RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Houston's Kevin Kolb, who passed for 332 yards yesterday, looked for an open man as Hawaii's Kevin Jackson pursued.
Houston D-line
comes up bigThe Cougars' young unit
sacks Hawaii's QB's seven times
They have lived in the shadow of the offense all season. But yesterday the University of Houston's defensive line turned in a performance worthy of its other half.
The Cougars sacked Hawaii quarterbacks Tim Chang and Jason Whieldon seven times in the Hawaii Bowl. The Warriors' offensive line had not allowed a sack in its previous three games.
Eddie McCray led the Cougars' D-line with two sacks and six tackles (five solo, one assist).
The defensive line was irritating early on, clogging up the middle, preventing any short passes and pressuring the quarterback.
The Warriors went three-and-out on their first possession and then managed just a field goal on their second drive of the game.
"We were getting after the ball a lot," said left end Joe Clay, who left the game midway through the third quarter with two broken ribs on his right side. "We were making them throw bad passes. We were being relentless towards them.
"I would rate us at least a B. We showed a lot of class tonight. We played hard to the end. We made mistakes, but we had a lot of young people out there. All we can do is get better."
Clay finished with two tackles and a sack for a loss of 6 yards. His departure ultimately hurt Houston down the stretch.
"I'm the veteran on the D-line. We have a lot of freshmen," he said.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Houston's Chad McCullar pulled in a pass in front of Hawaii's Leonard Peters yesterday.
McCullar steps up: Good things happen when Chad McCullar gets his hands on the ball.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Houston receiver was third in receptions for the Cougars this season but stepped into the spotlight first yesterday.
McCullar hauled in a 34-yard pass to put Houston on the scoreboard first.
Hawaii went three-and-out on the next possession and McCullar dazzled on the punt return. He took Kurt Milne's 47-yard punt and returned it 60 yards to the Hawaii 10. The return set up Dustin Bell's field goal that gave the Cougars a 10-0 lead in the game.
McCullar hauled in five passes for 103 yards. The sophomore was also Houston's leading punt returner with 83 yards.
Kolb does the job: Freshman sensation Kevin Kolb didn't have his best game but still finished with 332 yards, completing 19 of 34 attempts with two TD passes.
Kolb was intercepted twice yesterday by Kelvin Millhouse. He entered the game with just four interceptions.
Two for the price of one: About 200 Houston fans made the trek from the Lone Star State to Hawaii.
The Cougars had nearly 1,500 in the stands in red as part of a ticket-bought-and-ticket-donated package. For every Houston ticket purchased, one would also be given to local military along with a red T-shirt.
Victory drought continues: Houston is 0-5 in its last five bowl games. Yesterday's loss continued a 24-year span in which the Cougars have been unable to come away with a win in the postseason.
Houston's last bowl appearance in 1996 culminated in a 30-17 loss to Syracuse in the Liberty Bowl. Aloha Stadium was not kind to Houston either in 1988. Washington State defeated the Cougars in the Aloha Bowl.
Houston's last bowl victory was in the 1980 Garden State Bowl, a 35-0 shellacking of Navy.
Lost opportunity?: Last night's game went into three overtimes. It needed extra periods because Houston's Vincent Marshall took a seam-slant, made a move and sprinted for a total of 81 yards to put the Cougars within a point, 34-33, with 22 seconds left.
The Cougars kicked, tied it up, and lost in OT. Minutes after the game, Houston coach Art Briles was already doubting his decision to play for overtime.
"We probably should have gone for 2 at the end because we had tremendous momentum," he said. "You know, we were running the ball and I may have made a coaching mistake, in my opinion."
Houston had had success running the ball -- Jackie Battle had 96 yards at the end of regulation and Anthony Evans had 53 -- though Hawaii had stuffed the Cougars at times in obvious running situations.
Marshall's touchdown was stunning, and there was a big swing in emotions on the play. In hindsight, Briles thought it might have been a perfect time to try for 3 yards and a win.
"We should have tried to finish it up there, get on the plane and go home happy," he said. "We can't change it now, but that's probably the way the flow of the game was going and what I should have done."
BACK TO TOP |
Rivers runs through
Houston D
In the spirit of the season, Jason Rivers didn't do anything for himself yesterday.
It was all for the team.
Rivers caught seven passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns in Hawaii's 54-48 triple-overtime victory over Houston in the Hawaii Bowl. He could have gloated about his personal accomplishment, but he didn't.
"Each time I scored, I went over to the sideline and told the guys that it was a 'Christmas present to you,' especially all you seniors," said Rivers, who is, in a sense, the Ghost of Christmas Future. "We sent out all the seniors with a win."
The Saint Louis School graduate finished his freshman season with a bang, and his performance showed Warriors fans that there is cause to believe that greater things are on the way from him.
Despite his magnanimity, Rivers conceded he got his wish, too.
"I got exactly what I wanted (being a factor in the bowl victory)," Rivers said. "I didn't want to be sitting out. I feel fortunate to have played and I played my hardest."
Rivers caught scoring passes of 7 and 4 yards and another for 18 yards in the second overtime.
He also had a 61-yard catch, the longest of his short career, and finished the season with 48 receptions for 594 yards and five touchdowns.
Line was off: Hawaii's offensive line broke down more times than assistant coach Mike Cavanaugh liked.
The Warriors gave up seven sacks to the Cougars after not allowing one in the previous three games.
"We screwed up mentally and physically," said Tala Esera, the starting freshman left tackle. "And Houston came up with lots of big plays on defense."
All Esera wanted to do after the game was go home and spend the rest of Christmas with his family.
"It feels great to have pulled it out, but I'm very, very tired," he said. "I'm too tired to even think about (how to celebrate the win)."
Cavanaugh, who had to catch a plane, was unavailable for comment.
One play only: Hawaii's leading receiver, Chad Owens, was in for only one play -- on the "hands" team to guard against an onside kick after Houston tied the game 34-all with 22 seconds left.
He was suffering from the flu this week and had a sore foot.
"I didn't practice, so I didn't deserve to play, but this win was sweet for the seniors," he said. "This whole season was sweet."
A smooth Brew: Michael Brewster ran for 79 yards last night, and most of them were tough. Late in the fourth quarter in a drive that bled the clock and almost sealed the game, June Jones opted to give Brewster the ball.
"I don't know if he said 'Give it to Brewster,' " the junior from Houston's Nimitz High School said. "But Coach decided we could run the ball, and that's what we did. It was all on the O-line, just getting man-on-man and doing what they had to do. And the receivers were outstanding. Coach told them to get on the shoulder and press it -- and man, they did it."
The running back spot has been shuffled all season. But last night Brewster had the featured role. He scored two touchdowns (including the winner in Hawaii's third possession in overtime). He caught three passes for 40 yards, including a flip from an in-the-grasp Tim Chang that Brewster took for 30.
In the fourth quarter Brewster ran nine times for 54 yards.
"It's beautiful when Coach believes in you and gives you a chance," he said. "It's something that some people just don't get. I'm glad that I got it, a chance to get that chance."
Christmas past: For UH receiver Jeremiah Cockheran, the win served as a Christmas gift not only for him and the team, but also for a teammate who didn't get to experience a Hawaii Bowl win.
"I finally got my Christmas present, Justin Colbert's Christmas present, too," Cockheran said before leaving the postgame press conference.
Colbert, who finished second on the school's all-time receiving list, completed his college career with a 36-28 loss to Tulane in last year's Hawaii Bowl.
Cockheran played a big part in delivering the gift with a game-high 162 yards on five catches.
Special gift: Overshadowed in yesterday's offensive binge were the performances of two players who didn't figure to be key players in the contest.
Houston punter Jimmy McClary and Hawaii's Kurt Milne had an impact on the field-position battle. McClary averaged 46.6 yards on his five kicks and pinned the Warriors inside the 20 twice. Milne had four punts that averaged 41.1 yards, with a long of 47 yards.
Houston kicker Dustin Bell allowed just two returns on kickoffs, putting the ball deep in the end zone most of the night.
