Houston Football: Dana Holgorsen faces high expectations in 2019

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HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 15: Justin McMillan #12 of the Tulane Green Wave is sacked by Austin Robinson #22 of the Houston Cougars in the fourth quarter at TDECU Stadium on November 15, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

If defense can stay healthy, it could surprise people

You can’t talk about the 2019 Houston defense without talking about the loss of Ed Oliver. With that said, we will try not to dwell on it as Oliver is off to the NFL as a first-round draft pick for the Buffalo Bills.

The 2018 defense struggled, especially towards the end of the season. There were multiple injuries they had to deal with, Oliver being one of them, and things just kind of fell apart for them toward the end of the year. That was a bit surprising to me as the previous year (2017) their defense was actually solid and kept opposing offenses to under 25 points in eight games.

In 2018, the Cougars gave up 25 or more points in nine of their games, including the disaster against Army in the bowl game where they gave up 70 points.

Last year, Houston had at least eight guys on the team with 50 or more tackles. This year, the Cougars return six of those eight players. Not only do the Cougars have to replace the best defensive lineman in school history in Oliver, but a few of their top players from 2018.

However, that may not be a bad thing and as long as injuries don’t stack up on each other like they did in 2018, the 2019 defense should be much improved and should give their offense more help.

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