“We have no defense and we’re playing Army..”
In Episode 6 (Defense Wins Championships) ‘Taking a Punt: The Dane Roy Story‘ dives into the rollercoaster 2018 season for the University of Houston football program, Dane Roy’s 3rd collegiate season for the Houston Cougars.
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After starting the season 3-1 – including winning the famous “Bayou Bucket” over Rice University – Roy’s Cougars go 4-0 against AAC rivals, highlighted by wins against #21 ranked South Florida (USF) and traditional rival, Tulsa.
Sitting pretty with a 7-1 record, everything was in place for Houston to make a run at the AAC Conference Championship, but there was a glaring issue that the team was about to face.
‘We’re still scoring over 40 points a game. Our offense clearly isn’t the problem, it’s the defense… and the media rips into the defensive coordinator.’
Made even more difficult by an injury to defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, the regular season unravelled spectacularly from there, ending with an Armed Forces Bowl Game history-making result (for all the wrong reasons) against Army starting many conspiracy theory discussions, and key staff firings, including, finally, the Head Coach, Major Applewhite.
“Word on the street is that the head honchos of UH accepted this game knowing they (Army) would be absolutely unstoppable… and they might even be able to fire Applewhite so they can get a new coach that’s become available.”
Dane Roy himself takes us through the ups and downs of a season that started with so much promise, ultimately leading to a state of change for the Houston Cougars’ football program, heading into his senior year.
Get the full story on the new episode (Episode 6: Defense wins championships) of “Taking A Punt: The Dane Roy Story” on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.
