle Allen nor Kyle Postma seem to be able to find a streak or consistency of efficient quarterback play. Memphis is a team that has always kept it close with Houston when they’ve played each other and while the Cougars have Ed Oliver, they’ll need more if they want to slow down the Tigers.
Both Memphis and Houston have become trigger happy on offense when they’ve played one another in recent years. The average total score between the two in their last two meetings has been 80.5 points. In order for Houston to pull out the win, they must control the pace of play by Memphis, limit third down conversions, and try to prevent as much aerial damage as possible.
Houston plays Memphis in a home game at TDECU Stadium Thursday at 7pm. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.
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