Houston Football: Will Dana Holgorsen make Year 2 leap?

Dana Holgorsen’s first season with Houston football turned into a Year 0 of sorts as players redshirted and left the program. Can the Cougars rebound?

When Dana Holgorsen announced his resignation from West Virginia on New Year’s Day 2019 to take the head coaching job at Houston, it sent shock waves through the sport.

The former Cougars offensive coordinator under Kevin Sumlin returned to the program looking to restore its position at the top of the American Athletic Conference. It was also a coup for the AAC, which poached away a Power Five coach six years after Cincinnati pulled off a similar move with Tommy Tuberville.

In his first season, Holgorsen had a veteran unit back on offense — at least until players like star quarterback D’Eriq King decided to burn a redshirt on the 2019 season and then transfer out of the program. Combined with an inexperienced defense, the offensive struggles led to a 4-8 backslide for the Cougars.

For Holgorsen’s second act in Houston, 2020 is lining up to be potentially special. The inexperienced defense of 2019 returns almost the entirety of its production in 2020. If the offense can get going and the defense shows improvement with age, there is a real chance to engineer the quick turnaround so many expected of Holgorsen when he swapped Morgantown for the Space City.

Can Holgorsen actually pull off the quick turnaround in Houston this year? What should fans set as their benchmark for success in what looks to be a weird 2020 season across the country?

Let’s dive in to look at the offense and defense at Houston before breaking down the 2020 Cougars schedule and making some predictions on how the next campaign will play out.