Houston Football: 3 takeaways from strange victory over Tulane
By John Scimeca
Houston football, after improving to 8-3, sets its sights on capturing the AAC West division for a potential appearance in conference title game.
The main buzz surrounding Tulane’s 48-17 loss to Houston on Thursday night was centered around the action off the field, more than the on-field results.
Instead, TV cameras appeared to show Houston head coach Major Applewhite telling injured star defensive tackle Ed Oliver to take off the black heavy team jacket that is presumably reserved for active players. A confrontation followed in which Oliver had to be restrained by several teammates while trying to forcibly get in Applewhite’s face as the team headed into the locker room during halftime.
According to ESPN’s Todd McShay, Oliver is the third-highest rated defensive lineman prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft class. Before the game, broadcast footage showed Oliver bouncing around on the field during warmups.
This warmup set off speculation that his knee injury has improved and that Oliver is preserving his body to prepare for the NFL Draft instead of a return to the field for the 8-3 Houston Cougars this season. The junior defensive lineman injured his knee four weeks ago against Navy and apparently told reporters pregame that he planned to return for the team’s regular season finale next week on the road against Memphis.
To add to the drama, Houston starting quarterback D’Eriq King went down with a non-contact injury in the second quarter. A few plays earlier, King was shown slipping on a concrete surface outside of the playing field.
Houston backup quarterback Clayton Tune, a freshman, filled in during the second half by completing 6-of-15 passes for two touchdowns, one interception, and 105 yards. Tune took a particularly hard hit to his ribs with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game.
Here are our biggest takeaways from Tulane’s loss to Houston.