We are continuing our Preseason College Football Countdown, ranking every team at the Football Bowl Subdivision level from 120 down to 1.
Matt Murschel compiled the rankings based on several factors including: returning letterwinners, returning starters, 2010 performance, coaching staff changes, strength of schedule and strength of the conference.
Today at No. 57: Houston
Houston quarterback Case Keenum
Coach: Kevin Sumlin (23-16, fourth season)
2010 record: 5-7 (4-4 in Conference USA, third place in Western Division)
Look back: Heisman candidate Case Keenum hit the weight room hard leading up to the 2010 season, hoping to better prepare himself for the myriad of hits he knew were coming his way. His goal was to add more muscle so that he could brush off more injuries and help his team win football games. Keenum, the key Houston?s high-flying offense, couldn?t avoid a season-ending torn ACL during the third game of the season at UCLA. Keenum was trying to tackle a UCLA player returning an interception when his knee buckled. As if the loss of the calm, cool and collected leader wasn?t enough, backup quarterback Cotton Turner suffered a season ending broken collar bone during the same game. Then-freshman David Piland took over the offense for the remainder of the season.
Piland was surrounded by athletes who could make big plays once they got the ball in their hands, taking pressure off the young quarterback. Receivers James Cleveland, Patrick Edwards and Tyron Carrier still managed to rack up yards after the catch. Then-junior running back Bryce Beall led Conference USA with 12 rushing touchdowns last season and ranked fourth in the league with 870 rushing yards. Beall and fellow Houston running back Michael Hayes combined for 1,499 yards and 20 touchdowns.
While the loss of Keenum was a huge blow for Houston, the biggest challenge for the team remained was its tepid defense. The Cougars relied on Keenum to make big last-minute plays during the 2009 to offset a weak defense. The defense struggled again during the 2010 season. Although Sumlin reshuffled his defensive coaching lineup, Houston ranked No. 114 nationally in rushing defense (208.75 yards allowed per game), No. 103 in total defense (432.83 yards allowed per game) and No. 96 in scoring defense (32.17 points allowed per game). The Cougars? offense, however, thrived regardless of who was starting at quarterback. Houston ranked No. 5 nationally in passing offense (327.25 yards per game), No. 11 in total offense (480.50 yards per game) and No. 13 in scoring offense (37.67 points per game).
Houston opened the 2010 season with a 68-28 win against Texas-State and 54-24 win over UTEP. Keenum suffered a concussion against the Miners, but the offense was so dominant it didn?t matter. The injury was merely a preview of what was to come at UCLA, a game that cost Houston its top two quarterbacks. The Cougars lost 31-13 at UCLA. Houston bounced back with a 42-23 win against Tulane, then lost 47-24 to Mississippi State and 34-31 at rival Rice. The Cougars showed signs of life when they beat eventual C-USA Western Division champion SMU 45-20 on the road and Memphis 56-17 on the road. The Cougars reached five wins and a bowl game was still very much a possibility for the injury depleted team. However, Houston dropped its final four games 40-33 against eventual C-USA champion UCF, 28-25 against Tulsa, 59-41 at Southern Miss and 35-20 at Texas Tech.
Offensive starters lost/returning: 4/7
Defensive starters lost/returning: 4/7
Key losses: WR James Cleveland, OL Isaiah Thompson, OL Roy Watts, OL Jordan Shoemaker, DB Devin Mays, DB Roisean Haynes, DB Jamal Robinson
Top returnees: QB Case Keenum, RB Bryce Beall, WR/PR Patrick Edwards, WR/KR Tyron Carrier, OL Chris Thompson, LB Marcus McGraw, LB Sammy Brown
Strengths: Keenum earned a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA and returns to lead the Houston offense. He was a Heisman candidate, the 2009 C-USA most valuable player and the 2008 C-USA offensive player of the year. Keenum is on pace to break NCAA career records for total offense, passing yards, touchdowns, pass attempts and completions. Keenum enters the 2011 season with 14,448 career yards of total offense (7th), 13,586 passing yards (5th), 107 touchdown passes (8th), 1,626 pass attempts (10th), 1,118 pass completions (7th).
Most of the top offensive position players return. Receivers Edwards and Carrier both caught more than 1,000 yards receiving in 2009, the year before Keenum was hurt. They remain major home-run threats for the Cougars. Beall leads a solid rotation of running backs, taking some pressure off Keenum and tricking defenses that expect Houston to just pass the ball.
Senior linebackers Marcus McGraw and Sammy Brown lead the Houston defense. The linebackers are the Cougars? biggest strength on defense. McGraw led the team in tackles for each of the past two seasons, racking up 110 stops during the 2010 season. Brown lead the league with 17.5 tackles for a loss in C-USA games.
Weaknesses: The Cougars lost three starting offensive linemen, a critical unit with Houston relying so heavily on its offensive performance. Houston also lost of its starters in the secondary. With the Cougars facing a lot of pass-heavy teams during the 2011 season, it will challenging for new starters to handle the pressure. Overall, Houston?s defense still has a lot of room for improvement.
Outlook: Houston is getting a lot of preseason hype because Keenum is back in the lineup and the Cougars have a favorable schedule. However, if the defense can?t make major strides, the Cougars will remain an exciting offense that can?t win a Conference USA title.
2011 Schedule
Sept. 3 UCLA
Sept. 10 At North Texas
Sept. 17 At Louisiana Tech
Sept. 24 Georgia State
Oct. 1 At UTEP
Oct. 8 East Carolina
Oct. 22 Marshall
Oct. 29 Rice
Nov. 5 At UAB
Nov. 12 At Tulane
Nov. 19 SMU
Nov. 26 At Tulsa
Rest of the countdown:
No. 58 Texas Tech
No. 59 Arizona
No. 60 Illinois
No. 61 Georgia Tech
No. 62 Cincinnati
No. 63 Kentucky
No. 64 California
No. 65 Ole Miss
No. 66 Troy
No. 67 Kansas State
No. 68 Oregon State
No. 69 Boston College
No. 70 UCLA
No. 71 Syracuse
No. 72 Colorado
No. 73 Temple
No. 74 Army
No. 75 FIU
No. 76 Middle Tennessee
No. 77 Toledo
No. 78 Fresno State
No. 79 Arkansas State
No. 80 Ohio
No. 81 Kent State
No. 82 Western Michigan
No. 83 Idaho
No. 84 Purdue
No. 85 Iowa State
No. 86 Virginia
No. 87 Louisville
No. 88 UTEP
No. 89 Colorado State
No. 90 Louisiana-Monroe
No. 91 Kansas
No. 92 Marshall
No. 93 Louisiana Tech
No. 94 Wyoming
No. 95 Utah State
No. 96 Minnesota
No. 97 Wake Forest
No. 98 Indiana
No. 99 Duke
No. 100 Vanderbilt
No. 101 Ball State
No. 102 UAB
No. 103 Central Michigan
No. 104 FAU
No. 105 Eastern Michigan
No. 106 Louisiana
No. 107 Rutgers
No. 108 Washington State
No. 109 Rice
No. 110 Bowling Green
No. 111 Tulane
No. 112 UNLV
No. 113: Buffalo
No. 114: New Mexico State
No. 115 Western Kentucky
No. 116 Akron
No. 117 North Texas
No. 118 Memphis
No. 119 New Mexico
No. 120 San Jose State
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