Cougars may have won more than their season opener

In its 33-23 victory over Oklahoma Sept. 3, the Houston Cougars did more than win their season opener over a highly-ranked team.

Houston made its case for why it should be included in the Big 12 Conference and illustrated precisely why some Big 12 coaches don’t want the Cougars in.

The graphic that showed the Houston recruiting base that stretches 32 miles in bEAST Texas demonstrated that coach Tom Herman and his staff don’t ever have to leave the city limits to get the players they want. In short, Herman has the ability to build relationships with high school recruits.

But if the Cougars are in a Power 5 conference, imagine the number of four star and five star athletes the program will draw.

Any coach says the lifeblood of his program is recruiting. As players run out of eligibility, suffer career-ending injuries, declare early for the NFL or other countless ways they’re not on a roster, fan bases still demand their teams win. So replenishing that talent annually is crucial to a coach’s tenure at his program.

And coaches want every advantage they can get, including saying they are in charge of a Power 5 team.

Still, give the Cougars credit. They won the football game — Oklahoma didn’t lose it. Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns and as a team, Oklahoma rushed for 77 yards.

Meanwhile, Houston quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars ran for 89 yards.

Brandon Wilson’s 109-yard touchdown return for Houston on a missed 53-yard field goal by the Sooners simply highlighted the reason why the Cougars are making their case.

Obviously it’s a long season. Some believe Oklahoma doesn’t have all the pieces to make a championship run like it did last year. And others still want to see Houston play an entire year before penciling in the Cougars as this decade’s Boise State.

But to say the Cougars are a fluke team, a one-hit-wonder that simply surprised people last year isn’t accurate either.

Sure, it’s only one game in a long season. But what a game played by the Cougars.

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