Craven: Houston vs. SMU will showcase both teams' progress under new head coaches

[caption id="attachment_17841" align="alignright" width="300"]UH coach Tom Herman (top) and SMU coach Chad Morris. UH coach Tom Herman (top) and SMU coach Chad Morris.[/caption] Houston and SMU made splash hires this offseason that were received with praise from alumni, national media, former players and anyone involved in Texas high school or college football. SMU hired former Lake Travis head coach and Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris to fix the Mustangs football program after June Jones left the program in disarray. Houston, on the other hand, plucked former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman and the Cougars are already seeing the results on the field. Houston enters this week’s home game against SMU at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The teams kickoff on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. this Thursday, giving both programs a stage to show growth under the new head coaches. Houston enters the game as the huge favorite. Herman walked into a much better situation than Morris, at least in the short-term, and nothing has changed through a third of the season. It all starts at the quarterback position and Herman was blessed to inherent a talent like Greg Ward Jr. The junior from John Tyler is the reigning AAC offensive player of the week after his dual-threat performance against Tulsa in a win. Ward broke the single-game rushing record for a quarterback at Houston with 182 yards. He also added three touchdown runs and 273 yards passing. The offense will get all of the praise, but the Houston defense is coming along and becoming a dominant force. Tulsa entered the game as the fourth ranked offense in the nation and Houston held the Golden Hurricanes to just 10 points in the first half despite Tulsa running 58 plays through two quarters. While Houston is trending up, SMU is falling away. The Mustangs are on a three-game losing streak which includes a loss to James Madison. The other three losses – Baylor, TCU and East Carolina – are respectable, but it’ll be hard for this team to shake the 48-45 loss to James Madison after beating North Texas by 18 points in the second game of the season. Both of these programs are better off than at this time last year. New coaches brought in a new direction and spirit to the program. Both are thriving in recruiting, especially SMU under Morris. His connections in the state of Texas help, but he didn’t inherit the roster Herman did at Houston and that gives the Cougars a big advantage this weekend.