We met with Parker Ainsworth, the host of Locked on Coogs ahead of Friday night’s contest.
For this week’s iteration of “Know the Enemy,” we caught up with Parker Ainsworth, the host of Locked on Coogs, a part of the Locked on Network. Parker provided us with some insight into Houston’s recent move to the Big 12 and the football team’s expectations. He also gave us a prediction for TCU vs. Houston on Friday night.
Frogs O’ War: How successful would you rate the Houston Cougars’ inaugural season in the Big 12? Were you expecting better than a 2-7 record in conference play?
Locked On Coogs: Absolutely not THAT behind the 8 ball. We had some talented pieces, like now pro-left tackle Patrick Paul, wideout Matthew Golden (Texas after transfer), and Sam Brown (Miami). I knew they were a ways from competing to win the conference, but I definitely thought they’d be closer to the middle of the conference. Frankly, I feel like teams from recent history would have been better than that… and that’s the gutting thing. There were lots of final straws with Dana, but it’s hard not to see the 2-7 in the conference as one of them.
Frogs O’ War: What were your expectations going into year 2 in the Big 12? Have the Cougars disappointed thus far in 2024?
Locked On Coogs: In some ways yes, in some ways no. Fritz is a defensive guy in his background, and the defense is, if anything, playing a little ahead of schedule. Outside the Cincinnati game, they’ve allowed 20 points or less to the opponents’ offense (UNLV had a defensive touchdown). They’ve got some transfer studs who “moved up” to the Big 12 and are paying off. But the offense is further behind. Quarterback Donavan Smith has regressed, it may be stemming from off-season shoulder surgery, more expectations, a new system, or some combination. Transfer Zeon Chriss has been given some series, but not a full playbook it seems. Then you’ve got the third string guy, Ui Ale (oo-ee all-eyy), who everyone loves but we’ve barely seen. Not having a quarterback, either from Fritz pulling one in or Donovan controlling it, is behind what I’d have expected. They’ve got other issues I’d have seen coming, the wideouts that transferred hurt, the graduations to the NFL hurt, etc… But the QB play was shocking and I didn’t necessarily expect much.
Frogs O’ War: What must Houston do to revive a season on the brink of collapse? Is there an evident personnel or scheme change to be made?
Locked On Coogs: I mean, bluntly? Score points. The defense is on the field so much of the game, between turnovers and short offensive possessions, they inevitably show some cracks. But if the offense can stop turning it over, or do it less, and score some points to help their defense, there are a handful of winnable games left. Frankly, I think there is some path to victory this week.
Frogs O’ War: Both the passing and the ground game rank near the bottom of the conference. What’s been the Cougars’ least productive positional unit affecting the lack of yardage?
Locked On Coogs: The ground game does, but the focus should be first-half offense (before games get out of hand). They actually ran the ball well and kept the Iowa State game to 3-0 late in the third quarter. But, when you’re down multiple scores in the second half, you kind of have to start slinging it… and they’ve really struggled throwing the ball. So I guess that would mean the wideouts. And there has been discussion about, whether our guys are running the right routes all the time after some off-the-cuff comments postgame from Fritz. Some would point to the offensive line and look at the time to throw and all, but that falls on the quarterbacks there too.
Frogs O’ War: Houston’s pass defense has been a strong suit through a quarter of the season. Do you expect the Cougars’ impressive pass defense to be key in limiting a high-powered Horned Frog attack?
Locked On Coogs: I really think, to this point, the Cincy game is the outlier. TCU is going to test this and I may look silly by Saturday, but the pass defense is good at both the pass rush and the sticky coverage level. It’s a lot of new names that weren’t here a year ago, so we haven’t seen them play Briles’ offense as a unit, but I do think that at some point “so-and-so had a bad offensive week against Houston” has to turn into “Houston’s defense is good, even if they can’t get a win.”
Frogs O’ War: What’s your prediction for TCU vs. Houston? Who wins? What’s the final score?
Locked On Coogs: I’ve got Houston 18 (a tuddy and a few FGs) to TCU 17 (2 TDs and a FG). I think a short week, a weird crowd, a surprisingly hot week in Texas all make for a sloppy game but I think it’s close late. For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s a world where Houston blows TCU out, so maybe it’s more about me subconsciously finding a way that Houston wins.
Special thanks again to Parker from Locked on Coogs for the terrific insight before the Horned Frogs and Cougars clash in a Friday night affair. Be sure to check out Locked on Coogs, your daily podcast on the University of Houston Cougars.